Comments about ‘Dick Harmon: Time ticking down on BYU, Utah and MWC’

Dick you hit it out of the park with this one! Way to go Dick! We love you Dick! Who doesn't love Dick?

good riddance. I won't even shed a tear. Now if Des News could only find a way to ban Hedgehog from posting on BYU articles....all would be great!

"Utah and BYU outgrew the Mountain West."

That's pretty darn true. I think BYU especially outgrew it, winning 140 championships to Utah's 49. Maybe now AFA and Wyoming can have a chance to succeed and win some metal. I only really started following sports after my mission in the 2000's and I never really knew the old WAC conference. It will be sad to look at conference standings and see neither school in the MWC column.

That being said, I think most people felt they were going their own ways after the NCAA tournament ended (or when Jimmer was drafted 10th!). I feel BYU ended on a higher note winning championships in men's and women's bball, softball, and men's tennis. Utah won no conference championships this year in the MWC. If the MWC was tough, I can't imagine it being any easier in their new conference with even more teams.

It is a great year for college sports in Utah. The sky is the limit for both of them.

Like a boomerang child, BYU will be back on the MTN. when they play MWC teams on the road.

Howard, if Utah can't win MWC conference championships because BYU is winning them all (140 to 49 is definitely NOT a small margin), and then Utah goes to the PAC and starts winning conference championships, what does that say about BYU?

When is the state of Utah declaring independence day? I know the Pac-12 Celebration Day is July 1. It will be a great day for all Utahns.

So, BYU won a lot of championships in sports and events that no one cares about--most of which their fellow conference mates either don't compete in, or don't fund with any significance--and did it by such a wide margin that they decided to *take their talents* to an easier, lesser conference where the competition in these sports will be even more paltry? So, they'll "dominate" an even worse conference by an even wider margin all because they "outgrew" their current one? Did I get that right?

Then, they outgrew a conference where, in football, they've won a whopping two conference championships in the last decade, and none since 2007? All to go independent so they can schedule a similar schedule to the the type they've had for the last 30 years, but now, there is no conference championship to play for?

All of this so they can get more money to fund sports that they're supposedly dominating at a conference level, and give the football team nothing to play for after their first loss (which will come quickly in their now front-loaded schedules).

What am I missing?

Howard S.

"Like a boomerang child, BYU will be back on the MTN. when they play MWC teams on the road."

Gotta laugh at the sheer irony of your post when you consider that Utah's PAC 12 debut at USC will be televised on good old MWC partner... VERSUS!

BYU escaped from the MTN into the waiting arms of ESPN.

Utah escaped from the MTN into the waiting arms of VERSUS.

BYU's backup broadcaster is its own state-of-the-art HD television studio already hardwired to the Marriott Center and LES and already included in the basic tier of cable stations available in over 60 million homes.

Utah's backup broadcaster is the PAC 12's version of the MTN, still in development and only available by subscription, if available at all.

BYU Independence = seven games on ESPN in its first season

Utah PAC 12 Dependence = completely ignored by ESPN (except when U play the Y)

BYU had almost 3 times as many championships as Utah and Utah had 11 more than UNLV, so it was more like BYU outgrowing the league a long time ago. If this expansion was dictated on what happens athletically, decided by the AD's, BYU would have been invited to the Pac a long time ago. BYU could win national championships in football and bball and they stil would not be invited to the PAC 10 due to cultural concerns by the university presidents whose primary interests reside outside of sports. I hope the Utes continue represent the state and make us proud in the Pac 12 and I hope BYU thrives with the variety and exposure that they are seeking.

Yes, the one common element is both teams are moving on. But to compare the decision to go independent versus being invited to join a BCS conference is not even remotely close to share in the same story. Utah is the first team to do this, go from non-BCS to BCS, and they very much deserved this honor. Good luck in being independent, but it is not, repeat not, even in the same realm of accomplishments, nor should they be combined in the same article. Utes being in the Pac-12 is a huge deal, going independent is just a risk, that didn't change the prestige or status at all.

One last dig by Dick. Good riddance to MWC. To each their own.

re Howard S.

Sadly, even exposure on the MTN will be more than utah gets this coming year.

1st and foremost....any school in the MWC would have jumped at the opportunity Utah has....yBu I have no idea what you are thinking......

Prediction for these two schools:
Utah football: if eligible will always play in Las Vegas or Albuquerque...so much for leaving the MWC
Utah Baseketball: Your coach is gone...8 years ago!!!!!
Utah Baseball: Dream on!

yBu football: your not Norte Dame, will never be Norte Dame....see you in 5 years, when you limp back into MWC!
yBu basketball: the WCC only gets 1 school a year in the tourney? You will have to win the conference tourney every year to get in....good luck in Sin City!!!!

Can't wait for the butt kickin to commence! 1st up SC on Sept. 10!!!!

Go Trojans!!!!!

adios mtn, I mean wac. can't wait for big boy ball.

Congratulations to both Utah and BYU. I never thought I'd see the day that a Utah school would be in a BCS conference. I do suspect that BYU will land in the Big-12 someday. It doesn't make much sense for BYU to be playing in the WCC for very long. I suspect this will get old really fast as they play in high school sized gyms, etc. I'm also hoping to see Utah State get into the MWC. It doesn't make much sense for the MWC to have a big hole in its center by not having a Utah team with at least a portion of the Utah TV market. The same dynamic growth of the state of Utah that helped propel the Utes to prominence is also at work with the Aggies as we see them rapidly improving their overall athletics. They definatately belong in the MWC which should grow to a 12 team league with a football playoff. I suspect it will just be a matter of time before the Aggies land on their feet in the MWC. The key is they need to show some real improvement in football this fall.

149 BYU conference championships to 40 for the Utes? And ANY Ute fan is going to try and convince us BYU fans who is and who isn't the "little brother"? As Jim McMahon so eloquently put it.... "SCOREBOARD!"

No question BYU dominated the conference. The Utes? Not so much. So you Ute fans can all save your drivel about how the PAC-1 chose the "Mighty Utes" due to their "superiority" in athletics. Thankfully, the Utes started pulling their own weight towards the end of their tenure in the MWC, but for all you Ute fans too young to remember, it's been BYU pretty much from day one.

"When is the state of Utah declaring independence day?"

I'm sure byu will have no problem in changing the meaning of July forth and using it for a more "important" cause.

Bottom line: BYU is going Independence for exposure.

And Utah is going to Pac-12 for AQ status.

Don't worry Dick, I'm sure you'll get a chance to visit with the Mountain West buddies again when Utah State joins the league. If we don't hear any news this summer then it will happen next year.