just because CB has circulated their own myopic narratives as to how Utah and TCU got invited...doesn't make them true. A lot of folks close to the Utah program were involved in the process and know first hand.

I'll just say this. Like BYU saw with the Big 12's dog and pony show...the BCS/P5 schools look down on the G5 counterparts. They always have. To be one of the few to make the jump, you have to have multiple levels of approvals. From the commissioner to the school presidents to the media partners.

All of whom have their own agenda.

As an outsider, and as the first to start the conference expansion process, UU was always a tough sell.

Without the 2009 Sugar Bowl and the original BCS buster moniker, Utah doesn't make it through the process. Can't speak for TCU but the logic is there. Of all the teams the Big 12 interviewed and had present, the only non-BCS school they took happened to have 2 BCS runs and a consistent presence in the top 10.

USU, Rutgers, Maryland...everything that came after the Pac-12 and SEC expansion had its own strategy and set of criteria. All after the fact. The MW keeping the Utah market and the Big 10 looking to lock in the eastern sea board tv markets where a lot of base lives probably made sense to some of the media partners and alum associations.

I think the lesson learned from that is to go back to the original principal and make sure you bring in a program that has proven they could compete week in and week out at the higher level.

Utah's BCS claims were the foundation. But being the winningest MWC program (the best non-BCS conf at the time) and having hands down the best record against BCS opponents were strong bullet points.