Utah's contractual football arrangements. Comical.
But I'll play on, even if that were remotely true, the resulting data is overwhelming.
The TV ratings for Utah/Michigan was as high as a couple years worth of a rivalry game and captured a truly national audience, maybe more. The stadium was never more full, third party ticket sales were off the charts and dwarfed comparison sales to ANY other Ute home game, and the U had a great pay day. And the trip to Ann Arbor was wonderful.
So yeah, it really is a no brainer as to who Chris Hill would prefer to schedule for his A games. Fun while it lasted.