(04-18-2015 06:56 PM)goofus Wrote: its interesting that religious schools of different faiths like to hang out together in the same conference. You would think the Catholics would hate the protestants and both would hate the Mormons. But maybe I am living in the past.
I know that the LDS Church loves the new affiliation with the Catholic institutions, Pepperdine (Church of Christ), and Pacific (Methodist-ish). It has led to new roads of interfaith respect and understanding and unprecedented collaboration regarding protection of the family unit and religious freedoms.
BYU will not leave this affiliation lightly.
And, the WCC footprint is a pretty good fit for BYU's alumni - more than half of the Cougar alumni base lives in Utah (45%), California (10%), Washington (4%), and Oregon (2%). Only the PAC 12 would provide a better fit - because it also includes Arizona (5%) and Colorado (2.5%).
The AAC - with an expanded western division - would actually be BYU's best fit, as far as footprint goes:
Utah: 45% alumni, 2 million LDS
California: 10% alumni, 780K LDS (SDSU, Fresno)
Idaho: 5% alumni, 430K LDS (Boise St.)
Texas: 4% alumni, 335K LDS (SMU, Houston)
Colorado: 3% alumni, 150K LDS (Colorado St.)
MidAtlantic/NorthEast: 5% alumni, >350K LDS (Navy, UConn, Temple)
South: 4% alumni, > 500K LDS (UCF, USF, ECU, Memphis, Tulane)