Patrick Kinahan: Unlikely ally advocates BYU to Big 12


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PROVO — BYU has an unlikely ally in its strong desire to move the entire athletic department into a Power 5 conference.

For the sake of competition, Utah athletic director Chris Hill would prefer to see his university’s primary rival join the Big 12. Hill, who has led Utah’s athletic department for 31 years, made his preference known during an interview with 97.5-FM and 1280-AM The Zone a day after announcing his impending retirement.

“It would have sure been nice if they would have picked BYU in the Big 12,” Hill said. “It would have made things a lot less toxic, I think in a way, because then we’re both playing in a Power Five and we don’t have that kind of anxiety back and forth.”

Maybe file this under the adage, keep your friends close and keep your enemies closer.

From a competition standpoint and in the stands, BYU and Utah have been bitter enemies for decades. Few rivalries have included such infamous incidents as a fight between a fan and a cheerleader, brawls between opposing athletes and a player lambasting an entire fan base and virtually everything connected with the school.

And it only turned worse when the two programs left the Mountain West Conference before the 2011-12 academic year. Weeks after Utah got the golden ticket invitation to join the Pac-12, BYU tried to grab a share of the national and local spotlight by becoming an independent in football and stashing most other teams in the West Coast Conference.

Over the last seven years, the rivalry has included a Utah fan screaming in the face of BYU coach Bronco Mendenhall after a football game, BYU basketball player Nick Emery punching Brandon Taylor and subsequently the Utes buying out a scheduled game the following year in Provo.

Coach Larry Krystkowiak’s decision to back out of the basketball game led to Utah lawmakers conducting an audit of the Utah athletic department, a move that prompted many furious Ute supporters to scream foul. Years before the cancellation, BYU fans were irate that Utah took a two-year break in the regular season from the longstanding football series.

Hard to believe the Utes would advocate BYU getting the break it desperately needs. Even Hill recognizes his stance might ignite the wrath of Utah fans.

“For us, if they can get in a power league, it just makes the competition a little less toxic,” he said.

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With only two months remaining until he retires, Hill has more freedom to speak his mind. After a long and outstanding tenure, he certainly has earned to right to offer his opinion.

Legends in sports normally are reserved for players or coaches who excel at spectacular levels in their respective fields. Here in Utah, it is time to add an athletic director to the list.

For all of Utah’s accomplishments and success during the last three decades, Hill belongs in the same sentence with the greats who displayed their talents in this state. Move over, LaVell Edwards, Jerry Sloan, Ty Detmer and everybody else, you’ve got company.

All of 37 years old when he was hired, Hill oversaw a staggering amount of growth that can rival any trajectory in college athletics. Along the way, Utah blossomed from primarily a basketball school to a university with an excellent all-around athletic department.

The days of struggling to stay afloat in the Western Athletic Conference are long gone. Now, the entire athletic program has become competitive in the Pac-12.

“You look at where the department was when he took over and where it is now, it’s a whole new ballgame,” said Utah football coach Kyle Whittingham. “It’s apples and oranges. He’s done a great job of navigating through the changing times and the changing landscape. I think getting into the Pac-12 was a great milestone for the department and the university, and he was instrumental in making that happen.”

Back in 1987, when Hill took over, the Utah football program was mired in mediocrity, at best playing second fiddle to nationally prominent BYU. In Hill’s first four years, the program had compiled a combined record of 19-27, three times finishing seventh in the WAC.

While BYU was repeatedly winning conference championships and bowl games, Utah never got invited to the party. Utah’s bowl-less streak extended from 1964 until 1992.

“Our fans were down for such a long time against BYU,” Hill said. “Really, you look back on it, it was embarrassing.”

With a complete reversal of fortunes now that Utah is dominating the football seasons, Hill would like to see BYU get a little help.

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Patrick is a radio host for 97.5/1280 The Zone and the Zone Sports Network. He, along with David James, are on the air Monday-Friday from 6 a.m. to 10 a.m.

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