COLUMN: Every Rose has its thorn, especially BYU
Brigham Young University must have come down with a bad case of Spectrumitis.
The little Cougars can’t come out and play basketball because they’re being kept locked inside safe old Provo to make sure they don’t get trounced by USU.
After playing each other 224 times over the past 106 years in basketball, the Aggies and the Cougars may not be playing each other again. Why? BYU Head Coach Dave Rose refuses to play in Logan.
No, it’s not the cold that fazes him. It’s not the two hour drive that causes this apprehension. It’s the Spectrum itself.
But Rose isn’t an irrational man. He still wants to play the Aggies, just not in the Spectrum. After all, the odds aren’t with him. The Aggies have won 44 straight home games against non-conference opponents, the second-longest streak in the nation.
But all hopes of winning at the Spectrum aren’t lost. The last non-conference team to beat USU at the Spectrum was BYU in 2000. But, seven years is a long time, and Rose wasn’t the head coach then. Perhaps the current Cougars just aren’t up to the challenge.
In an attempt to keep his name off the Spectrum Victim List (SVL), Rose has come up with a solution – play the rivalry match at the EnergySolutions Arena. This proposal allows the Cougars to play on neutral territory while getting pounded by the Aggies. The major advantage though is that they won’t have to deal with the definite home court advantage the Spectrum provides.
But wait, that’s not all.
Not only does Rose propose the game be played at the ESA, but he wants USU to foot the bill. This means USU would have to pay for renting the arena, parking and concessions. And once all this money has been spent, BYU wants to split the earnings.
So Rose wants his cake and he wants to eat it too. He demands to play at a neutral arena (the first time in rivalry history) and he seems to want double frosting on this cake by demanding USU pay for the whole thing. BYU has significantly more money in its athletic department to pump into a game like this, so why is USU responsible to pay for it? Besides, Rose is the one who wants this game to be played at a neutral arena. If he wants it so badly, he should pay for it himself.
If USU complies with Rose’s ESA plan, BYU has graciously agreed to come up to the Spectrum to play in the 2008-2009 season. If USU keeps the earnings from the ESA game, the Aggies will have to play in Provo in 2008-2009. If USU refuses, the rivalry ends there.
So, because one basketball coach is too afraid to take his team to an unfriendly court to play one of the longest basketball rivalries in the nation, the series could end for all time.
How can the BYU administration and athletics staff stand back and let Rose dictate what will and won’t happen? Here he is, a new coach, and already he’s making demands and everybody down south is complying with his every order. A basketball coach should not have the complete authority to determine what games he will play, against whom and at what location.
The simple fact of basketball is you’re going to play some hard games and you’re going to play some easy games. Some games are going to be on the road at unfriendly arenas and some are going to take place at home. But regardless of who or where, a basketball team should be ready to take on any challenge. It’s called good sportsmanship and integrity.
But maybe this is something BYU is in short order of these days. The “Holy Land of Utah” has already had its fair share of basketball scandals this year. Cougar guard Rashaun Broadus was suspended from the team earlier this season after being arrested on DUI charges.
Isn’t it interesting that when a USU football player has marijuana charges brought against him, he is kicked off the team, but when a BYU basketball player gets brought up on charges, he is merely suspended from the team? For a school that claims such high moral standards and integrity, its basketball program isn’t quite matching up to that.
But charges aside, the refusal to play in the Spectrum is a clear indication of poor sportsmanship. USU doesn’t have a problem going down to Provo to play even though it can be an unwelcoming arena to in-state rivals. The football and basketball teams played in Provo this year and lost both games.
Did USU whine about having to play down there? No. They took the losses in stride and moved on with the season. When BYU comes up to Logan to play football, the odds are heavily in favor of the Cougars, but you don’t see Brent Guy demanding football games be played at Rice-Eccles Stadium to be neutral. Good sportsmanship is all about learning how to lose and move on.
Rose needs to get off his high horse and BYU needs to rein in this renegade coach. No coach should have the power to end a rivalry of this magnitude for any reason, let alone because of fear.
If BYU wants to maintain whatever shreds of integrity it still possesses, it needs to stop complaining, come up to Logan and play ball like real men.
Seth Hawkins is a junior majoring in public relations. He’s confident he could beat Dave Rose in a one-on-one game. Comments and questions can be sent to him at sethhawkins@cc.usu.edu