OUR VIEW: Stabbed in the WAC

      On Aug. 19, rumors started flying that BYU was thinking about leaving the Mountain West Conference, going independent for football, and joining the WAC in all other sports. This talk sent Aggies everywhere into a frenzy.

    What came next shocked us even more.

    That Friday, Utah State was offered a spot in the MWC. Our athletic department turned the offer down for a few reasons, one of the biggest being a contract all WAC teams had signed after Boise State announced its departure. The contract essentially said that we were going to stay together as a conference for the next five years. If any team decided to leave, they would have to pay a $5 million buyout fee to the conference.

    After we turned down the invitation, the MWC started talking to Nevada and Fresno State. At first no one was worried because we were sure they’d stick to the contract. Apparently, we were wrong. That day, both Nevada and Fresno State announced they would be leaving the WAC and joining the MWC.

    WAC-stabbers. Thanks for that.

    We turned down the offer out of loyalty to the conference. It had only been a week or so since the contract had been signed. We assumed everyone else would treat it the same way.

    It all could have been really good for us. With Utah gone, and BYU possibly joining us in the WAC, neither the WAC nor the MWC would have been the conferences they used to be. Utah State’s basketball program is already strong and our football program is growing. Give us a couple years and we could hold our own in, or against, the MWC.

    More importantly, we were true to our commitments. We believed in the unity, and future, of our conference. We thought that contract meant something. Apparently not.

    If BYU does leave, the Mountain West is not going to be nearly as strong as it has been in the past. The WAC had the potential to be the next Mountain West if these teams had stayed. The program would have grown, the level of competition would have increased, it would have been a win-win situation for all of us.

    Instead, Fresno and Nevada just decide to leave us all hanging.

    So now what? Everyone’s worried that the WAC is going to completely fall apart. And let’s be honest, it might. But let’s have a little optimism, shall we? This is our chance to dominate the conference all-around. This is our chance to show the country what Utah State is made of.

    Bring it on.