I'm not a big fish. The next AJ isn't coming because of me. This being the case, I'm not positioned to lobby anyone else (except a specific college friend, who I'm slowly enticing towards rabid fandom) for anything. I will ask this:

When, if ever, has been a better time to go all in on BYU athletics?

--We've just seen the #1 men's basketball recruit and his family make their case to Stephen A. Smith on national tv about why BYU was right for them.

--Our HC just proclaimed to the wide world after the season's most-watched bowl game (which we dominated) that the best thing that had happened during the week was celebrating the birth of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

--We have not abandoned the precepts of the honor code, but enforcement has been brought much more in line with how the church itself deals with transgressions or wayward behavior. Without the imminent threat of draconian and very public punishments, families are taking a hard look at what BYU offers that didn't before.

--A healthy and thriving brand of diversity. Pastor Dewey Gray commented again recently about how it's become a strength at BYU. We have a Jewish QB and have had a Muslim DB lead our team in prayer. We are headed up by the nation's only Tongan head football coach. Our Sikh women's cross country coach is the envy of the nation. This isn't the result of a structural or ideological cram down. People from a wide variety of backgrounds are seeking out and thriving as part of BYU athletic programs.

--We've "aligned the silos," as Ben Criddle likes to say, harnessing the university and alumni network's strengths towards competing at a high level. Players and their families have noticed.

--Game day at BYU is very nearly second to none. Our venues are family friendly yet raucous, intimidating, and fun. Our mascot is practically unrivaled. The video and game production teams are elite, as is our student section.

This is fun. Go Cougs!