It is not the storied program some like to believe it is. I think what has set some others on edge is the sense of manifest destiny the U has for some reason. Maybe a little like BYU going into the WCC. Sure it is an array of U fans on Twitter, but it has also been the very real public almost cringey display of leadership at the U resisting the move. It’s been almost like a marginal kid not wanting the hottest girl (Pac 12) in junior high to break up with him because it makes up so much of his reputation.

Also, urban seems to have cast a long shadow at the U among fans — where he created an aura of superiority and division. He used the same approach at Florida and OSU. Somehow that has persisted. I noticed it when I moved to Utah to work in media. My colleagues, fellow board members I worked with at the U, had this superiority thing going on, particularly after sliding into the pac 12. I was like, “huh? No one even talks about the U where I’ve lived in Boston and California twice.” I was and still am baffled.