BYU, Utah should be on Pac-10's short list

After watching the BYU and Utah football teams handle their respective Pac-10 opponents in the Las Vegas and Poinsettia bowl games last week, I couldn't help but wonder ...

If (and when) the Pacific-10 Conference considers expanding to 12 teams, could the Cougars and/or Utes be the ones who'll get invited to come aboard?

It makes perfect sense for Utah and BYU to, at the very least, be on the short list of prospective expansion schools. After all, when it comes to football, the Utes and Cougs have certainly shown that they can more than hold their own with teams from that Bowl Championship Series conference over the past few years.

Since 2003, Utah has compiled an impressive 7-3 overall record against members of the Pac-10, capped by a come-from-behind victory over California in Wednesday night's Poinsettia Bowl, where the Utes fell behind 14-0 before rallying for a 37-27 win.

And in the five years since Bronco Mendenhall took over as the Cougars' head coach, they're 5-4 against Pac-10 teams, including a 3-2 record in bowl games — with all five postseason appearances taking place in Las Vegas. The last one came on Tuesday when they steamed past nationally ranked Oregon State 44-20.

Utah and BYU also have strong, proven programs in men's and women's basketball, and both schools are solid if not outstanding across the board in volleyball, soccer, baseball, golf, tennis, swimming, gymnastics, track and cross country.

And with the big-money BCS possibilities and much greater TV revenues that would come with playing in the Pac-10, who could blame them for not wanting to leave the Mountain West for a shot at that higher-profile league?

But athletics certainly aren't the only consideration when it comes to a conference possibly expanding its membership. Things like the size of a school's TV market, its academic reputation, geographic location, facilities and national image all come into play when it comes time for conferences to consider who they might want to add.

And, like it or not, BYU's steadfast "never on Sunday" philosophy could very well work against the school when it comes to potential suitors. But when it comes to conference affiliation and potential expansion, there are almost as many rumors floating around out there as there are regarding Tiger Woods' love life.

One source says that, should the Pac-10 expand, it would invite Utah and the University of Colorado — not BYU — to jump ship and join up. That, in turn, would leave the Big 12 in need of another school, and BYU has been prominently mentioned as a potential replacement for Colorado in the Big 12.