Greetings from a BYU fan

by urnext on Sep 2, 2010 10:06 AM PDT

I want to start by saying most BYU fans I've talked to are excited about the change and looking forward to playing Gonzaga twice a year. I know some fans are sceptical about BYU but it's nice to see the mostly positive reception, although I'm not sure how long those positive feelings will last. In the MWC, and the WAC before it, BYU was the team everyone loved to hate. I'm sure everyone here can relate to that since Gonzaga fills that roll for the WCC.

But BYU is more than just a football school, and to a lesser extant, a basketball school. They have great teams in every sport. Since the MWC was first created 11 years ago, BYU has won a conference championship in all 19 sports except women's golf. All together they've won a total of 118 conference championships, while Utah comes in a distant second with 45 conference championships. Their best year was in 00-01 when BYU won 16 of the 19 MWC championships, and they've never won less than 8.

Of course basketball is king in the WCC. BYU plays in the Mariot Center which seats 22,700 fans and you can bet it will be sold out when Gonzaga comes to town. Their was a brief period in the mid 90's when mens basketball fell off a bit, but eventually they came back. Under Dave Rose, who took over in 2005, BYU has never missed the NCAA tournament. They even managed to get past the first round, which they'd struggled with for a while. All together BYU has had 82 winning seasons, 26 conference titles, 21 NCAA appearances, 10 NIT appearances, and two NIT championships, including 1951 when the NIT was seen as an equal to the NCAA championship.

As for the concern that BYU will only stay for a few years before leaving for greener pastures, I'd say don't be too sure. For over 30 years BYU has been trying to get into one of the top conferences and they haven't done it yet. What's to say that sometime in the next few years that will change. Don't be too surprised if BYU is still here 30 years from now and you're loving to hate them just as everyone from their past conferences have done.

This post does not reflect the views of the blog authors or SB Nation.

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Looking forward

I’m looking forward to the increased competition your school is going to bring and see a great rivalry developing between our teams.

by firezag on Sep 2, 2010 10:31 AM PDT reply actions

I'll be honest

I have been cruising some of the SB sites (like Mountain West Connection) and I am curious what exactly you guys have done to those other schools to deserve the amount of vitriol that is being spewed at your school.

by opooos on Sep 2, 2010 5:05 PM PDT reply actions

A few thing are going on

The MWC desperately wants to become a BCS league. When Utah left it was right after Boise St said they were joining, so the loss of Utah hurt but Boise St basically offset that loss. But BYU leaving kills any shot the MWC had of joining the BCS. That’s a tough pill to swallow when it seemed for a while that the MWC would be able to qualify. Plus it came out of the blue. We had known for a while that Utah might get invited to the Pac-10, but BYU going independent came as a complete surprise.

The thing most people point to as an example of BYU’s underhanded ways was that they were involved with the WAC in geting them to sign the $5 million buyout penelty. The way BYU sees it, they did’t want to put their non-football teams in the WAC only to find the WAC raided by the MWC. But those who are upset at BYU see it as BYU trying to block the MWC from replacing them with at least a decent team.

But probably the best way to understand the venom being spewed at BYU is to ask yourself how the rest of the WCC would feel if Gonzaga, out of the blue, anounced they were leaving. I’m sure it wouldn’t be pretty. BYU is the game that every team circles on their calander, and now they’re gone.

Don't trust this guy. He lies.

by urnext on Sep 2, 2010 8:24 PM PDT up reply actions

Well they are just going to have to get over it . . .

The consensus from what I have read is that the Pac 10 (12) was able to improve with Utah/Colorado, the WCC was able to improve with BYU, and the Mtn West failed with Fresno and Nevada. BBall wise the Mtn West is in trouble I think (who knows football wise), Nevada is a decent program but Fresno is horrendous and Boise St (led by former GU assistant Leon Rice) is a rebuilding process but at the same time they lose you guys and Utah.

As far as the venom is concerned it seems rather personal that’s all. My honest opinion is that you guys were more than qualified to go to the PAC but they came up with some BS excuse that they are all research oriented academic institutions . . . I have no idea what that has to do with conference affiliation but whatever . . . welcome to the WCC.

by opooos on Sep 2, 2010 9:40 PM PDT up reply actions

This is another aside here . . .

but Utah is a quality football program (they have a rebuilding BBall program) but how is Colorado a good addition to the Pac? Their football program hasnt been relevant in decades and their basketball program is nothing to shout about either. They aimed for Texas and got a cast off from the Big 12 and a Mtn West School. Not necessarily bad, but a disappointment nonetheless.

by opooos on Sep 2, 2010 9:58 PM PDT up reply actions

Thanks for the welcome

Like I said before, every BYU fan I’ve talked to is excited about the mens BB team playing the other WCC teams, especially Gonzaga. I’m pretty sure the Pac-10 chose Colorado because it gives them a new TV market. Even when they were talking about Texas, Colorado was still going to be one of the teams to join. It doesn’t make sense from a quality program standpoint, but TV money seems to matter more than increasing the level of competition.

As for the MWC in BB. They still have SDSU, UNLV, and New Mexico so I think they’ll still get multiple bids most seasons. Probably 2 on average while occasionally getting 3. Although it will probably be some time before they get 4 bids like they had last season. And as for as BYU is concerned, in the end I’m still really happy with the way things worked out, and I think they’re in a much better situation than before. Can’t wait to watch us play you in the Marriott Center.

Don't trust this guy. He lies.

by urnext on Sep 2, 2010 10:33 PM PDT up reply actions