FREEDOM!!!!!!!!!!

Is BYU seriously considering going independent? I sincerely hope not. But there are rumors flying around the boards (cougarboard.com and utefans.net) stating that it may be coming sooner than we think.

Certainly, Utah to the Pac-12 was big blow to BYU, especially the schools actual athletic leadership and President. It is no secret that AD Tom Holmoe wasn't the least bit thrilled about it. It is natural for the Cougs to try to respond and try to improve their lot. Many think that independence is the way to go. It isn't.

Here's why. First, they are not Notre Dame. Yes, the Cougs have a solid national following. One of the strongest in the nation, but it is not that robust. Notre Dame can only pull it off because of who they are and there are many speculating that they will need a conference soon.

Scheduling 12 games per year is hard, way harder than scheduling 4. Sure they will get Utah and Utah State annually, maybe they could talk Notre Dame, Navy, and Army into annual meetings as well, but it is a tough sell. The biggest challenge will be to get good tough teams to sign on to home and homes. The only reason to do it is to make themselves stronger to win national championships. If they can't schedule a tough schedule they will be up a creek.

The Cougs will also not be getting Notre Dame BCS exceptions. They will be under the same rules as Navy, Army, and others. They have a much better chance at breaking into the BCS and getting a national championship in the Mountain West than they would being independent.

They are also no more likely to get an invite into the Big-12 (their last BCS hope if the MWC doesn't qualify) being independent. Again, higher likelihood for success in the MWC, which equals more cache and better chance at a better conference.

All this being said, there are some compelling reasons to consider independence. The primary one being television and the revenue that comes from that. BYU already has it's own TV network with national exposure (BYUTV), being the MWC and being stuck with the "Mtn." is undoubtedly costing the school money.

The other thing that independence brings is potentially greater national exposure in terms of where they travel. If the Church wants to use the school as a missionary tool to an extent, being able to travel to new environs would be beneficial.

Ultimately, however, the MWC is the best place for BYU right now. Hopefully, the Big-12 will stay together and decide to go back to 12 teams before too long and perhaps BYU will be able to snag one of those openings. But even if they don't they still are in a strong conference with good competition. The conference with Boise is pretty much the same as it was with Utah. Also, if Boise and TCU or BYU go undefeated this year, one of them will play in the NC game. This could add a lot of cache to the conference and I would argue makes the MWC a lock to become a BCS conference.