Yes Utah has been much more competitive but if media markets, expanded recruiting grounds, and inventory for the Pacific time zone, all add more value then UNLV and SDSU both offer more to the Big 12 than Utah would. This of course being aside from the AZ schools, UO and UW, and even Colorado. I also don't get all the BYU fans who want Utah in the Big 12 with BYU if the PAC crumbles. BYU needs every recruiting advantage it can get over Utah, more now than ever going into a big boy conference themselves. This most recent recruiting class out of the state of Utah demonstrates that. Utah dominated the state for its top prospects by a large margin this winter whereas in years past it was more 50/50 between BYU and Utah or 60/40 in favor of Utah for the state's top recruits that didn't opt for schools out of state. BYU can't afford to keep watching 80+% of the state's 4 star players sign with Utah when staying in state.