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SALT LAKE CITY -- BYU and Utah: both boast strong football teams and both have rabid fans, but the two programs are now going in two very different directions.
In June, the University of Utah announced it was leaving the Mountain West Conference in 2011, bolting for the greener pastures of the Pac-10 (soon to be Pac-12).
Wednesday, after months of deliberations and years of study, BYU also opted to depart the MWC. The Cougars decided to go it alone as a football independent and become a member of the West Coast Conference in all other sports the league offers.
"There is no time like the present to chart a path toward independence in football," athletic director Tom Holmoe said in a news conference Wednesday.
The were decisions for both schools made over visibility, access, power and money.
Revenue models show Utah could make $13 million to $15 million per year from TV revenues in the Pac-10. BYU and ESPN have not disclosed financial details but there is wide speculation BYU could make at least five times its $1.3 million MWC share.
ESPN vice president of programming Dave Brown beamed about an independent BYU Wednesday.
"We got great ratings in all the five Las Vegas Bowls we've done," Brown said. "Just look at the Oklahoma rating last year. They'll come right back. They never left."
Brown has been and is expected to continue to be a key cog in the Cougars' move to independence. He is considered an expert college football matchmaker and a powerful player in sports broadcasting.
"He used to call me all the time when he saw that I had a hole in my schedule," said former BYU athletic director Val Hale. "I think Dave will really help BYU come up with some great match-ups because it's in his interest to have some high-profile, inter-sectional match-ups that he can show on ESPN."
Case-in-point: BYU rolled out a six-game series with Notre Dame through 2020 the day the school announced its football independence.
"I think it's going to give them some real prestige and credibility in their schedule," Hale said.
Hale also sees a boost in recruiting when BYU moves broadcasting of its games from The Mountain to the "Worldwide Leader."
"It's not going to make a difference on a lot of athletes, but maybe one or two per recruiting class," Hale said.
All those "pluses" considered, Hale tells KSL Newsradio BYU would probably still trade places with Utah.
"I think if you gave BYU the option of Pac-10 or independence, they'd take the Pac-10," Hale said.
He says the university's future may also be a question mark, despite BYU's apparent commitment to independence.
"We're not looking at this opportunity for a stepping stone or a landing pad," Holmoe said Wednesday.
Hale says he believes BYU for now.
"I still think if the Big 12 were to come knocking in a couple of years, they would certainly answer that knock," he said.
Hale says the future holds risks for both BYU and Utah. For BYU, it's scheduling bowl games and continuing to play at a high level to sustain ESPN's interest. For Utah, it's avoiding mediocrity in a power league.
E-mail: aadams@ksl.com
