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Byu Football

August 19, 2010 by · Comments Off on Byu Football 

Byu Football, In a move that came out of nowhere, the word leaked last night BYU was opting to go independent in football, joining the likes of Notre Dame, Army and Navy. All this happened very fast, with a few tweets becomes a snowball effect leading to the confirmation this morning. Now, it seems that this movement has been in the making for quite some time.

Jeremy Mauss in connection MWC broke the news yesterday with the story. You should give an idea of how quickly went from rumor confirmed.

The MWC conference has never been profitable for their institutions. They boast a TV contract that has been in a poor and 1.5 million per school, regardless of quality football being played. Utah and TCU have had tremendous seasons each in the last five years and the conference itself was on the verge of an automatic qualifying bid in the BCS.

With Utah and BYU both leaving, not only is that dead sleep, but the conference itself may be obsolete. What a difference a few months. If the Big 12 had collapsed, the MWC was in a position to collect some of the teams, to steal a BCS AQ label, and will probably become a bigger player nationally. All this is out the window.

After the jump, I’ll break down how it all happened and television put the wheels in motion.

To be clear, the transition to independence is only for football. The rest of BYU sports will join the WAC. It is also very likely that BYU has a lot of games are against WAC teams, cut all ties with the CTM.

There have been plenty of rumors that MWC teams have been unhappy with the current TV offering. The conference has gained a lot of national recognition, but has not opted for that better TV deals for its members. With BYU, TCU and Utah, should not be so hard to do. Instead, while the Big 6 conferences continued to sign contracts inflated television, CTM has continued to lag behind.

On the surface, seemed BYU was always going to be left behind in the expansion of the conference. It was clear that the Pac-10 does not want them, opting instead to pick Utah. The stigma that comes along with religious affiliation was too strong and the polarization of the Pac-10 to their full consideration. The option of independence was the right decision for BYU.

Without a conference to call home – and the subsequent agreement is television – BYU needed assurances that they would receive the revenues of the television all NCAA schools so desperately wants. ESPN – who else? – Was the decisive factor Brigham Young University is moving away from the CTM and independence.

Therefore, not that. Once more, broadcasters stuck his hands in the expansion and made things happen. Greg Wrubell also indicates the reason why ESPN is ahead of everyone else in the reporting of the story is derived according to ESPN BYU. They knew this would happen, because they had been orchestrated. This is what happens when ESPN – for the eight millionth time – becomes history.

It frustrates me to no end that a news organization creates its own stories to insert themselves in situations like these. It seems more than immoral that a network can reach an agreement and break the news at the same time.

In addition, it makes me more uncomfortable than TV networks are controlling the landscape of college sports. ESPN paid the money SEC silence – and 2 billion dollars of it – to retain the rights to SEC football and stop the possibility that the Fox network will SEC. They continued to pay more for the ACC. Finally, ESPN stepped in and saved the Big 12. All this seems a terrible conflict of interest and a road in the NCAA should not be heading down.

When we reset conference was finally over, BYU ran into the room drunk at 3 am and tried to restart the game. What is likely to continue is another chain reaction of events, this time in lower-level conferences.

Remember when Boise State joined the CTM few months ago? You can call back carry. The Broncos can move back to the WAC without penalty and it is likely they will do well.

In the CTM, teams must be struggling to find a landing area. TCU Will Beebe join the brigade of idiots in the Big 12? How many teams will pick the WAC? How much fun is Robb Akey mocked mercilessly Boise State? We’ll find out, and is likely to find very soon.

Finally, BYU becoming an independent sample that none of the universities could perhaps make the change. USC would threaten the independence as a bargaining chip in the new Pac-12. Texas can take their ball and go home whenever they want in the near future if they so wish. Instead of Notre Dame forced to join a conference, other schools may well opt out of conference and join the Irish freedom.

One thing is certain: it was not only surprising but also a frightening precedent. If the television networks like ESPN is allowing – and even encourage – the schools to opt for his lectures, offering decent TV deals, there could be some big dominoes falling. Stay tuned because the NCAA football landscape resembles the San Andreas fault line right before an earthquake.

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