The big issue that BYU had, that I saw, is that the MWC wouldn't even go to CBS/Comcast and try to get them to release those games. BYU had lawyers trying to examine the contract, looking for ways to help force the issue, but the MWC wouldn't help at all. I suspect that CBS/Comcast, would have been willing to make some type of deal if the MWC would have tried. This is partially because the MWC ended up selling some of the SDSU games to Time Warner Sports in San Diego, when the Mtn didn't show some of their games. So BYU was frustrated at the conference, and how the conference refused to even work with BYU.

The other issue, the MWC could have given BYU a deal to stay in the MWC without football — a deal similar to what we got from the WAC. In this case, the MWC thought by blowing up the WAC and not allowing BYU to stay without football, that BYU would be forced to stay — they were "blindsided" by the WCC.