BYU and the search for indepedence

Now, for most people who know me or who read my little blog, it goes without saying that I'm an idiot. I get sports stuff wrong all the time, like my 2010 MLB predictions (nice call on the Mariners) and being certain the Celtics would prevail over the Lakers in the 2010 NBA Finals.

So when I read this morning Dick Harmon's take in the Deseret News that BYU could be considering breaking from the MWC and becoming independent, I was ticked off that I hadn't thought of it. Of course this was an option.

Dick does a good job pointing out some of the reasons. To sum up, BYU has HD broadcasting capabilities, a national following, and seems to be likely to be left out of the Big 12 or any other major expansion because of its religious affiliation. So of course it's a course of action the athletic department and university leadership would consider.

It's an interesting prospect. BYU, because of its religious affiliation with the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (Mormons). There are approximately 6 million Mormons in the United States, though only a fraction of those have a passion for Brigham Young University, and only some of those care about BYU sports. Could BYU sustain itself as an independent?

In football, I think so. EPSN likes BYU because the school provides decent national TV ratings and has a national brand (as opposed to TCU, which arguably has a better program). But TCU has a very small following, while BYU has shown itself to be a national draw.

But besides potentially a slightly bigger pay day than staying with MWC football, what could the benefit be? Well, that's hard to say. With Boise State, TCU and BYU, the MWC is a borderline BCS conference. Had Utah stayed, it would have been almost impossible for the big wigs to keep the MWC out of the BCS mix without potentially risking outside innovation. The BCS should still include the MWC, but the draw isn't as strong as it would have been. On its own? BYU would have to put together a killer schedule and nearly run to the table to break into the BCS party. And with most bowl games affiliated with conferences, the postseason could be a problem.

It goes without saying that BYU would have to maintain conference affiliations for the other sports, with the MWC being the logical match in most sports.

Why wouldn't they do this? I think one of the biggest reasons Dick left out of his article. I don't think the LDS Church wants to turn BYU-TV into a sports network. Yes, BYU already has a network on satellite TV and most major cable providers. But right now it's filled with educational and religious programming. Forget, for a second, whether the satellite and cable companies will roll if they switch its non-profit mission to a sports channel. Would the Church even want to do that? Does it fill the mission of the channel? I think the likely answer is no.

I am intrigued by independence. I would love to see BYU create rivalries with Notre Dame and other national programs, and maintain rivalries with Utah and Air Force. And let's never play Utah State again.

I don't think this is likely to happen, but it's an interesting thought.