It's not the end of the world.
BYU wasn't snatched up for years by a bigger conference because of being sponsored by the LDS church and all the complications that accompany that.
It happens.
Teams can't win their way out of problems like that.
Utah was a new market for the PAC 10 and the PAC10 needed two new schools to get a championship game. It was convenient.
The Big 12 was falling apart and got desperate enough to overlook the Mormon thing.
Winning and losing is great, but anyone who thinks that's what makes a school desirable in expansion misses the reality.
One thing Utah has going for it is that it at least is a big deal in its local market even if it's not a big draw nationally