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In a sea of uncertainty, it may be in everyone's best interest to focus on what we do know. While the landscape of college football is changing, Brigham Young University is not; and that's a good thing.
BYU has always been a school that stood for something more than just its academic and athletic programs. It's a university with deep religious roots that aren't merely for show. To its students, alumni and fans, BYU represents everything that members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints believe in.
When asked how his LDS mission prepared him for being a collegiate athlete, Cougar quarterback Riley Nelson recently told the [Orlando Sentinel](<http://articles.orlandosentinel.com/2012-06-20/sports/os-riley-nelson-byu-football-qa-20120620_1_byu-max-hall-jake-heaps >), "If you think what we are going through is hard, try being in a foreign country, all alone as a teenager trying to tell people who want nothing to do with God or Jesus Christ, to try and convince them that they need them both in their lives.' That's hard. That's disappointing and that's disheartening, what's not hard is playing a game."
That is a perfect example of why BYU is different from just about every other university. There are some things that are more important than sports. Make no mistake, athletics are very important to BYU, but being a religious institution is top priority.
Until something happens, one way or another, Cougar fans will want to see their team in the best situation possible. By all accounts, it seems that the only way BYU is going to get into one of the big four conferences, is to relax their stance on some core beliefs. THAT WILL NOT HAPPEN. What message would it send if BYU compromised its beliefs just to be included in a "Big Conference"?
BYU will not play games on Sunday; a possible sticking point in negotiations with the Big 12. There's probably a novel's worth of things BYU would have to change to even get a sniff from the Pac-12. Until those conferences are willing to accept BYU for what it is and what it represents, the Cougars continue to blaze their own trail.
With all the news about conference expansion and playoff formats, BYU is simply paying attention and going about its business. What else are the Cougars supposed to do? Until there is an iron clad playoff format, they have no idea how it truly will affect them.
In terms of league expansion; BYU's leaders don't appear enamored of the primary alternative—the Big East Conference--and I don't blame them. The Big East isn't the solution, at least for right now.
The only thing BYU can control right now is getting ready for the 2012 football season, which has the potential to be pretty special.
