BYU to join West Coast Conference
by Zach Bell on Aug 31, 2010 4:06 PM PDT
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Rumors have been swirling for some time now that BYU was looking to make a big move with their athletic program and the fall out is apparenlty upon us as the Cougars will be joining the West Coast Conference.
The move will take place next year and the West Coast Conference has scheduled a press conferenece on Wednesday at 11 AM pacific to announce the move.
The Cougars move is driven by their desire to be independent in football and dictate their own schedule (and maximize $$$). Once they began to explore this option, it was clear that the Mountain West was not about to let them move out their football program but keep everything else in the conference so the Cougars had to find a new home. Initially, the most sensible move was to the WAC but after the Mountain West swept up Fresno and Nevada-Reno, that option began to lose appeal.
The WCC came into play once this happened but that is when news began to die down and everyone just assumed BYU would remain in the Mountain West and swallow their hopes of independence for the time being. The West Coast Conference has been very receptive to BYU all along and now it appears a deal has been struck and the Cougars will be the ninth member of the conference.
We are very, very excited about this move and will have much more on it later. We'd love to hear your thoughts in the comments below and welcome to our new BYU friends!
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I don't get it
BYU does not bring a better TV situation the WCC already had a better ESPN deal than the MWC and frankly GU has better coverage anyway. They won’t play on Sundays which changes the tournament schedule, once again potentially changing the TV coverage. Any RPI boost for the conference will be negated because they won’t be playing SDSU, Utah, etc. twice a year. And they certainly don’t play a tough non-conference schedule every year.
Dare I say it, I will even have to cheer for SMC at least twice a year.
They bring a top 25 Basketball team that has been to the tournament each of the last four years and a humongous following. This is an absolute win for the WCC.
I was waiting for you to comment!
Thanks for brining the initial rumor up! This happened very quickly…
Love, love this development.
The Slipper Still Fits - SB Nation's home for the Gonzaga Bulldogs!
I agree that they have a good basketball program, but my fear (and I am obviously in the minority here) is that the WCC will still be a 2 occasionally 3 bid mid-major conference and have to make some big changes (tourny format alone may be huge) and BYU has no real incentive to stay long-term once they establish the football program as an independent so they can keep all the BCS money to themselves.
Not loving this development, but time will tell.
I might be missing something
But is sliding the WCC tournament championship game to accomodate BYU really an enormous change? I know it is a change…but I don’t really understand how it is a watershed moment.
The Slipper Still Fits - SB Nation's home for the Gonzaga Bulldogs!
I feel the best change made recently was moving the tourny to a neutral site. The WCC just negotiated an extension to 2012 (?). Do we know if that can remain if we have to change dates? Will we have to go to playing in the Jennie Craig or Provo every year. Right now we get the semi’s and finals on ESPN if we move forward we compete with other conference title games and may not get same coverage. If we move back will having a final on Saturday and then waiting 12 or 13 days to play again be a good thing? Even if they schedule a game it will have to be a lower level team and is that good?
I am probably way off, but who knows?
If they move the conference tourney back and play Sat (off Sun) Semi – on Mon and Championship on Tuesday ESPN will still be all over it. They could even go Mon through Wed for the tournrey and ESPN would air it with GU, BYU and St. Mary’s. Last year the WAC had its Final on Wednesday. Who has a bigger draw the WCC or the 6 team WAC? I also think that it would be good to move the conference tourney back b/c it means less time off between the conf. tourney and the NCAA. Rest is good, but too much causes rust.
Also
with a 9 team conference I think you will loose the double bye. I see a 8/9 play-in game and a traditional 1 through 8 team tourney which has three rounds. Just a thought?
It's all a matter of money, the tourney sells a lot of tix, therefore the organizers will be accommodating
Plus Vegas is a HUGE market for BYU, it seems like they jump at the chance to play bowl games there. There won’t be any squawking from Provo about that neutral site. Money talks, it won’t be a big deal.
WCC Tourney
Zach, I agree changing the tournament format and days cant be that huge of a deal. The only concern would be if the Orleans was booked. However, I believe the contract with them is due for renewal after this year, I thought it was a 3 year deal (don’t quote me).
Take Sunday off, Semi’s and Champ game on Monday / Tuesday. The big conferences don’t start taking ESPN space until later in that week I really do not see TV being an issue.
BCS Money
Yup, they get football money, who cares. BYU wont be in the WCC in 5—7 years. But, Gonzaga gets two (maybe 3 games if we meet in conf tourney) more games against an RPI Top 30 team, one of which is in McCarthey. Better competition. A bit more money from a new ESPN basketball contract with the WCC. This may even result in slightly better seeds in the NCAA tournament due to the better RPI. Do not see how this hurts.
Also helps with recruiting ...
… as all the WCC teams can point to the improved stature of the conference (and perhaps better TV exposure) when going after players, which is the most important thing for improving the overall level of play.
You found the fly in the ointment
I don’t know why any of you are getting excited about this at this point.
Who’s to say BYU won’t bolt for greener pastures next year? or the year after that?
As soon as they find a league that lets them run their football revenue in a favorable manner, its goodby WCC!
I look at this as more of a home and away each year for a couple years.
I don’t think Gonzaga is going to benefit all that much from this short term relationship.
Now some of the other WCC teams should be ecstatic. They get a pair of games with a team that they would be luck to schedule once in a five year period.
Us? We will up the place no matter who plays us.
As for improving our RPI — I’d rather see us play Memphis any day.
Well I will hope for the best but deep down inside I know this is going to be a very temporary situation.
mjc
And who is that going to be????
Definitely not the Pac 12…definitely not the MWC…Conf USA isnt good enough to leave for…so who is left exactly? Nobody…
We just added another confrences best team to ours and now have basically 2 automatic bids to the tournament every year…how is this not great for the confrence???
Finally Gonzaga will get some money on a regular basis for someone else in the confrence doing something productive, I dont know how people arent excited for this, BYU is not going to leave in 2-3 years because this is their ideal situation automatic bids to the tournament and independent in football.
After the shuffle that went on this year . . .
You are making all kinds of assumptions here. It wouldn’t surprise me a bit to see another six or eight teams move next year if the $$$ is right.
Earlier there was talk of ND and BYU joining the Big 12.
After all the jockeying for position that’s gone on in the last 6 months, nothing would surprise me in the future.
mjc
mjc
Obvious observation
They’re going to have to completely re-tool the WCC tourney.
BYU doesn’t play on Sunday.
I don't believe it!!~
Last week I said bet the farm against this happening. Now I am homeless.
I thought K.W. was in the door, yet he vanished.
Don’t know what to believe anymore….I believe I’ll have a beer.
I WELCOME BYU to the W.C.C. Been lots of enjoyable smack talk over on the fox site about who is better. Now we can get the show on the road babeeee!!~
Its gonna be gLoRiOUS!!~
Come on...
This HAS to be a step up for our conference. Would you rather it was Seattle U??
Its gonna be gLoRiOUS!!~
Honestly, doesn't this open the door for both?
A 9-team league makes about as much sense as an 8-team league (which is to say, not a lot).
That said, I’d imagine GU doesn’t want SU in the conference because it would drain their potential for recruiting Seattle prospects.
Drain it?
I don’t think having Seattle U. in the conference would do anything but bolster recruiting in the area. Just think, the kids could get a little ways from home and yet have the opportunity to play at home twice a year. Those two games would also increase Gonzaga’s visibility as a top-tier program to the Seattle recruiting zone.
Zagnificent - GU Class of 2010
Seattle U is on the horizon
The Redhawks have already joined the WCC for women’s golf, and I expect that an invitation for full membership will be forthcoming.
The interesting thing here is that there is a rift between the coaching staffs at Gonzaga and Seattle U. Gonzaga alerted the NCAA of a recruiting violation committed by then UW assistant Cameron Dollar during the battle for Josh Heytfelt. As a result, the two schools have not yet scheduled any games together.
Weirdly I have actually talked to the Seattle U AD about this very thing. He confirmed to me that it is Gonzaga keeping the Seattle U basketball out of the WCC. But, he also said that he totally understood their position in that both he and Coach Dollar want to earn their way into a conference (any conference, not specifically the WCC). I have a feeling that it will come eventually, but its a few years out at best for Seattle U. Seattle U is not a high caliber program certainly not worthy of being invited into a conference. I mean looking at their schedule you see some absolutely horrendous losses (Sacramento State???) but they are too good a fit to not join the WCC eventually.
I remember hearing the same thing. I believe it was GU’s AD (don’t quote me) saying that they only wanted expansion if it were to bring the level of compotition up, not down. Right now SU would bring it down.
Another thing to note
The WCC is going to be negotiating a new deal with ESPN in the near future, how much more attractive is the WCC with BYU in the picture?
Very good point.
The WCC has become much more marketable.
I'm not worried
SU is nowhere near the calibre of GU, I don’t see any conflicts arising, outside of the odd 2-star 7 footer.
Yeah...
… if SU and GU are going after the same player, either SU really does belong in the WCC or we have serious problems that we should be concerned about.
Recruiting
Coach Dollar was at UW when the issue happened
by Mark Dawley on Sep 4, 2010 11:44 AM PDT via mobile up reply actions
For it...
BYU is a quality program. Maybe there are other teams from other conferences that I would rather see join the WCC (actually I would rather see GU in another conference), but I definitely see this as a good thing.
Good move
Instantly increases the level of play within the conference. Good for Zags and the WCC. If we added Seattle it would be years before they would be a contender to play competitively. All for expanding the conference to no more than 10 -12 teams, but only if the new school can quickly compete. Not looking to make the bottom of the WCC look better by bringing in mediocre program
I'm not sure if it'd take SU that long to compete if they were in the WCC.
I think they are a very attractive place for recruits, but the lack of a conference is holding them back at this point. A WCC invite would instantly boost their recruiting baseline.
A quick observation which might be difficult to comprehend
BYU was arguably the biggest draw in the MWC and wasn’t getting a fair cut but the truth of the matter is that money isn’t really the issue here. Money has never really been an issue at BYU, if it were than tuition would be about 5x higher (right now it sits at around $2100/semester). BYU is interested in exposure by broadcasting football games on BYU-TV. This exposure will obviously put more money into the budget but the desire for increased exposure is more for religious purposes.
For most people this move will make no sense, neither financially nor for the advancement of the sports programs. The reason for that is that while these are the main priorities for every other school in the world, they aren’t nearly as important to BYU or the LDS leaders.
Agreed,
this could help BYU TV exposure. I’m guessing the WCC has just welcomed in the sports powerhouse of the conference. I’m not sure how the tennis/golf/gymnastics/synchronised hackey sack teams of the WCC stack up versus BYU, but I’m guessing the Utah school might be a notch better. Other than bulldog basketball (mens/womens) of course. Go zags!
"Be smooth, like me!"
by jenningss on Aug 31, 2010 7:24 PM PDT up reply actions 1 recs
This is a good thing...
This will only increase there RPI, and bring more competition to the WCC. BYU has had a ton of basketball success, especially the last few years. Im looking forward to this very much. Welcome BYU.
Throw all of that other junk aside, money politics etc…who cares.
Does this get the target off our backs?
Does this mean that SCU, USF, LMU, etc. will amp up for their BYU game more than ours or at least will it take some of the excitement out of the crowd?
Gonzaga will now be able to prove
they are the best college basketball team in the west.
It seems each year Gonzaga is up there, but lingering is BYU, and one PAC-10, now, err soon to be PAC-12 school. Zags never get BYU on their schedule and they usually miss BYU in the 64+1, now 64+4 Big Dance.
This is great for the WCC, because now the WCC is a power basketball conference. In fact one could now make the claim that the WCC is a stronger basketball conference top to bottom than the PAC-10, now err soon to be PAC-12.
Gonzaga will now have a much stronger RPI, as the WCC will have a stronger RPI, therefore the “committee” will no longer be able to sand bag Gonzaga in seeding. Oh wait, I forgot I’m commenting about the committee, they’ll still justify giving Gonzaga a lower seed.
Now if only we could
find a way to get my beloved alum, Whitworth University into the WCC.
Zags going for
12th in row, BYU, (next year) will give the Bulldogs some competition as Mr. Few and the Kennel go for Mr. Wooden’s record of 13 consecutive conference titles.
Why stop now?
What are people’s thoughts on going all the way to 12? We are all very familiar with the anticipation of SU, but there are also rumors that the conference has approached Pacific and is interested in the University of Denver. If all three of those teams join, we would have a 12 team conference.
The obvious next step would be to create to divisions of six teams (likely divided into north and south), because a 22 game basketball schedule would not allow for enough non-conference games. Each team would play a double round robin against its division opponents and one game against teams from the other division. This would result in a 16 game schedule.
What would cause disent amongst the ranks is that the teams from the south would get to host Gonzaga only every other year, rather than the current arrangement which sees the Zags visiting annually. Conference tournament seeding would also become more complicated, but that could be easily sorted out.
How does everyone feel about this?
I'm all for expantion if...
the level of compitition raises with it. I don’t want to see a watered down conference. I would rather wait and see what happens to the other 6 WAC teams and see if they stay alive or die. If the WAC dies then I would like to bring in schools like Utah St. and NM State. (Even if the WCC doesn’t want state schools) This raises the level of competition.
If you have 12 teams and break in to two divisions it would be interesting to see how they break them. No one will want to loose a home game against GU.
The thing about expansion is
that it works best with non-football schools. Not everyone is going to want to go independent, which is why Utah State and New Mexico State are unrealistic additions to the WCC.
University of Denver
Seems like a logical addition with BYU in the fold. No Football and excellent Hoops Facility.
by Colorado Fan on Sep 1, 2010 12:19 PM PDT up reply actions
Independent Football
Agreed, don’t see many other colleges wanting to go independent in football and then join the WCC. Then again didn’t see BYU joining the WCC.
per the Spokesman-Review
“No other WCC expansion is on the immediate horizon, according to league members.”
Personally, BYU was a slam dunk, I would be lukewarm towards Pacific or Denver.
I wonder..
if this will help us become more then a 1 bid confrence…..to have 3 teams come out of the WCC for the big dance…that would be a big step fwd. IMO
WCC already had 3 bids...
…just two years ago.
I mean on a consistent basis
with GU, BYU and SMC all tourney teams…that is a big leap from our 1 bid confrence…the at large bids for the WCC teams are the exception right now…not the rule…
Here is to progress! Cheers!
Exception?
The WCC does better than people realize. Multiple bids in 2000 (GU and Pepperdine), 2002 (GU and Pepperdine), 2003 (GU and USD), 2005 (GU and SMC), 2008 (GU, USD, and SMC) and 2010 (GU and SMC.) I fully expect the Gaels to be a contender this year, and so 2011 ought to be another multiple bid year.
As Coach Few said...
“If nothing else, it helps perception-wise. I’ve argued in the past that a lot of our teams are plenty good enough; they just don’t garner any respect nationally.”
It’s also worth noting that only 5 conferences did better than the WCC in the last tournament. Not bad for a #12-#14 conference as some folks claim it is.
yes exception
So out of 10 years 4 have been single bid years. Out of the other 6 how many were because GU, who won the regular season or tied, did not win the automatic bid? face it…most of those multiple bids were because GU was too good to get passed over when another team won the WCC tourney… That does not make the WCC a true multi bid conf..like say..the A10….
My main point being that with BYU and GU SMC and SD we have more talent at the top and more like a multi bid conf year in and year out.
BYU
I believe it’s a great addition to the WCC. However, just because they’re in the WCC doesn’t assure the WCC of any new invites to the NCAA touney. You still must EARN the right. The WCC still needs to raise the level of recruits and overall play to continue to get multiple invites! I guess I look at it slightly different than some here. I count it as at least a recognition by a very good University that the WCC “IS” on the move up. If I recall, recently, many here were tagging GU to bolt to some other conference! Looks like we’re the draw and not the one picking up the crumbs. I like everything about the new Member, welcome to the WCC, BYU!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I'd like to see the BYUtv aspect explored a little more
Earlier today, Andy Katz blogged that BYU will likely get to show its non-ESPN games on BYU.tv. That’s awesome for them, but unless Gonzaga gets a similar exemption, I’ll be super disappointed. (If you’re not a complainy complainy-pants like me, you probably don’t care, but before the WCC signed its deal with ESPN, assuming you bought a $5-per month package from your cable company, you could watch every Fox Sports-broadcasted Zag game on your home television from anywhere in the country. After the deal, you could only do so if you had a satellite dish or lived in one of ten western states. Gonzaga effectively allowed this to happen, and it pissed me off—and still does. The end.)
So my question is, does Gonzaga get an exemption from ESPN to allow its Fox Sports games to be shown around the country, or does only BYU get to take its brand nationwide?
http://twitter.com/larevblog
http://larevblog.wordpress.com/
I don't think BYU is getting special treatment
I’m sure BYU will have the same restrictions in regards to Fox Sports as every other school in the WCC. The difference is that BYU built their own HD TV station from the ground up, complete with a HD van to shoot on location. Plus it’s not just a national network, but a global network. You could leave the country and still watch BYU. I’m sure the other WCC schools could work a similar deal if they wanted to build their own TV network. And as far as I know, BYU is the only college school that’s done this. Texas is in the begging stages of doing the same thing.
This was one of the reason’s the other schools in the MWC loved to hate BYU. Because they’e owned by the LDS church, they have a ton of money. And I mean A TON of money. Their sports teams have better facilities, better stadiums, better equipment, not to mention twice as many conference championships as the next closest school. But the bright side is you’ll at least get to watch the Zags every time they play BYU.
Don't trust this guy. He lies.
Huh?
Either you missed my point or I didn’t clearly make it. As Andy Katz says in the article I linked, it does not appear that BYU will get the same restrictions as everyone else: “Adding the BYUtv network, which will likely be allowed to televise all of the games that the ESPN family of networks does not in 2011-12 (a point of contention for BYU and the MWC as MTN/Comcast/CBS CollegeSports did not allow such a thing), puts WCC teams in even more homes around the globe.” Not sure where this says BYU’s going to be following the same rules as everyone else.
As for “not just a national network, but a global network,” again, Gonzaga had, once upon a three years ago, its own national TV deal with Fox Sports. Every Zag game (read: not every WCC game) not televised by a national network was broadcast on Fox Sports, much like every Seattle Mariners game (or Utah Jazz, if you’d like). People across the country (and Canada) could watch all of these games from their own TV. At home. Just like they could BYUtv. When the WCC signed its deal with ESPN, it superceded GU’s deal with Fox Sports, and all those people that used to get GU games beamed to their sets no matter where they lived in the country had the games blacked out. To get a clearer picture of what this means, look at GU’s schedule last season and point out the games that were broadcasted by Fox Sports. Those are games that weren’t shown.
So, again, my argument is that, again, if BYUtv doesn’t get blacked out and Fox Sports games do, then GU’s getting screwed. Again.
http://twitter.com/larevblog
http://larevblog.wordpress.com/
Well we dont have our own network..
Im sure if we had a deal with Turner Network or something along those lines we would be able to do the same thing, the bottom line is BYU is going to strengthen our confrence in every sport they play so why not let the rest of our confrence teams get exposure in other ways that we didnt have before, I have no problem with it.
I havent really had a problem watching Gonzaga games on national TV no matter where I was stationed, try being a WSU fan and then we can talk about not seeing your team play.
Unless I’m totally missing the connection you’re trying to make, I don’t see how a deal with Turner would be different from one with Fox Sports. Enlighten me?
And, maybe you live within a designated 10-state area that’s exempted from the ESPN blackout. I live on the East Coast and have been blacked out since the deal was signed.
And, if I were a Coug fan, not being able to see my team play on TV would be the least of my problems.
http://twitter.com/larevblog
http://larevblog.wordpress.com/
@larevblog Clearly we dont have the following to have our own network
So I said… Im sure if we had a deal with Turner Network or something along those lines we would be able to do the same thing. That means if we had a network independently to show games on that werent nationally televised then im sure no one in the confrence would have a problem with that as it helps with exposure in the confrence.
Also I was in North Carolina for 5 years and never had any problems watching Gonzaga, I just have to stay up past my bedtime.
Shame on you for making comments about WAZZU… shame on you.
No, see...
There was a network that showed games that weren’t nationally televised; it was called Fox Sports Northwest. That deal was signed by Gonzaga independently of the WCC.
http://twitter.com/larevblog
http://larevblog.wordpress.com/
I never had a problem when I lived on the east coast, did they change recently?
Does Fox not show the replays of the games shot locally?
Sorry to be terse...
But for the billionth time, it changed two years ago when the WCC signed its deal with ESPN.
http://twitter.com/larevblog
http://larevblog.wordpress.com/
Or maybe I didn't make my point very clearly
BYU decided to start their own HD TV network. They went out and built it. They got it put on 55 million people’s basic cable and dish packages. They then went to ESPN and asked if they wanted to team up. ESPN said great, let’s do it. Part of the deal is ESPN can air on their networks any BYU home football game they want. If they really like the Washington v BYU matchup, they can tell BYUtv that they’re going to play it on their network instead and BYUtv can’t play it except as a re-run. They’re partner networks working together.
Gonzaga may have a deal with Fox Sports and they may have a deal with ESPN, but Fox Sports and ESPN don’t have a deal. They’re competators. If ESPN wants to make part of the deal with Gonzaga that Fox Sports can only air their games in certain states, and Gonzaga agrees to that, then that’s their choice. Or, they can build their own TV network, get it on cable and dish, and then go to ESPN and see if they want to partner up. That’s also their choice.
Don't trust this guy. He lies.
No!
The ESPN deal was made with the WCC, not Gonzaga. The WCC would have to allow BYU an exemption in order to show the non-ESPN games nationally/globally on BYUtv. If they grant this to BYU, they have to also grant it to Gonzaga. Whether or not BYU created its own network with its LDS money is irrelevant until the Vatican steps in and funds an all-Gonzaga, all-the-time network.
http://twitter.com/larevblog
http://larevblog.wordpress.com/
But BYU wasn't part of that original deal
And the restriction is on Fox Sports not on BYUtv. The reason BYU left the MWC was because they were tired of the horrible TV deal worked out by the MWC and how so many of their fans couldn’t see them play. Plus, ESPN and BYUtv are partners, so it would make sense they wouldn’t place the same restrictions on BYUtv that they have on Fox Sports. So again, if Gonzaga wants to start their own network, I’m sure ESPN would be more than willing to work out a deal with them.
BTW, I completely understand your frustration. As I said before, the MWC has one of the worst TV deals in college sports. I live 30 minute from BYU and there were you few years I couldn’t watch very many of BYU’s games because they were played on The Mtn and Dish Network didn’t carry The Mtn. Talk about frustrating.
Don't trust this guy. He lies.
As far as I know, ESPN owns exclusive broadcast rights to nationally-televised WCC games. The Fox College Sports package I got from Comcast fell under this, thus, I was blacked out. Unless there’s a loophole such as the one you mentioned (BYU was not part of the WCC when the conference signed with ESPN), it seems like BYUtv falls under (or at least should fall under) that same category.
Who knows, though. I hope BYUtv gets its exemption and I hope Gonzaga does, too. That we can watch less games now than we could two years ago is, I think, the stupidest thing to come from GU’s relationship with the WCC, and that’s saying something.
http://twitter.com/larevblog
http://larevblog.wordpress.com/
I can't imagine why BYUtv won't be able to show games
That’s the whole reason BYU left the MWC. It wasn’t for the money, although that helps, and it wasn’t to better position themselves for a BCS conference. It was because they were fed up with their fans not being able to watch them play because of the truly horrible TV deal the MWC has. BYU signed an 8 year deal with ESPN that gives ESPN the rights to every football home game, but BYUtv can air any game ESPN doesn’t want. I’d be shocked if they didn’t have something similar worked out in basketball.
But again, I feel your pain and know how frustrating it can be. Is there no other way to watch it, like an online feed?
Don't trust this guy. He lies.
If so, good for them...
My point all along was that Gonzaga needs to stand up for itself and get its games back to being broadcast nationally and not just regionally.
http://twitter.com/larevblog
http://larevblog.wordpress.com/
I've said it before
What’s good for the conference is good for Gonzaga. I love the addition of BYU, since it strengthens the talent pool.
I really hope SU and Pacific don’t join, that would be a big step backwards.
Nice for WCC
Nice that the WCC grabbed a new school. It will benefit the conference and Gonzaga to have another good school.
Down the road, say 5-8 years, Seattle U may join the WCC. That wouldn’t be so good for Gonzaga, but who knows where the program will be by then?
Josh Normand
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