(03-07-2018 04:37 PM)Stugray2 Wrote:  BYU fills arenas, brings a significant TV audience. Mormons are not insignificant throughout the west, and tend to be fairly well off (they are more upscale outside of Utah than in Utah; mobile middle class). Adding BYU means an extra 4-5,000 seats filled when they come to town. If you notice, BYU has little problem finding Western schools willing to have football series with them.

They are also a top 100 program year in and year out in many sports. Even if they are not a tournament team they add another NIT level squad that ups the RPI and committee opponent value when considering that 3rd school for a 2nd at-large bid.

I can see your point with BYU. They have a good following and would be a good addition to the Mountain West. But this is about Gonzaga and negotiating a deal with them that would entice the Zags to join the Mountain West.

BYU is a separate issue. If the MWC convinced Gonzaga to join, they could quit right there. They owe nothing to BYU and they don't really need a 13 team conference. Now, if it was possible to convince Air Force to send their Olympic sports to the WCC, then BYU would make sense. BYU would be an upgrade over Air Force and a 12 team conference is better than a 13 team conference.

Air Force would have a better chance of winning in the WCC. In that scenario, the WCC could add Air Force and Denver and have their ten teams.