Report: Utah State turned down MWC membership

In an college sports landscape where there is seemingly less honor and dignity by the day, Utah State appears to have stood strong by a commitment it made to schools in the same boat the Aggies were in.

The result, now, appears to be two of those shipmates shooting holes in the bottom and then abandoning ship in the only available lifeboat while the others stayed behind.

For as long as anyone can remember Utah State has been hoping to get an invitation to join a conference such as the Mountain West.

When one finally came, the Aggies said "No, thank you."

In a stunning development, Utah State athletic director Scott Barnes acknowledged the Mountain West initiated contact with USU about joining the conference.

"When the possibility of BYU leaving became known, MWC leadership contacted three WAC members inquiring about their interest in joining the MWC. Utah State was the first of these three contacts," Barnes, who did not return numerous phone calls and text messages Wednesday and Thursday, said in an open letter. "At the point in time when Utah State was contacted by the MWC we had a binding agreement with the WAC and were well positioned with nine members, which included BYU. We were simply committed to uphold our agreement with fellow WAC members. We respectfully declined MWC interest and believed all WAC members would remain committed to our agreement."

That show of loyalty — at least for now — has turned around to bite the Aggies in the backside.

It all started in June, shortly after Utah was invited to join the Pac-10 and BYU was left behind. The Cougars, unhappy with lackluster TV revenue from the MWC, began exploring their options. One of which was going independent in football.

The Mountain West, which did not want to lose its football cash cow, fought the move. BYU, with USU's help, had brokered an alliance of sorts with the WAC as a home for non-football sports to go along with a scheduling cooperation in football.

The eight WAC schools, seeking to prevent further defections after Boise State bailed out for the MWC as a replacement for Utah, then agreed on a $5 million buyout clause. Seven of those schools signed it, and Nevada — whose president, Milt Glick, was not on the conference call when it was discussed — pledged to do so the next day. Glick never actually got around to signing the paper, though.