(12-15-2016 08:33 AM)DavidSt Wrote: (12-15-2016 07:55 AM)MWC Tex Wrote: This was only a reporter's opinion, not BYU's opinion. They are either staying Indy or dropping football.
It is not a reporter's opinion. It is an opinion of a former BYU football player. Since he is an alumni of the school. You got to wonder if BYU are getting pressure from the alumni, fans, faculty and boasters to rejoin a conference since they are not doing well in football as an Independent.
The ONLY opinion that matters at BYU is that of the Mormon Church itself. The LDS leadership's actions have made it pretty clear that the purpose of BYU sports is to have maximum exposure in order to aid getting their message out to the world along with controlling as much of that message as possible. Being independent fits both counts better than being in a G5 league.
Also, BYU will simply not relegate itself to being in a structurally inferior conference compared to the University of Utah. Everyone that talks about access bowls, conference rivalries, etc. are COMPLETELY missing that aspect. Being independent allows for an argument that BYU is still more "special" than Utah (e.g. BYU can get a TV deal with ESPN in a way that Utah never would be able to do), whereas joining a G5 league would mean moving to a literal ghetto compared where Utah lives. That's just not reasonably foreseeable.
MWC and AAC fans just need to live with the fact that they have about as much chance as getting BYU at this point than Notre Dame. Having a 1-in-60ish chance at an access bowl slot does NOT trump having the higher perceived prestige of being independent (assuming that you choose to do, unlike being forced to do so like New Mexico State), making more money from ESPN, being able to schedule more P5 teams every single year, control more content on BYUtv and, maybe most importantly, not have a complete 100% admission that they are in an inferior place compared to Utah.
I have no connection to BYU at all. I just have an allergic reaction when biased people tell a party that something is supposedly better for them by joining those biased people when any unbiased rational person from the outside looking in would say otherwise. For BYU's goals, there's no rational reason to choose a G5 league over independence. If BYU eventually gets a P5 invite, then that's certainly better than independence for them.
Besides, if BYU couldn't get into the Big 12 in their current situation, then going to a G5 league (where they're playing fewer P5 teams and making less TV money) is NOT going to aid them down the road in getting a P5 invite. Frankly, the primary reason why BYU isn't a P5 league is due to political (both social and personal) factors much more so than anything with their performance or actual conference realignment value. Under traditional conference realignment metrics such as brand value, fan base and TV value, BYU would be in a P5 league already without any question. It's the off-the-field political and academic freedom issues that are holding BYU back... and that's going to be the case whether they're in a G5 league or independent.