While this is a football post it is about athletics in general-but the reality is the only two sports this impacts is basketball and football. BYU's institutional commitment to all of the non-revenue sports has generally been equal to or similar to what the big time programs were investing in theirs. But as a fan for a long time I am of the opinion that Shane Reese is different and not just a little different.

When BYU got great at FB it was more coincidence and luck than it was due to institutional commitment. I think the Church recognized an opportunity and then invested in football as Lavell's success started growing-but IMO the real goal was regional dominance and winning the WAC championships. It liked national relevance and being in the conversation but I think to BYU decision makers being locally relevant at the level of investment being made was a prudent goal. As things started changing in the late 80's and into the next few decades BYU gave lip service to the institutional commitment and occasionally would make some investments but the reality, IMO, was there was a clear limit to what BYU was willing to invest and that was with the implicit understanding that success on a national level would be limited and BYU was fine with that. As CFB evolved BYU decision makers were also protected in this position because external factors, namely conference affiliation, was enough of an impediment that for BYU to consistently be part of the national conversation the amount of money it would require in institutional commitment to significantly improve BYU's situation was so high that the cost per spot of improvement would be so out of wack to what BYU was putting in. For example the cost for BYU to be the 55th best program was $5 million but the cost to improve BYU to the 30th best program would have been $25 million on top the $5 that was getting BYU to #55-theoretically speaking. Ergo, the institution that does business well knew they were optimizing their dollars at #55 with the occasional plunge into the national conversation until TCU beat it down.

I think there is more to it with the internal culture that arose during the 80's when Lavell Edwards was on national news broadcasts more than the dorks in the anthropology or accounting departments-and perhaps even more than the President of the LDS Church and thus was getting to big for his britches-etc. But in the end my assessment was a religious community known well for its business savvy and prudent use of the widow's mite had found a level of success and exposure that maximized the money spent.

I don't know what has changed but the biggest differences are now BYU is in the Big-12 and that gives access to far more revenues than the War/MWC/Independence affiliations afforded. However, I think the bigger change is President Shane Reese-or perhaps it comes from the BOD-I am not important enough to know where the change in guidance originates. But I am smart enough to recognize change when I see it. From what is going in hoops, the gameday experience at BYU that has developed over the past few years, the media productions that BYU generates in support of its athletic program. The reality is BYU has turned many aspects of its athletic program and culture into a top tier establishment. It is professional, consistent and uplifting. In my analysis the decision maker(s- perhaps more than just President Reese) have decided that BYU has a good opportunity to really establish itself as an attractive place for highly capable athletes who share, or at least can abide, BYU's socially conservative values no matter if they are LDS or not. In a day and age of increasing polarization of our civilization along culture war cleavages, BYU is putting itself out there as a place where great athletes can come, perfect their art and do so in a place where, if they are socially conservative and more traditional values based, they and THEIR PARENTS can be comfortable their values will be respected more than one might expect at a traditional university. Perhaps I am high off the fumes of this year's winning football season, there are 3 or 4 of us on this board who are fans of two 7-0 nationally ranked teams, and I would be interested if the other "older" BYU fans sense it as well but I think BYU is far more willing to invest now with the expectation and goal of national relevance than I have believed there has ever been. BYU believes it has a message to tell the world and IMO it is prepared to get that word out there and the decision makers are understanding that without success in the major revenue sports nobody, or at least significantly less people, wants to hear it. I expect FB to continue amping up its staff additions and NIL payments over the next few years. I believe the commitment is now there.

Am I alone in noticing this??????