I have heard many on here and some within BYU say that Indy isn't sustainable. I make it no secret that I believe BYU is best off in a P5 conference, but that is not currently an option. That being said, I think Independence is most definitely sustainable moving forward.

1. Money - We make more money from being Indy than we would in any other conference that we could join. This isn't debatable.
2. Exposure - Honestly, BYU has more exposure as an independent than just about any other team in the country given where we are at. Yes, you see Alabama more often, but that is because they are perennially the #1 team in college football. The only team I can think of with better exposure than us despite their record is Notre Dame, a fellow independent.
3. Prestige - Pretty much every P5 conference out there considers BYU a P5 opponent. That is powerful in many ways to BYU including recruiting.
4. Schedules - While is can be difficult for BYU to schedule 1/1's with the very best of college football, our schedules now (including our home schedules) are simply amazing. Compare it to Boise St or Houston and it isn't close. Next year we have LSU (neutral), Utah (home), Wisconsin (home), Boise St (home) and Mississippi St (away). In 2018 it is Arizona, Cal, Wisconsin, Boise St and Utah on Thanksgiving weekend. The 2019 schedule currently starts with Utah, USC and Washington at home.
5. Recruiting - This ties in a bit to prestige, but everything that Indy provides makes for a better recruiting experience than the AAC or MWC. Be seen more often against better teams. Make more money to recruit...etc.


Again, I am not pretending that Indy is better than what a P5 could offer. I am saying that it is sustainable over the long terms based on what we have as options. Will BYU fall behind with less money? While I believe more money would benefit us, remember that we have been making less money than P-5 programs have for a long time now. Yet we are still alive and even flourishing as a football program with an opportunity to be even better.