BYU sets off fascinating chain of conference cannibalism
Nothing says loving like a good round of cannibalism, and watching the Mountain West and Western Athletic Conferences devour each other and leaving bones where they stood is as good as it gets.
|
|
| BYU's decision could start a process that destroys the Mountain West and WAC. (US Presswire) |
In other words, say what? The nonsense moves too fast for even periods.
We think it reasonable to fast-forward this to its logical tipping point, which is both the Mountain West and WAC disappearing in the wake that will take all but 60-plus schools into whatever Division 1-AA will be called. The big'uns will eat, and the little'uns need to swim faster, or swim somewhere else.
In the meantime, though, it's all ants on a dessert cart, and the frenzy that began with the Great Big 12 Raid That Wasn't has actually skipped a step and worked down the food chain rather than up.
And that, rather than the size of the schools involved, is what is so fascinating. We don't expect Auburn fans to concern themselves with the plight of San Jose State, and nothing leadens eyelids quite like another process story about conference realignment (sorry, Comrade Dodd), but the way BYU leaving the Mountain West puts so many other cards into play so swiftly is in and of itself extraordinary.
The details -- like, how does BYU develop a football schedule that will Notre Dame-ize them more efficiently -- almost don't matter. It is that the first sign of restlessness creates a storm that didn't happen when the Southwest Conference broke into three separate units back in the day.
There is a frenzy for short cash now, and BYU's decision exacerbated those decisions made by Fresno and Nevada, Benson and the remaining WACkies, Louisiana Tech and UTEP. Boise State moved east and Utah and Colorado west under different circumstances, but their moves helped induce BYU's wanderlust, and eventually it all sucks its way into the Texas vortex.
In fact, this summer, there were moves affecting the Pac-10, WAC, Mountain West, Big 10 and Big 12, and others that threatened or threaten to change the SEC, Sun Belt, Conference USA and the Great West. Why, the MAC and the service academies must feel alone and unloved.
| Blog |
Dennis DoddWith BYU, the MWC is currently at 11 teams. There are still questions about whether BYU is viable as an independent. Read >> |
| Stories |
And they all will turn into a huge cleaver, reducing big-time college football to mega-big time college football, and everything else. We think maybe four conferences of 16 each, and everyone else joins Villanova and Richmond and Montana in the great FCS chum-fest.
And of those 64 or so, maybe 20 have legitimate title aspirations, and they can be their own Champions League. College football becomes more like soccer, while keeping the costs (like for players) down.
And on the back end, lots of schools will decide "What's the point?" and withdraw from intercollegiate athletics at a sustainable economic level. That's a lot of young men and women who will learn to play without the attention and notoriety, or won't get to play at all. The wheel keeps turning, but worse, the hub cap keeps getting smaller.
But it's a good day for BYU, and the warm feeling that comes from stealthy yet focused muscle-flexing. They churned up some water, and watched as the food chain did its job. And college athletics somehow insisted on its purity while dressing like, well, professional night workers, if you know what we mean, and we think you do.
Ray Ratto is a columnist for Comcast SportsNet Bay Area
