This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2010, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
It is becoming clear from various reports around the Mountain West Conference that some longtime BYU rivals have had their feelings hurt that the Cougars are leaving the league (after this school year). Wyoming's track coach, Wyoming's athletic director and San Diego State football coach Brady Hoke have all been quoted as saying they aren't interested in playing the Cougars any more. From BYU's end, though, it appears the Cougars want to continue some of their rivalries, if some of those rivals are willing. For instance, I asked BYU basketball coach Dave Rose about playing the school's three biggest basketball rivals (outside of the state of Utah). Those three are UNLV, San Diego State and New Mexico — at least recently. "I hope so. I hope so," Rose said. "I think that those have been great games, really competitive games. It will be interesting to see without the conference alignment if they will have the same interest. But I believe they will. And hopefully we will be able to continue some of those games." Personally, I wouldn't be surprised if it takes five or so years before relations thaw and a few of those games get put back on the schedule. Then again, if I never have to watch another game in The Pit — which has the worst setup for visiting media in the conference, by far — with some fan screaming "Go Lobos, Go Lobos" in my ear from 2 feet behind me, and a dozen or so ans standing in front of me until the opposing team scores, I won't be too disappointed. As a town, Albuquerque is a bit underrated, though. Of course, it's not Malibu (home of the WCC's Pepperdine), either. ———————————- Speaking of BYU basketball's scheduling, it was announced Thursday that the Cougars have added that final nonconference opponent to the 2010-11 slate. The Cougars will play host to Fresno Pacific, an NAIA team in the Golden State Athletic Conference, on Jan. 1, 2011. Rose was asked Wednesday if playing in the WCC will cause him to want to add more big-name programs to his nonconference schedule in the future. He said he believes the new partnership with ESPN will open the doors for that. "Well, we have really hoped to have been able to increase the competitiveness of our nonconference schedule. We hoped to be able to do it with this agreement with ESPN, that they might be able to help us get into some of their multi-team events, to get us into neutral court events. We have the [EnergySolutions] arena, which has been terrific for us. But those are things that Gonzaga [of the WCC] has built into their schedule. And hopefully we can learn something from that."—————————— What about Utah? Rose said he has spoken to Utah coach Jim Boylen and that the plan is to continue the rivalry. However, it is likely there will be just one game per year, rotating sites. It's not known yet if the 2011 game will be played in Provo or SLC. Rose said BYU and Utah State will play every year as well. By the way, USU announced today that it will play at Georgetown this season. However, the Hoyas are not making a return visit to Logan.————————— Mentioned before that highly touted class of 2011 basketball recruit Damarcus Harrison is making his official campus visit to BYU this weekend. Ironically, Harrison (from South Carolina) will visit Florida State on Sept. 18 when the Seminoles are hosting the Cougars in football. Marquette and Clemson are the other two schools still in the running for Harrison. I asked Rose on Wednesday if recruiting to the WCC will be any different than recruiting to the MWC. "Well, I spent a lot of time last night calling some of the guys we are involved with right now, and most of them were extremely positive. One thing about the WCC that players know, recruits know, about the league, is that they've seen it on ESPN. That's a good thing."————————— More from Rose on BYU's Independence Day: On the positives of going to the WCC for BYU basketball fans: "In Southern California, our fans have been really, really good. I think there are three schools there, where there will be a lot of electricity and excitement in the gyms. We played at St. Mary's, in front of a packed house where they are leaning over the railings. We have not played at Gonzaga, but I have a feeling those will be extremely competitive games with a great college atmosphere, so we just look forward to a new challenge, and see how it works out." On finally getting a chance to play a home-and-home with Gonzaga: "I was with [Gonzaga coach] Mark [Few] this weekend, and we didn't know what was going to happen, but we both knew that something was in the works, and that it was a possibility. And we had quite a few conversations. I just told Mark, maybe we will get a home and home, in the next year or so." On coming full circle with ESPN, after there was some griping about scheduling issues caused by ESPN 5-6 years ago:"I can't answer that, because I don't remember the griping. But if that's what happened, we have come full circle. But for me, I think we are just excited to be in an alignment with a network that shows games all over the country." On whether he's worried some WCC games are played late at night: "The only conversation that I have had is that the core scheduling will be Thursday-Saturday, with some games on Monday. We do know that those Monday games are 9 o'clock starts on the West Coast, which would be 10 o'clock here, so it would be later. We have talked about the number of those games in our arena, and hopefully those are limited. But we will have to wait and see how that agreement works out."On Gonzaga's national respect helping the WCC: "Absolutely, because you have a league that is recognizable by a national power. And Gonzaga has been in the national spotlight for 10 years now, every year, not only do they do well in league, but they have also been successful in the tournament." On his biggest concern as negotiations for a conference were ongoing: "My biggest concern was that in this process, you make sure you get us in a league that has an automatic bid for the tournament winner. And it looks like we've done a pretty good job at that."