Eastward Bound?!

In his weekly press conference Bronco Mendenhall indicated that the Big East is headed west.  Bronco told reporters that BYU had been “approached” by the Big East and that the Big East is trying to "convince" BYU to join the conference.  I find it extremely interesting and noteworthy that Bronco responded directly to the question, which is totally unlike traditionally tight-lipped BYU.  This seemingly unnecessary disclosure reveals one thing: BYU Football may be headed East very soon.

What does Bronco know?  BYU and the Big East could make interesting partners.

The Big East has been torn apart over the years as football-heavy schools such as Miami (FL), Virginia Tech, Boston College, and more recently, Syracuse and West Virginia, have left the basketball-first conference for other BCS pastures.  Even TCU left the Big East for the Big 12 before they even played a game.  The Big East is on the verge of collapse and if the trend continues, the Big East could be on the outside looking in when the current BCS deal ends after the 2013 season.  Desperate times call for desperate measures (at least geographically speaking).

So why BYU?  With only 5 football-playing schools remaining after this season (UConn, Rutgers, Louisville, South Florida, and Cincinnati), Big East Commissioner John Marinatto has been authorized to extend invitations to Boise State, UCF, Houston, SMU, Navy and Air Force, and all schools are likely to accept.  With West Virginia's acceptance into the Big 12 last week, it opened another slot to fill a 12-team conference for someone like BYU, who Boise State, in particular, was lobbying to receive an invite as well in the hope of forming a Western Division.

Given Bronco's public disclosure of the ongoing Big East negotiations, I think it means either one of two things: 1) BYU is serious about becoming a BCS conference member and staple member of the new Big East's Western Division, or 2) BYU is disclosing the potential of joining the Big East to generate leverage in discussions with the Big 12.  Anything else just doesn't make sense to me.  So without getting too hypothetical about the Big 12 situation (who just lost Missouri to the SEC), let's think about why a jump east might be a good move for BYU Football (and the Big East):

 Winning! - Let's be honest, getting invited to the BCS table is huge at this point...even if it's the little kids table! Look at how Utah has been welcomed to the Pac-12 this year - ouch! Would you rather enter a conference where the stiffest competition will likely be Boise State, Houston, and Louisville? The watered-down Big East is a winnable conference for a good BYU team. On the flip side, even a great BYU team may not win the Big 12, for example, causing the BCS Bowl discussion to be a moot point any way.

Flexibility - Even if the Big East does not retain an automatic BCS bid when the BCS contracts renew in 2013, BYU still has two seasons ('12 and '13) to prove they belong in a BCS conference, win a conference championship, go to a BCS bowl, and win.  If the Big East is booted from the BCS in '14, BYU can leave and declare independence (again), or join any of the other BCS conferences, which may have 27 schools in each conference by then.

Football Only - Since BYU's non-football sports already have a home in either the WCC or WAC conferences going forward, it would make for a simple piece of the puzzle to the Big East Football mess, and the BYU Women's Soccer team, for example, won't have to travel to Storrs, Connecticut for a single soccer game.

Boise State and BYU could very well be Big East/West BCS buddies!

"Bronco" Buddies - BYU and Boise State are already scheduled to play each other beginning next year beyond 2020, and Boise wants a Western travel partner to help cut down on making several cross-country trips each year.

How Big Is Your HD Truck?  One of the key reasons BYU went independent in football was to utilize its broadcast facilities and partnership with ESPN to promote BYU and provide its national and international brand with access and exposure.  After witnessing BYU produce and distribute the Oregon State broadcast earlier this year to a national audience (albeit on a tape delay), why wouldn't the Big East want a part of those facilities to produce all of the conference games in the Western Division?!  If BYU's smart about it, too, they should be able to take a much larger portion of any conference TV revenues.  When you've got it, flaunt it, and then cash it in.

Selfishly, I'd rather see BYU join the Big East so I can easily attend conference games at Rutgers or UConn, but I still think the Bronco's presser was not a slip...it had a purpose.  Only time will tell what it all means.