The story seems to have first come to light when ABC4 News in Salt Lake City, released a story saying that the PAC 10 has invited Utah to join the their conference. Of course there is nothing official as of yet. The Pac 10's television deal is about to expire. In order to sign a new deal it is likely that they will expand their conference to 12 teams in order to include a football championship game, like the SEC and Big 12. This will make them more marketable and bring more money with a new lucrative deal into their conference. The other team they are looking at is Colorado, which they will have to steal from the Big 12. These two teams are thought of as being better choices than Boise State because Utah and Colorado are tied to two of the top 35 markets in the country, while Boise State is not. Of course there are other teams, like TCU and even BYU that are tied to bigger markets and have a notoriety tied to their names. The reason why BYU is not chosen is because it might be the fact that BYU has a strict policy against playing on Sundays. TCU is just too far way, and in the heart of Big 12 country. BYU might also be left out of this because they are not a research school, like Utah, and the other schools in the PAC 10. But BYU might have the chance to jump over to the Big 12, and fill Colorado's place.
This might be a good thing for Utah. It will get them into a BCS conference, and finally be able to play for a national championship, which they have been robbed of before because they did not belong to a BCS conference. It will be good for recruiting, and gaining new fans.
The Utah/BYU rivalry is one of the biggest rivalries in the country when it comes to college sports. The rivalry game is always the last regular season game scheduled for these two teams. Many times the MWC championship weighs in the balance as well. These two teams have been the top teams in the conference since it's inception. Since than, TCU has joined the conference and has made itself a great program and champion contender year in and year out. Air Force and Wyoming have built really solid programs as well. Although the rivalry game will still be heated, by not being in the same conference there will something missing from that game. Also if Utah leaves, and so does BYU, who will fill their shoes? TCU, AF, and Wyoming can't carry the conference, and SDSU can't do it alone in basketball. It is possible that Boise State will move over to the MWC.
In a way, I want my alma mater to stay in the MWC. By jumping ship I feel like we are selling out to the man. By not joining the BCS, we harass them by winning, and knocking on their door, proving to them they are frauds and how corrupt this system is. The MWC has leaped ahead by light years since leaving the WAC. I think what would be best is if Boise State jumped ship and joined the MWC, and then we would have all the non-BCS teams that have gone undefeated. Utah needs to stay where they are, and build up that conference, and not cave to the BCS.
