Would BYU welcome Utah into the Big 12?
Does BYU want the University of Utah in the Big 12?
That’s a question inquiring minds want to know as editors and I kicked around the question during a meeting. Afterward one of them called for my opinion.
My answer is pretty simple.
It depends upon who you ask.
Define BYU.
If you ask BYU fans, I think the majority of them would say no. That was my guess before doing a Twitter poll, and when the poll got traction on Thursday it was confirmed — albeit those kind of straw polls must be taken with a grain of salt.
If you ask BYU’s administration, comprised of the president and athletic director, they’d probably say why not? If the school is anxious to keep the mantra it had during independence — play anyone, anytime, anywhere — then why wouldn’t you want your chief rival in the league? Bring it on.
If you ask the Board of Trustees, the governing body that oversees BYU operations and the entity that would have the final say if BYU were to vote, I think the answer, from a historical perspective, would be “yes,” because it would be the neighborly thing to do.
Related
All three opinions are valid. All have their points. All have been fodder for great discussions on message boards and other social media forums.
If you just go by the greatest number of bodies who claim allegiance to BYU — the fans — the majority is a strong no. A good number of BYU fans would say they would like it, but according to my straw poll 64.5% to 35.5% would be against it. This poll had 8,391 respondents four hours into a 24-hour run.
Why?
There are a lot of reasons. Primarily, some found the Pac-12 dismissive of BYU when it expanded over a decade ago. It was the ivory tower. Elitist and snobbish. So, the thinking goes, let it all burn, Utah with it.
Many BYU fans felt Utah threw its Pac-12 membership in their faces. They point to canceled games and a perceived move by Utah administrators to “make BYU irrelevant.” Why would you reward that?
So, in a nutshell, that’s it.
In reality, and I’ve gone on the record last winter saying Utah would be a great addition to the Big 12. Its football program is a legit top-10 program under Kyle Whittingham.
TV partners put a premium on brands and rivalries. They love the passion they bring to the screen and there are few equal to the BYU-Utah rivalry. The winner would be the Big 12 as a whole.
But if you took a pulse of the answer to this question from BYU fans, I’d say they do not want Utah in their league.
They’ll also cite a small but loud group of Utah fans who have poisoned Big 12 fans toward Utah. These few have taken to social media and trashed the Big 12 in recent months. Gathering steam from places like West Virginia, Iowa, Texas and Kansas, these Ute fans have brought a huge negative cloud upon Utah as a prospective member.
Here’s a sampling of some feedback from BYU and Utah fans on my Twitter poll and elsewhere:
Stop 🛑 listening to 10% of our fanbase people!!!!! Yes, it sucks the Pac12 is imploding and it's great we are good enough to be wanted elsewhere. It's a competitive conference with great fans. #Big12
That's it!— Ute in AZ (@UtesBcrazy) August 3, 2023
Having Utah/BYU in the same conference is great for the rivalry. However, part of me would like to see how they would look in 10 years without P5. It completely changed the quality of players that they have been able to recruit. Could Utah accomplish more than BYU did with less?
— Michael Leinweber (@mleinweber) August 3, 2023
Seems like they aren’t jazzed so let them wallow in obscurity. Why should the Big12 want teams that only see them as a fall back plan?
— Byu Batman (@BatmanBYU) August 3, 2023
Strange results to me. I like the rivalry. It’s passionate and fun and means more than a normal game. Why wouldn’t you want to be in the same conference again and play every year?
— Kyle (@Haxxiom) August 3, 2023
If ASU, U of A, Utah and BYU all end up in some kind of four-team pod after all of this realignment stuff is over, it could go down as the most hated pod of all pods. Those four teams already mostly hate each other. They'd REALLY hate each other forever and ever.
— Jeff Hansen (@rakoto10) August 3, 2023
Imagine being Stanford, #1 athletic department in the nation and nobody is begging the Cardinal to join their league.
Imagine being Utah, winners of b2b Pac-12 titles & perennial top 20 program now and it isn't the obvious first expansion choice to the Big XII.— Jarom Jordan (@jaromjordan) August 3, 2023
In a microcosm, the Stanford situation (fan support at games) is a peek into why the Pac-12 is having TV contract issues and losing teams like USC, UCLA and Colorado.
I never thought Utah was too good for the Big 12. My thought was more that I was happy being in the PAC-12 and didn't want to just change for the sake of changing. I know some were more aggressive, but I think the majority of Utah fans preferred the PAC-12, not despised the Big12
— Tyler (@tc91585) August 3, 2023
A UCF fan had a genuine question about Utah in all the deliberations and social media back and forth the past few months. Writes Christian Simmons:
Can someone more familiar with west coast CFB explain to me how Utah went from a Mountain West team to a fanbase that inexplicably thinks they are too good for the Big 12 in a decade?
Without ever making the CFP or even winning a major bowl in that time?
I’m genuinely asking— Christian Simmons (@ByCASimmons) August 3, 2023
So, as you can see, any chatter about BYU and Utah will bring out the blood in this storied rivalry. Why shouldn’t it take peaks and valleys over being in the same conference once again?
These are the mild snippets of rivalry talk.
You should see the diehards go at it.
Does BYU want Utah in the Big 12?
Depends on your definition of who represents BYU and who you ask.
