gone within 5 years because:

1) It's not the same missionary tool it once was. With over 50% of the Church residing outside the USA, there's not nearly as much reach for a missionary message as a winning FB team had in the 80's when the US/non-US ratio was much different.

2) The main purpose of BYU (from the BOT's viewpoint) is to a) develop leadership in the Church, b) create an uplifting atmosphere of spiritual learning and secular education, c) three words: happy hunting grounds. In that regard, sports on the big time level is possibly a secondary concern. There may come a time when the risk/reward or even the hassle/reward ratio is out of whack. At that point, will dropping intermural sports be an option?

3) With an increasingly locked game, it seems like independence might just be a slow death. The P12 won't take us. The B12 won't take us. There's no future in the WAC or MWC and the AAC might be just too big a travel / logistics burden for the average college athlete.

4) A few seasons like we just had, with an abysmal W/L record, and a boring OCT-NOV home schedule, and it will be increasingly hard to lure top talent to BYU. Losing spectacular won't fulfill any mission of the Church.

Now I don't agree with everything he said, nor do I think that BYU FB will be gone anytime soon. I just thought I'd share his ideas and hopefully spur some FB discussion during the off-season. On top of that, I think we get some stellar recruits this year and begin to make improvements.