If BYU ever decides it must abandon independence in favor of conference affiliation, the Mountain West Conference will be there to work something out. During a guest appearance on Sirius XM College Sports Nation, Mountain West Conference commissioner Craig Thompson said the conference is “leaving a light on” for BYU.
"We're leaving the light on" -@MountainWest Commish Craig Thompson on #BYU returning to the #MWC
— College Sports on SiriusXM (@SXMCollege) December 10, 2015
BYU made the bold decision to go independent in football during conference realignment armageddon at the end fo the 2010 season. The Cougars opted to go independent when rival Utah was extended an invitation to the Pac-10 (leading to the Pac-12). Year one of football independence worked out well with a 10-3 season, which was followed by three straight 8-5 seasons and this season’s 9-3 record heading into a bowl game. Going independent had its advantages for BYU, such as exclusive media rights negotiations, an opportunity to create a challenging football schedule and negotiate exclusive bowl deals. Whatever you want to believe the long-term vision and hopes for independence held, it was always likely BYU’s independence would be a relatively short-term fix before returning to some form of conference stability. The hopes were the Big 12 would come calling, but it never has and likely never will. The Pac-12 appears settled as well, leaving BYU with very few power conference options in the fold. Thus, a return to the Mountain West Conference could eventually become the reality for BYU.
BYU returning to the MWC would not be a terrible decision, as the MWC now has a more likely opportunity to send a team to a New Years Six bowl game under the new College Football Playoff structure. That opportunity was likely to be a tall order for BYU as an independent under the way the format is constructed. Odds are probably pretty good a Mountain West Conference champion more years than not will be in the running for a New Years Six bowl spot along with the champion of the American Athletic Conference (like Houston this season).
BYU faces some key decisions to be made about the long-term future of the program, and that also includes the ongoing search for a new head coach. Bronco Mendenhall, who had stumped and stumped for BYU’s position in the Big 12 or any power conference, has moved on the fill a coaching position at Virginia in the ACC. Whoever ends up being the next head coach at BYU will likely want to have some insight on the direction of the program before he takes the job.
