Comments about ‘Utah State has paid price for standing pat’

What dropped the quality of players going to Utah State is intigration. African-American players who couldn't even enroll at some schools, much less be an athlete,came to Utah State. I don't think too many schools in the West could attract a MacArther lane or Altie Taylor today. It has taken a while to see those effects. Basketball is another story because one or two premium players can change a teams fortune.

I don't know if that is a correct statement, but it sounds like this guy has something against african-american players. If anything, we have seen that they are great athletes and have done things that other players could not do.

I applaude the Utes for finally seeing the light. It is a no win situation every time Utah lines up against the Aggies. Tomorrow's game will once again show the huge disparity in the quality of the programs - and the reason Utah should no longer schedule USU.

Utah is big time now and needs to be playing big time programs. Sorry Aggies, but you do not qualify.

Biggest hindrance in keeping things moving was the successful and concerted efforts of BYU and Utah to keep Utah State out of the WAC when they were in the WAC. If you don't believe it, ask LaDell Anderson.

What happened to USU is that the old Skyline Conference of which USU was a member was disbanded. Utah and BYU became part of the WAC and USU was not allowed to join. USU was then without a strong conference affiliation. USU tried numerous times to gain entrance to the WAC but was denied. This affected recruiting, scheduling, etc. Not always, if ever, were BYU and Utah supportive of USU's efforts to join the WAC. BYU and Utah then left the WAC to become part of the MWC.

USU tried numerous times over the ensuing years to find a conference fit, but nothing very desirable was available, as the WAC was for Utah and BYU.

So USU has paid a price....but not always of their own choosing. Perhaps now with Gary Anderson, the football program can be resurrected to join an already strong basketball program. Perhaps in the not to distant future USU will again be perceived as having a strong athletic program

He's not saying anything negative about African-Americans. It is a well documented fact that before integration teams like Alabama under Bear Bryant (and everyone else in the SEC) passed on some of the best players in the country because they were black. These players couldn't play in the South but were readily welcomed in other areas of the country. Teams like Michigan State (and even the Aggies) thrived off a steady stream of some of the SEC's best prospective athletes. After integration those same athletes could play in the South. Today, Alabama wouldn't dream of passing on the best running back in the state because of his color--but it happened all the time before integration.

Brad, there's another reason you didn't mention in your article. When USU was in its football glory days, they routinely beat up on the Y and the U! When the new WAC was formed, USU was left out, was not invited to join. It was NOT an oversight. No one will ever convince me that the U and the Y didn't conspire to keep the Aggies out so they didn't have to compete/recruit against them! It didn't have an immediate effect, but over the years it allowed the Utes and Cougs to increase in prominence while the Aggies decreased.

Not mentioning being frozen out of the WAC by BYU and Utah is a serious omission and really destroys the credability of the whole column. The decline of Utah State's fortunes started when this happened which was not their fault. Not mentioning this would be like writing an article about BYU football success and leaving out the influence of Lavell Edwards. Just plain bad journalism.

I agree 100% with No More. Furthermore, Utah should be in the PAC 10 playing teams equal to its abilities. Playing teams like Utah State, Weber State, Wyoming and even BYU is a joke.

The series isn't taking a year off because the "Utes are finally seeing the light". They have an opportunity to play at Notre Dame next year and decide to go for it. It has nothing to do with competition or not liking the series. Go Utes.

When I was at USU I remember hearing a guess speaker. I cannot remember his name, but he was the first African American to graduate from USU. One thing I remember was the fact that when he graduated his mom had a hard time finding a place to stay for the ceremony because the campus and many of the local hotels would not allow a black women to stay there. This included the hotel that is on campus.

I understand your comment about the Provo parochial menace, Scott . . . but what've you got against the Weebes?

You are kind of ignoring the fact that U of U and BYU formed a new conference some 40 years ago and voted USU out because they were tired of losing to them.

USU being shut out of the WAC lead to a long and steady downward trend that left them where they are now. It will take some time to get back, but it will happen.

I am interested in how you construe playing BYU is a joke. Let me hear you make an intelligent argument regarding your inflammatory statement. Statements like that tend to make you look stupid, ill informed, and not worth anymore of my time.

Utah getting into the Pac 10 is about as likely as USU joining the MWC.

Its a good thing the ags and the utes wont be playing until 2012, this break will give the ags a chance to continue to build their football program to a competative level. Making this rivalry interesting for the first time in years.

Wow, and Ute fans complain about BYU fans letting things go to their heads! You're in for a rude awakening this year when your team goes 8-4 and loses to BYU, aren't you?

You might all remember Glen Tuckett, a very successful BYU baseball coach, who also went on to become BYU's athletic director. He told me in a recruiting interview that Utah State would "cease to be relevant" because they would not get into the "new" WAC. (As you might guess, that was a long time ago.) That could have just been insider information, or it could be that BYU was actively involved in making it happen, I don't know. In any event, that was the beginning of the end for USU. It made perfect sense both geographically and program strength-wise for USU to have been in the WAC. I think it was obvious back then, that athletic politics played a large role in USU being left out and left behind.

The WAC freeze-out was from Ernie Wilkinson at byu. He's the one who wanted to block USU's admission to the WAC.

Your program at the "U" just isn't of the quality you think they are yet! If, and only if they can do this same thing as last year and the previous few years then and only then will they be considered an elite program. You must be a "Now Generation Pup" with no idea of where your program has been the past 30 years. Instant success does not get you to the national elite level, only productivity at a top level for 10 years or more will. So get off your "High" horse and get a dose of reality dreamer.