Comments about ‘Myriad factors nipping at MWC’

you're assuming of course that Utah wins out in their scenario. Escaping Fort Collins with a win is no cake-walk for the Utes.. remember last year? San Diego is just plain bad. Postponing the BYU game is just delaying the inevitable. The league championship is a battle between BYU and the winner of New Mexico/Air Force. Utah is out of it.

The whole conference is inevitably doomed if we don't get out of the TV contract. No exposure = no recruits. Back in the day with the games on KSL and rebroadcasts on KBYU we were seen throughout the region at least. It was great marketing because we created fans. Now the fans have to search, beg, and pay through the nose to get a sniff of BYU football. Many will find something else to do and the excitement around BYU football will wane. We're doomed...

Out of sight...out of mind. Not only long time fans, but the national media as well.

This could well become a business school text case on how poor management decisions and greed destroys a once viable product (the MWC).

No longer viable, but consigned to the same level as division II programs.

Sad, but true.

If you want to be a top 25 team at this point in the season outside of a major conference you better only have 0 or 1 loss.

The MWC tv deal is killing any national exposure needed to climb in the polls. The fact that all games played in a mwc venue will be on the mtn or cstv or vs if they are lucky just ensures the conference won't ever get any national exposure/respect.

In Utah's Fiesta Bowl run their wins over cal oregon A&m were on ESPN. And yes it was hard to watch ESPN's man crush on Urban Meyer but it definately helped them in the rankings.

Exposure like that will never be available under this TV contract.

I cannot understand why the media and MWC hopefulls haven't tried to find out who made the disasterous decision to pretty much remove MWC games from national and most regional TV. Who made such a really foolish decision when the stated goals by at least some of the conference members was to increase national exposure and to increase fan loyalty. Playing footsie with Comcast only benefits Comcast. The Conference sold out but why isn't someone asking exactly who is behind the sellout and WHY. Were there any personal benefits traded by those decision makers? If not it seems to me there is a really good case for getting better management in decision making jobs.

Unless the MWC dumps the TV contract with TheMtn, the whole conference will be D-II sports, not only football, but basketball, etc. What a joke!
Too bad our teams have no exposure thanks to a BAD decision by the so called leaders.
Good luck MWC, a once proud conference.
GO UTES!

Stinkin' mtn . . . Thanks for nothing.
Go MWC, but without Craig Thompson.

Can you believe the utter gall by the MWC to try to cover their incompetence by putting ads on tv telling BYU and Utah fans to call their satellite providers and DEMAND the 'mtn'?

Apparently you need some education in contracts 101. You can't just dump them; that's why its called a contract. Lawsuits of breach of contract will follow. You can buy it out but I'm guessing that would be a lot of money or it would have been done by now. As stated above, it is bad management because they should have put a clause in the contract that if the MTN does not do certain things like sign with Direct TV, etc. then the MWC could opt out. However; it could be voided if both parties agree. BYU and Utah should threaten to leave the conference, even if they go back to the WAC if negotiations are not made soon. New Mexico, CSU and UNLV are the same as Hawaii, Nevada, and other mid-WAC teams right? And you get Boise State.

Once again. The only way to get out of this TV contract prior to its own expiration is to pull out of the MWC and form a new conference. This time leave Commissioner Thompson in Denver out of the picture.

"2 loss teams | 9:51 a.m. Oct. 25, 2007
If you want to be a top 25 team at this point in the season outside of a major conference you better only have 0 or 1 loss."

That is very true. Even Boise State is still fighting to get in the top 25 with 1 loss. They sit around #29 depending on which poll you look at. If Utah, BYU, Air Force, and BSU keep winning they could all be ranked by the end of the season but like you say its tough right now to be considered for the top 25. Foxsports.com is especially brutal to non-BSC teams. They have MWC teams ranked 50+ and even Hawaii is at like #42.

The MWC saw $ signs. They didn't really think this through. They just assumed that the cable companies and satellite networks would pick up the station. So, really, the MWC "sold out." They made a bad choice by going for the TV money instead of competing for BCS money like the other non-bcs schools. Had they stayed with the ESPN contract they woudl have much more exposure and a 1 loss team from the MWC would consistently be in the discussion for one of the BCS games. The way it sits now, a one loss MWC team (not that we have one) doesn't get serious consideration for a top 25 ranking because of the lack of exposure through media (especially TV.) An undefeated MWC team would pretty much be a shoe-in for a BCS bowl bid.

Is the mtn contract 7 years? So, in 5 years MWC football will be obsolete and we won't even get offered a big money contract again, no recruits, and no exposure. We will be on the same status as Div II football or Ivy League. It's obvious that the "brain power" of the MWC isn't on par with the Ivy League.

frosted,, I think its pretty dumb as well. I think we should shift it to calling the MWC office and annoying them rather than a comcast or satellite employee in India who knows nothing of the Mtn!

I saw on KJZZ last night they broadcast an interview that they did with Commissioner Thompson. He said that a week ago the satelite providers contacted them and they had an opportunity to extend coverage to add satelite coverage in the 7 western states where teams are (all except texas). He claimed that the Presidents and Athletic Directors of the universities in the conference want nothing less than national coverage.

Why? I don't see why they wouldn't want the mtn on satellite in 7 states. The last time I checked 7 was more than 0. More coverage is more coverage. Why not take the 7 now and continue negotiating for the other 43. That just doesn't make any sense to me to turn it down all together.

To whoever made the decision to turn this down:
Thanks a lot for passing by an opportunity to extend the coverage of mtn west games, you're really helping the conference out I'm sure.

To HA -
The TDS will lose 2 more MWC games and the Utes will be the victor in one of those losses. GO UTES!
To Opportunity lost -
Can you really believe anything that 'Hair' Thompson says? He is the primary architect of the disasterous TV contract. Utah and TDS must rid themselves of this conference and thus the ridiculous TV contract.
Chris Hill and Tom Holmoe must spend every waking moment on a new conference affiliation for the 2 premier athletic programs in the MWC. In this instance they must work together for their mutual advantage. Failure to do so will relegate them to the status of no significance on the national athletic scene. That would be a shame for these 2 storied institutions. In this instance - GO UTES and go kewgers!

First, BYU should be in a conference. Conferences are usually tied to Bowl games and Bowl money. True, BYU has actually lost money by going to a bowl or two--but generally they are money-makers for the entire sports department. Plus, being a conference Champion provides motivation for players.

Secondly, BYU is unique because of the LDS church and its growing membership---while the Utah media hates to admit it, BYU's fan base continues to grow because the LDS membership continues to grow. BYU's fan base is slowly, but surely becoming international. The same could NOT be said for most teams across the country--certainly not most teams in the conference, except for Air Force---which is a weak argument for "international," fan base

Finally, Craig Thompson is under the direction of the confernece presidents, not his own agenda. However, his ability to read and forcast the Comcast and Satellite TV deal shows ineptitude. Unfortunately for him, he is the fall guy and will probably need to be fired. My guess is BYU and Utah are looking to either another conference and/or creating another conference which includes Boise State, Fresno State, TCU, UTEP, UNLV and maybe even San Jose State and Hawaii.

Dissolve MWC, ditch Wyoming (they have to win 8 games to go to a bowl), add two top tier WAC (Boise St., Fresno St.) and C-USA (UTEP and Houston) teams to weaken these conferences and create a super-mid-major conference.
New tv contract with ESPN, CSTV, whomever. New teams bring potentially 8+ million viewers.
Championship game will bring $ and exposure.
Close geography= insignificant increase in travel costs. Also,added teams in CA and TX= better recruits.
Realistically only chance of getting into BCS as 7th conference.
Basketball will be better too.
However, how do we convince the University Presidents who have rebuffed BSU on multiple occassiions and got us into the tv mess?

Speaking of weak arguments...where are you from? I admit I am a LDS U grad and worked out of state after graduation. The LDS football fans do not care about BYU football unless they went to BYU. Most cheer for their alma matter or home team. So, your 'fan base' should really be called 'church base'; in fact, your whole second paragraph has nothing to do with football. Internationally, where I have also lived, they care about soccer; football is unique to America.

Who ever made this lame TV package for the MWC ought to be drop kicked out of any kind of management positiion. The MWC is dying a slow death right infront of our eyes and no one is doing anything to stop it. ESPN is laughing their heads off at us while the WAC, who had the wisdom to stay with ESPN, is growing stronger. Its sad to watch, and must be even more painful for the players in the MWC who play their hearts out in total obscurity. Nice move oh wise ones, nice move.

Coach C: Why should anyone who joins the LDS church automatically be a BYU fan?? Not all Catholics are Notre Dame fans. I have many RM friends that hate BYU, does that make them bad-mormons?? Your arguement is insulting to any LDS member that isn't a "sheep".