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PROVO — As soon as Big 12 commissioner Bob Bowlsby and Oklahoma president David Boren announced the league had received complete approval to consider expansion, schools from across the country clamored for an invitation into the short-staffed Power-5 conference.
BYU, naturally, was one of them — and among the frontrunners, according to several national media outlets.
Cougar athletic director Tom Holmoe wasted little time in throwing his school into the ring. “We are obviously excited the leadership of the Big 12 has advised commissioner Bob Bowlsby to review potential expansion candidates,” Holmoe said in a statement. “BYU is known for its academic excellence, and I believe we have an exceptional athletic program.
“As I’ve stated before, I would like to see our student-athletes compete at the highest level.” Holmoe’s reasons for BYU joining the Big 12 are obvious, even if not explicit. For five years, the BYU football team has wandered away from organized conferences in favor of independence. Gone are the mid-November games at Wyoming and UNLV — replaced instead with a slew of home games, though most recently against the likes of Wagner, Southern Utah and San Jose State.
It’s not an ideal situation, but it is the one BYU threw itself into when it eschewed the Mountain West in favor of its moniker as the “Notre Dame of the West.”
Now, though, the Big 12 has presented a formal lifeline. While Holmoe has had conversations and exchanges with league brass previously, he repeatedly told media that he preferred to keep those discussions private. The private university sponsored by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints held its meetings behind closed doors and never opened them long enough to reveal any lobbying, pleading or stiffening of further advances, whatever they may have proven to be.
In BYU, the Big 12 would gain several improvements from its current 10-team setup. The Cougars bring a passionate fan base with national exposure, made more national by its current television contract with ESPN. A conference that, outside of Texas and Oklahoma, has had difficulty selling out its home games would be infused with thousands of LDS wards and stakes in the plain states and beyond.
BYU’s reach is large, and while it isn’t fair to assume all Mormons are BYU fans, there is a sufficient number of them that the supposition sticks more often than not.
But the Big 12 wouldn’t be the only party that benefits from an association with BYU. The Cougars would gain a permanent place at the Power-5 table, and all of the autonomy from the NCAA, television contracts and student-athlete benefits that inclusion brings. Indeed, an invitation to join the Big 12 would make the half-dozen seasons of wandering in the college football wilderness worth it — the Israel of BYU’s departure from Egypt following the 2011 season.
Holmoe realizes the galvanizing effects the chase for Big 12 inclusion has on the fans. During BYU media day, the veteran athletic director spoke openly of his conversations with everyday fans and acquaintances who stop him at the grocery store, the mall and at church with questions about Power-5 acceptance.
“I know how important it is for our fans, to be asked that so much,” he said. “I would really love to see our football team play at that level of a P5 conference.
“The schedule we have set for this team is a great schedule, but that’s the way the P5s play every year.”
Some fans may not believe it; the Cougars have plenty of teams on the 2016 schedule that won’t break the bank — schools like recent independence Massachusetts, Cincinnati and in-state FCS opponent SUU won’t draw the same attention as early-season struggles against Arizona, Michigan State and Mississippi State.
But even in a conference where Oklahoma, Oklahoma State and (recently) TCU and Baylor have reigned supreme, other teams have had weeks playing Kansas — arguably the worst Power-5 team in the country — and downtrodden Texas Tech.
“We’re excited about the schedule,” said BYU coach Kalani Sitake, who previously coached at Oregon State, Utah and SUU. “This is a Power-5 schedule. In fact, it is harder than a lot of schedules I’ve been involved in.”
The 2016 schedule could turn into an audition for BYU’s Big 12 application — possibly the last chance for Power-5 inclusion, unless the Pac-12 or another league makes a surprising change. “If your only recruiting pitch is that you are in a Power-5 conference, then we’re going to beat you in recruiting,” Sitake said. “If that’s your heavy hitter, that you belong to a Power-5 conference, then when it comes down to the details of recruiting, we’re going to be fine.
“We have so much more to offer than just conference affiliation.”
Still, the affiliation would be a nice bonus.
