There is little doubt that the Big-XII will make a move to protect Colorado as the PAC-10 tries to court them. With the talk of the Big-10 courting Missouri very seriously at this point this now it becomes a league under siege with their two largest northern division market schools being courted to go elsewhere. Texas is EVERY LEAGUES adored darling more than BYU the abhorred religious academic stepchild in this entire process to put it mildly. Texas will do what they feel is best for them, but they have legislators and a governor that they must please, just as BYU has a church president and board of trustees to keep happy in the end.
The real battle for BYU isn’t so much pleasing the PAC-10 or Big-XII presidents, the bottom line is they do represent a significant market in college sports throughout the NCAA, and as many posters have pointed out, as far back as the early 1990s when the Big-XII was being organized from the Big-8 and the remnants from the recently imploded Southwest Conference, BYU was courted along with the University of Louisville (now recently landed in the Big East). This clearly is indicative that a BCS level league will be interested in BYU, but why it hasn’t happened until now is as much about politics at the BYU Board of Trustees level just as it is about geography (being in isolated yet rapidly growing local market a significant distance between Denver and the west coast). Keep in mind administrations have changed at several of the PAC-10 schools as well as BYU and the makeup of their Board of Trustees since there was any past dialogue between them some years back. On several occasions BYU Head Football Coach Bronco Mendenhall explained the mission of why BYU has an athletic department and significant football and basketball programs, and to keep this mission consistent, BYU needs to be part of a BCS league to have the visibility to fulfill this. Keep in mind BYU has two past presidents on the current Board of Trustees makeup (Dallin Oaks, Jeffrey Holland) and two former Ricks/BYU-Idaho presidents (Henry Eyring, David Bednar) whom have also served in academia elsewhere at schools with high academic regard and scholarly activity. Change will happen, but it is up to President Cecil O. Samuelson and his VP’s as well as the Board of Trustees members to put the universities best academic/scholastic image forward to obtain the best desirable outcome. I don’t think staying in the MWC/WAC is the best outcome for BYU when all is said and done.