but they sold their basketball program down the river years ago. It will take a lot of effort and $$ to establish prominence in the west for Utah in basketball again. I honestly don't think it would take more than a couple of years to get it rolling again, though.

Utah will have a really hard time competing in the P12 in football, but not necessarily in basketball. A few recruits can make a huge difference in basketball, and Utah has the tradition and history to do it.

Utah fans have stated that they will have "Pac12 athletes" and "Pac12 talent" after inclusion to the conference. Their recruiting will certainly get a boost, but by how much? A few recruits could help here and there, but Utah needs depth - quality depth. If a recruit was set on going to the Pac 12 (and that is the distinction I make in the boost in recruits that Utah will get for being in the conference), then why would they go to Utah over USC, Arizona, UCLA, Stanford, Oregon, etc.? The talent boost, in my opinion, won't justify the increase in competition Utah will face over the years in football.

I also think the additional $$ argument won't see the same dividends Utah fans are expecting. Yes, Utah's facilities are improving, but so are everyone else's - at a much higher rate and with a stronger foundation of prior facilities. Utah doesn't even have its own baseball field, IIRC. Seeing a renovated RES isn't going to wow recruits much in comparison with lots of stadiums and facilities out there. I think the fan experience will be better and the training will be better for players due to improvements in facilities, but it won't entice recruits to come as much as fans would like to predict, and it won't result in a substantial increase in wins.