More Pac-10 Expansion Talk

I think Kyle King understands the world of college football and sports about as well as anyone, as well as the academic arguments on who is a good fit for a particular league. The Salt Lake City TV market (#31 DMA Spot TV Rankings) is no doubt the largest remaining untapped market in the west for a BCS league. This now ranks Salt Lake City ahead of BCS dominated markets like Kansas City (#32), Columbus, OH (#34), and Milwaukee (#35). So all those who think Salt Lake City isn’t large enough to sustain two BCS league schools need to rethink their logic. Salt Lake City has moved up 10 full slots over the past 25 years in DMA rankings and the Census Bureau studies will indicate this upward trend will likely continue much the way it did for Phoenix 30 years ago when the Arizona schools joined the PAC-10. Many Ute fans in particular think that Utah being paired with Colorado will somehow help them gain a market advantage over BYU they squandered and piddled away during the 1970s and 1980s. With BYU still holding an edge for being the bigger brand in the Salt Lake City TV market, I think the PAC-10 takes a risk of not completely securing the market especially should the Big-XII come after BYU as a replacement for Colorado, and keep in mind the Big-XII looked at both BYU and Louisville back in the1990s when the league was organized. Also keep in mind Missouri is very visable on the Big-10 radar, and I doubt that league will let it’s two biggest northern markets go to opposite leagues over night.

As for the academics, BYU being a religious school and only a late comer into graduate research work isn’t as big a stumbling block as many like to perceive. As has been pointed out in other threads, the expansion of Rexburg has allowed Provo to contract the number of undergraduate slots and allow more students to pursue masters and PhD research degrees. Only Stanford holds any real academic edge over BYU with respects to ts undergraduate student body. As for the “No Sunday Play” if a BCS league really wants BYU they can accommodate them with an individual institutional exemption. The sticking point here will be the BYU Board of Trustees, most of whom would go along with such an individual arrangement for BYU, but more than likely one or two hardliners will insist on the entire organization abiding by the same rule presently in effect with the MWC about league-wide Sunday play (except intersectional individual contracts).

This will be a VERY interesting development to watch unfold, but by the 2012-2013 academic year, look at the prospect that BYU will be involved in a BCS league.