I've learned a lot about college athletics this summer, when Utah was invited to join the Pac-10, BYU declared its independence in football at the expense of every other sport and Utah State was knocked back into yesterday — just when it finally looked like tomorrow was full of promise.

I learned once and for all, when coaches and administrators say, "It's all about the kids," it really isn't.

I learned, when the suit-and-tie guys say, "It's not about the money," it always is.

I learned that 100-year-old rivalries with neighboring schools mean next-to-nothing.

I learned that everybody is out for themselves when it comes to getting their games on TV, pocketing a buck and making sure the palatial stadium suites where school presidents socialize and watch their student-athletes knock heads are happy places.

I've probably been naïve for a long, long time. But in our little corner of the world, don't college athletics seem more like professional athletics than they did only a few months ago?

The only things missing now, it seems to me, are salary caps, free agency and reality TV shows starring the Big Man on Campus.

Of course, I don't have the answers to five of my lingering questions.

Maybe you do.

1. The next time Utah State should tie itself to the coat-tails of BYU is when:

(a) The Cougars finally agree to a home-and-home in men's basketball.

(b) Utah State needs to fill a hole in its women's soccer schedule.

(c) The Aggies start a baseball program.

(d) Cache Valley freezes over.

2. With a nudge of encouragement from business partner ESPN, the most common starting time for BYU football games in 2011 will be:

(a) 1:30 p.m. on Saturday.

(b) 8 p.m. on Wednesday.

(c) The same time as Provo High on Friday.

(d) 6 p.m. Sunday.

3. BYU's journey to independence in football started when:

(a) The Mountain West Conference's TV experiment failed to deliver a large national audience.

(b) The Cougars, as the second-place team in the Mountain West, went to their fifth straight Las Vegas Bowl in 2009.

(c) Despised rival Utah was invited to join the Pac-10, and keeping up with the Whittinghams became at issue.

(d) Utah's first settlers left Illinois in those first covered wagons in 1847.

4. Weber State played its season opener against far-off Boston College because:

(a) Coach Ron McBride wanted a stern early test for his team.

(b). Hofstra dropped football and Weber State athletic department officials were the first to inquire about the vacancy on Boston College's schedule.

(b) The Wildcats are seeking more national exposure, with a long-range goal of going independent.

(d) The 'Cats pocketed $350,000.

5. So far, Utah's greatest accomplishment during its years in the Mountain West Conference has been:

(a) Winning two BCS bowls.

(b) Sending players like Alex Smith, Eric Weddle, Steve Smith and Paul Kruger to the NFL.

(c) Sending Urban Meyer to Florida.

(d) Attempting an onside kick with a six-touchdown lead in the third quarter against Wyoming and getting out of Laramie alive.