This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2011, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
As has been widely reported today, BYU football coach Bronco Mendenhall in his weekly news conference confirmed that BYU officials are talking to the Big East about possibly joining that conference (football only). Check out my full report on that here, including BYU associate athletic director for communication Duff Tittle confirming Mendenhall's revelation. Since then, Brett McMurphy of CBSsports.com has reported that San Diego State is also interested in joining the Big East. Yes, that San Diego State. But wait, does San Diego State really want to be in a conference (again) with BYU? Have the Aztecs already forgotten that thousands and thousands of BYU fans have packed their home football and basketball games the past, oh, 20 years? Apparently, SDSU hated all that increased revenue. Through a GRAMA (open records) request, the Tulsa World apparently obtained emails that were sent to Oklahoma president David L. Boren and AD Joe Castiglione regarding possible Big 12 expansion. And one of those emails came from Jenny Bramer, SDSU Associate Athletic Director. And Bramer, apparently, did not like being in the MWC with BYU. Her email, published by the Tulsa World, attempts to butter up Castiglione with some personal stuff (she's an OU grad) first, then lists some reasons why the Big 12 should consider the Aztecs. But it is her last paragraph that BYU will be most interested in: "Is there anything that [SDSU A.D.] Jim [Sterk] or I can be doing to share the message about all San Diego State's advantages? Or for that matter sharing all the disadvantages of being in the conference with BYU!"