I would encourage you to step away and look at the forest. UofU=Washington St. Do you really think inclusion in the Pac-12 has done much for Washington St? Sure they recently got a good football coach, but consider everything else. Who in the entire country gives a hoot about Washington St? What other programs are they known for? What about ASU? ASU is in the middle of one of the largest TV markets in the west and they are irrelevant. What about Washington? They are still digging themselves out of a hole of obscurity.

Pac-12 means nothing if you don't have your collective act together as a University.

Take a look at UofU. Football last year finished decently, but they were not the talk of the State of Utah, let alone the nation. Yes, they beat us last year during a time of transition and self-analysis. Good for them. That won't happen again. What else do they have to talk about? The loss to Colorado at the end of the season? Awkward . . . !

But then they still had basketball. Awkward . . . !

I will take BYU's current position as a NATIONAL BRAND against Utah's local brand anytime. Utah will earn its share from Pac-12 and the public school will absorb the profits faster than a pull in a sweater. That money will be gone in seconds.

Let's look at ole' BYU: Do you think the $1.5 Billion Pfizer Settlement won't help relieve a little of the academic budget pressure on the athletic department? Do you think that the church isn't funding or substantially subsidizing the athletic program and the TV exposure for BYU? What about that ESPN contract? Certainly not the worst deal in Dodge City. And the money from the bowl games THAT WE DO NOT SPLIT WITH ANY OTHER CONFERENCE MEMBERS AS BEFORE?

Yep, you are correct --- not. BYU is making bank right now. More than UofU could ever manage or will ever manage. Perhaps we have just been lucky, but I guarantee you that there is more money than ever in the BYU Athletics budget (the fact that large sums of money aren't drained off the athletic budget profits for academics is certainly a major factor).

We do have some struggles with late-season scheduling, but we have enough games to get the job done and that isn't going to change year-to-year. ESPN will keep those game coming.

Looking at what is happening to Utah -- I wouldn't want anything to do with that mess. What they don't realize is that a successful future is in tandem with BYU. They have been too short sighted to even see that. Two losses to Michigan are not going to help their cause.