DEAD-SEASON SERIES: What didn’t happen at BYU Football media day

It's that magical time of year between the end of basketball season and the beginning of football season that we here at VTF are affectionately calling the Dead Season. Instead of writing about Tanner Mangum's off-season running regimen, we are here to break down the most unimportant (and generally nonsensical) topics. For those who are reading this series for the first time, please understand that this is not to be taken seriously. There is no football or basketball to speak of so we’re all going a little nutty.

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Welcome to the first edition of the 2017 Dead-Season Series, and we’re excited to kick things off by recapping BYU Football’s official media day!

Since the Cougars embarked on their independent path, media day has long been an oasis for the fans as we have been forced to endure the Sahara-like desert that is the off-season. It’s been months since the last football game and it is 2 months before the next football game, so this is a perfect opportunity for everyone to quench their thirst for updates on the football program. It doesn’t matter if it’s bathing in the deep of conference realignment or just a few drops of position changes, no matter the news we’ll drink it up.

As things have wrapped up, it was nice to see that we got a very cool jersey patch honoring LaVell Edwards and a small ESPN contract update; however, we didn’t get the big piece of news that we were secretly expecting. There is no doubt that there is some lingering disappointment, mostly because there was so much undeniable proof that big things were just around the corner. Between the message boards tracking flights of assistant coaches and Twitter giving us updates on stories that have been passed down from a friend of the bishop who once served in the same stake as Riley Nelson’s sister-in-law, there was just so much evidence that HAD to add up to something.

So what are some of these solid predictions or fact-based theories that have been floating around the internet? Well we can answer that question by reviewing everything that was NOT announced at media day.

• This one came down to the wire but Andy Reid did not step down as head coach of the Kansas City Chiefs to accept a position as an offensive consultant for his alma mater. There was a lot of buzz out there that Andy has been yearning for the opportunity to make a lot less money to make strategic clock management errors at the college level, but alas, Andy remains a Chief. We all know how quickly things can change in the NFL so don’t be surprised when, well, you know.
• Michael Jordan lost his helicopter in a game of high-stakes poker so he wasn’t able to show up and announce that BYU was going get his seal of approval in the form of Brand Jordan uniforms and apparel. We all know that when it comes to cultural relevance and cool factor, BYU is always towards the top of the list. It really is a natural fit so yeah sure they didn’t announce it today but next year is definitely still in play.
• There was no announcement to renovate LaVell Edwards Stadium by “filling in the corners” and expanding the capacity to 100,000. Sure, BYU hasn’t had a string of sell-outs for quite some time but we all know that the solution to declining attendance is to expand the stadium. Just like Babe Ruth said in The Natural, “If you build it, they will come.”
• Speaking of LaVell Edwards Stadium, there was no announcement about the potential sale of caffeinated beverages, but — and this is a big one — people have been seeing a lot more Coca-Cola trucks driving around Provo these days. They’re clearly preparing for the increased demand that will result once fully caffeinated Diet Coke is brought on campus.
• There was a deal in principle for BYU and Florida to play three times a year (one game in Gainesville, one game Provo and one game in Mexico City) for the next seven years but it wasn’t announced today because other SEC teams were jealous of such a marvelous deal.
• Britain Covey? They’re saving the announcement of his transfer to BYU for when he returns home from his mission. They COULD have announced it today but why not wait.
• The world-class Romney / Young Athletic Center was not revealed on Friday. Even thought the current Student Athlete Building is still relatively new, there has been a lot of chatter that BYU was bringing in the heavy hitters in order to keep pace with futuristic facilities of Oregon and Alabama.
• No official word on that lucrative bowl game contract BYU has been working on. Yes, BYU will be a bowl free agent next year, but after that ESPN and BYU could possibly announce a huge partnership for the bowls games. They decided against going public with this information as ESPN just experienced a few rounds of layoffs so it would be in poor taste to announce a multi-million dollar deal immediately afterwards. Once the dust really settles there, both parties will come out and reveal the details of the lifetime, $35 million per year contract that is pretty much a done deal.
• An overhaul to the Honor Code has been in the works for a while but I guess they didn’t clear the final hurdles before media day. Apparently, they were going to keep all of the elements of the Honor Code that are good (mustache’s only) and change all of the things that are not as good (no aquatic pets in testing center). I mean, it makes perfect sense and now is the time. It didn’t happen today but it will.

Are there any other juicy rumors floating out there that didn’t happen today? Let us know if the comments section so we can fully investigate. Unless that rumors is that BYU is finally joining the Big 12 because let’s get serious, we all know that’s just around the corner.