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Listening to an interview of BYU football head coach Bronco Mendenhall and athletic director Tom Holmoe a couple of weeks ago, a strange thought crossed my mind. I really liked what I was hearing from those two regarding Utah football, BYU football and football in general in this state.
They were in support of continuing the BYU-Utah rivalry every year, stating there was no reason good enough it shouldn't be played annually and that every year that game should take top priority with regard to finding a place for it on the schedule.
Well, oddly, this Utah fan wholeheartedly agrees with those Cougars.
As a 27-year-old lifelong Utah fan and someone that has been going to Utah football games as long as I can remember, I’m troubled by news coming out of the University of Utah. Ute athletic director Chris Hill announced Tuesday that Utah and BYU will not play their annual football games in 2014 and 2015 so that Utah can accommodate room on its schedule for a home-and-home series with Michigan.
But hey, it’s only two years. Besides, Hill and Holmoe are close to signing a contract to play in 2013 and 2016, Hill also announced.
OK, but what happens in 2017 and beyond when the looming Big-10/Pac-12 agreement goes into effect? Will Utah have room on its schedule for BYU then? Not if the Utes have to accommodate room for another great Big-10 program.
The last time there was a break in playing this contest was during World War II. We're not in a World War and last I checked, the U.S. is actually withdrawing from its only conflicts. So what’s the deal?
I know it can be said that BYU has other motives to keep the rivalry going. The Cougars need quality games to fill their schedule. And that is, in part, true. But I do think Mendenhall and Holmoe see what Chris Hill and Utah head football coach Kyle Whittingham are vastly overlooking — the true value of what’s at stake of being lost.
Rivalries are like rivers that carve canyons into mountains over long periods of time. Rivers have different characteristics. They take their own paths as they carve canyons and deep impressions into the earth. Well, for over 100 years, the Holy War has been growing and maturing, carving deep stories in history and impressing strong memories into generations of people. Rivalries like this don’t just happen overnight, and more often than not, they never do happen.
This rivalry is special. Without a doubt, it's one of the top rivalries in the nation. You'd be hard-pressed to find many other rivalries between two great schools that feature the intricate ins and outs, history, and record that make up this storied contest.
Scheduling this game should be a top priority every year for both Holmoe and Hill. I realize the pressure that playing nine Pac-12 games puts on the Utes. It's tough. However, every "elite" football program across the land shares a meaningful and historic rivalry with another great school, and I'd like to see Utah and BYU both become truly "elite" programs. It will take more time for both.
Look at USC, for example. The Trojans are an "elite" program. USC and Notre Dame share a fantastic, historic rivalry. USC, which is also facing the impending Big-10/Pac-12 agreement and scheduling tightness hasn’t so much as whispered talk of dropping or even changing that annual game. Why? Because it’s valued. It’s a storied tradition and a rivalry.
Recently, Coach Whittingham has referenced balance in scheduling while referring to the continuation of the Utah-BYU game. He’s probably thinking of balance to be able to not only win the Pac-12 South, but have a chance at winning the Pac-12 Conference and perhaps even a National Championship.
But what about the new playoff system? While little is known about exactly how the four playoff teams will be selected, we do know there will be a committee and strength of schedule will play into the selection process. Having Michigan on Utah’s schedule will likely help plead the case should Utah find itself in that position.
But will playing a couple of teams like Northern Colorado be enough to hurt the Utes in that process when LSU, Alabama, Oklahoma , Oregon, or USC could all be knocking too? BYU is a manageable game that carries national recognition and weight, a strength that will help plead Utah’s case should it ever come down to it.
The Utah football program has had a reputation for not backing down to a challenge. Did we just outgrow that? Or was that just the “Mountain West-Utah program?” Because it sure sounds like Utah is now backing down to BYU. The Cougars are just too tough for Utah to handle now.
Whether other Ute fans will admit it or not, BYU has played an integral part in Utah’s football program becoming what it is today. Through the "Dark Ages" of Utah football — the 70s and 80s — that game on our schedule was a strong force that motivated the Utes to keep trying to improve each year, even though for almost 30 years BYU beat Utah nearly every game.
When I was a child and Coach Ron McBride had just taken the reigns of the program, Utah wasn’t winning a lot of games through the season, but everything could be made right and the season considered a success if we could just beat BYU that last and final game. I believe that winning the annual BYU game kept any hope of success alive for Utah, which eventually grew into winning seasons and bowl-game wins under McBride.
This was the foundation for the strength and success the Utah program is seeing today. Besides, the Cougars enjoyed nearly three decades of Cougar dominance. Doesn’t 30 years of Ute dominance sound nice? 54-10 anyone?
In the end, the rivalry is all fun and games of course, but this is a great part of our state’s cultural history. It’s an event that captures the attention of easily hundreds of thousands around the state and many more around the nation.
Whether the Utah-BYU game is played Week 1, 2, 3 or the second-to-last week or the last, one thing is certain — the Holy War should continue every year so that great stories, traditions and moments will continue to be a part of this state’s history and culture.
