Another Death in the Mountain West Family...

Only a couple of days after UNLV radio analyst Glen Gondrezick passed away, Colorado State University radio play-by-play broadcaster Rich Bircumshaw has died after a massive stroke suffered early Wednesday.

Like Gondo, Rich was relatively young--only 54 years old.

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I have known Rich as long as I have been working on the BYU broadcasts, and he was undoubtedly one of my favorite colleagues in the conference. He always greeted me warmly and with genuine kindness, and was one of the guys who made my job even more enjoyable that it already is. We often commiserated about our early hours and common challenges, and his pleasant demeanor always brightened our conversations.

Rich would be dressed in CSU green for every broadcast, and he wore his loyalties on his sleeve, for which he was beloved by Rams fans. His broadcasts were professional and entertaining, and he provided a tremendous overall presentation--a comfortable voice quality, an exciting play-by-play rhythm, and always-colorful descriptions.

I last time I saw Rich was last month at the Mountain West Conference Tournament in Las Vegas, during which the conference's radio broadcast teams gathered for what we hoped will be a now-annual dinner. Although the Ram hoopsters had just lost in the first round earlier that day, Rich was in typically good spirits, and was the evening's "entertainer." It is sad to think that any such get-togethers in the future will not include our respected and well-liked friend and fellow broadcaster.

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This news came out of the MWC offices yesterday:

Energy and Commerce Subcommittee Hearing on "The Bowl Championship Series: Money and Other Issues of Fairness for Publicly Financed Universities"

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WASHINGTON, DC —The Subcommittee on Commerce, Trade, and Consumer Protection will hold a hearing titled, "The Bowl Championship Series: Money and Other Issues of Fairness for Publicly Financed Universities" on Friday, May 1, 2009. This hearing will examine issues of competitive fairness and the extent to which public colleges and universities are adversely impacted by the inequitable distribution of revenue generated from the Bowl Championship Series system.

INVITED WITNESSES:

• John Swofford, Commissioner, Atlantic Coast Conference, Coordinator, Bowl Championship Series

• Craig Thompson, Commissioner, Mountain West Conference

• Paul J. Hoolahan, Chairman, Football Bowl Alliance

• Gene Bleymaier, Athletic Director, Boise State University

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While I am not confident that a hearing or a lawsuit will bring about the changes non-BCS schools and conferences seek, at least the inherent inequity that has festered in the dark over the last decade is being brought to light.

I have always maintained that the most insidious aspect of the BCS is not simply the exclusion of certain teams from certain games, but rather the creation of a two-tier system within the Football Bowl Subdivision--which by classification, should give its members equal opportunities and status.

After ten years of the BCS, and ten years of wildly disparate revenue distribution shares to BCS and non-BCS schools and leagues, a de facto "second tier" football division has been created--similar to what existed when the NCAA's football-playing schools were known as 1-A and 1-AA.

While the Mountain West Conference has made significant inroads, the recent NFL Draft is just the latest example of the two-tier system in place:

2009 Draft Picks, by conference:

SEC-37

ACC-33

Pac 10-32

Big 12-28

Big Ten-28

Big East-27

Mountain West-16

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Have schools in the "Power Six" conferences historically had an advantage on draft day? Certainly. What the BCS does in ensure that players in non-BCS leagues will never be judged by the same criteria as their BCS-conference peers, since the "tiering" of college football automatically downgrades players from non-BCS leagues due to their lack of schedule strength--strength that only comes from playing teams in BCS leagues.

A cycle has been created by which years of fiscal inequity has rewarded schools in six specific conferences with, among other things:

more impressive training, practice and game facilities

remarkably higher coaches' salaries

much more national television exposures through much more lucrative media contracts

bowl berths that are by and large off-limits to non-BCS teams

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Indeed, the hearing press release above hits to the heart of the matter when it states that the elected representatives will examine "the extent to which public colleges and universities are adversely impacted by the inequitable distribution of revenue generated from the Bowl Championship Series system."

20 or 25 years ago, when BYU played Penn State, or Texas, or Pittsburgh, or Miami, the schools operated on a much more level playing field. While the "bigger name" schools might have had an edge here or there, there was never an across-the-board sense that BYU was the inferior team battling an unbeatable behemoth--indeed, the results of those matchups played in the 80s and 90s showed the pairings to be relatively even. What ten years of the BCS have done is turn every one of those current-day matchups into David v. Goliath affairs, with the giant-killers battling not only generally superior athletes, but athletes now induced in greater numbers by opportunities unavailable to their lower-tier opponents.

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The BYU Basketball Cougars' securing of Logan Magnusson's commitment will become official when he signs his Letter of Intent. No more scholarship offers are projected at this point, so here's how I see the BYU roster in the fall (in descending order based on year of eligibility):

Jonathan Tavernari (Sr)

Chris Miles (Sr)

Lamont Morgan (Sr)

Jimmer Fredette (Jr)

Jackson Emery (Jr)

Logan Magnusson (Jr-TR)

Michael Loyd (So)

James Anderson (So)

Noah Hartsock (So)

Charles Abouo (So)

Brock Zylstra (R-Fr)

Tyler Haws (Fr)

Brandon Davies (Fr)

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That's 13 players--12 of whom are projected to be on scholarship. Zylstra will be a non-scholarship player with a guaranteed roster spot after redshirting during his pre-mission freshman season.

Obviously, I do anticipate Jonathan Tavernari returning for his senior season.

I do not anticipate Matt Pinegar being part of the BYU Basketball program next season.

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