invitation later. In fact, I stated that there were 7 reasons going independent will help our cause in securing an invitation.

1. Program Exposure

Before the MWC went with CSTV, BYU had seen H-H series with P5 teams in BC, Stanford, USC, Arizona, Georgia Tech, Syracuse, Mississippi State, Notre Dame (2 for 1), Cal Berkeley, and Virginia during the first six years of the MWC's existence. That's ten in six years that ESPN, as the TV partner, set up as compelling matchups. After we went with CSTV, how many did they help us set up? Two. UCLA and Washington. BYU wasn't playing anyone, and wasn't on a channel ever that would allow them to be seen. Our exposure was crap, and going independent completely changed things. In the five years since partnering with ESPN, we have matched up with 16 P5 teams with 12 more matchups on tap. This all adds up to that the fact that the SEC, ACC, Big Ten have all formally recognized BYU as a P5 program for OOC scheduling purposes. You could also say the Pac 12 has also informally recognized BYU as a P5. The increased program exposure through independence has raised the BYU profile nationally that remaining in the MW would not have allowed for.

2. Increase Revenue

While the exact numbers will never be known to the common fan, I am certain BYU has been able to show off their ledger to Big 12 officials. Going independent has allowed BYU to leave a situation where teams were getting $1.33 million per year. We'll get that just for the Mississippi State game this year. Our revenue increase has allowed us to hopefully stockpile reserves to allow for us to close some of the gap that our haircut in the Big 12 will create.

3. Ability to Demonstrate Program Value

Of course point three leads to point four, and this is probably the most important reason on the list. There was no way for BYU to demonstrate their program value with MW dregs weighing us down. Going on our own has allowed us to fully demonstrate what we bring to the table financially. Thanks to BamaCoug and his merry data, we have a glimpse into the type of information BYU can present, and it is information that shows we would be in the top half of the conference in terms of financial, academic, and athletic value.

4. Unfettered Program Direction and Control

BYU has not had to worry about GORs, exit fees, or bad faith partnerships within a conference. We are able to completely control the direction our program takes without having to owe anyone a thing when we choose something better--like the Big 12.

5. Strategic Partnerships

This again takes us back to ESPN, but even to (don't howl and scream too much) Notre Dame. In the aftermath of the failed Big East attempt to move into the west with BYU as a central figure, their officials bemoaned the fact that BYU is hard to deal with, that our lawyers are pieces of work. These statements have been erroneously attributed to Big 12 officials. You know who hasn't said those types of things? The folks we have actually partnered with. Notre Dame was able to come to us in a pinch, after they found themselves needing to choose something better than the Big East, and found that we were willing to operate with understanding and good will. ESPN has only been glowing about the value of the partnership they have with our program. They have a vested interest in seeing the Big 12 remain as undiluted as possible. If teams are added, they want to see programs offer them valuable content to showcase.

6. Independent TV Contract Leverage

Obsolete point now given the fact that the Big 12 instituted a GOR and equally pooled their TV resources into the conferences control a couple years later my 2010 post.

7. Facility Asset Maximization

The MWC was never going to allow us to fully utilize our broadcasting abilities under the TV contract with CSTV. Large investments like Big Blue, athletic facilities hard wired for HD broadcasts, and BYU Broadcasting building were not going to sit idle. Moving to independence probably even accelerated the incorporation of things like Countdown to Kickoff/Tipoff, BYU SportsNation, After Further Review, Inside BYU Football, etc. All of this gives BYU that chance for tacit expertise and knowledge sharing with conference partners to help each of them improve their Tier 3 content production. Only in the Big 12 would this be a relevant discussion. And we would do it because our Tier 3 productions have never been about revenue generation so we wouldn't see it as a lost competitive advantage. Folks at Texas and the Longhorn Network probably wouldn't be so forthcoming.


So there you go. Seven reasons in 2010 that indicated going independent was important to what we hope is now finally happening. Six are still relevant. We regained national exposure and status. We increased by approximately 10 fold our broadcast revenue. We demonstrated our program value. We regained full control over our program's future. We establish strategic partnerships. And we realized our full asset potential. Let's hope it gets us where we want to be.