The Jimmer express ran out of gas in overtime in New Orleans tonight. This is really where the loss of Davies hurt the Cougars. They were able to hang with the Gators in regulation, but did not have enough for the extra frame. Now the Cougars retool and move to a new Conference. They will need to raise the bar on fitness and depth if we expect to see BYU in the Elite 8 or beyond. The same goes if the Big 12 is indeed in BYU's future. To use a football analogy, Dave Rose is has just finished the John Beck era of BYU basketball.
Jimmer will also need to adapt his game or play in Europe.
No sooner than it takes for Jimmer to dry off from his post-game shower, reports are linking Dave Rose to either the vacant Oklahoma job or Missouri job. ESPN's Andy Katz is right. Dave Rose should be coaching in the Big 12. BYU should be in the Big 12.
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Conference Expansion Update...
Big 12
BYU's NCAA tournament run has again stoked the possibility that BYU would be a good fit for the Big 12. But it would surprise me if any offer came before the end of the 2012 basketball season. If BYU is in the sweet 16 and pushing for the elite 8 again in 2012, then talk of the Big 12 will heat up. Right now, the majority of Big 12 presidents do not like working around the Cougars no Sunday play.
There are rumors, however, that the Big 12 will look past the Cougars and take UNLV and San Diego State instead. I have seen 1 report, but have not been able to verify or find it again, that Sam Boyd Stadium will soon see a major face lift, including new locker rooms, weight rooms and other athletic facilities as well as an expansion above 45,000 from the current 37,000. This should help recruiting. UNLV is good in almost every sport other than football. Better facilities will lead to better recruiting which will lead to more gridiron success and will eventually bring Veagans out to the games.
San Diego State, on the other hand, need to figure out how to turn recent successes into more people in the stadium. It will be tough to convince Big 12 people to include the Aztecs if they continue to see attendance in the low 20s. Attendance in the high 30s to low 40s would be better. Filling your 71,000 seat stadium would be priceless.
However, if the Big 12 is to get back to 12 they could bring BYU in the fold as a football-only member and then use Creighton as the non-football school.
On the WAC front, the WAC invite to Montana was open ended, and Montana did not say "go away, get out of here and never darken our doorstep again." (That is what I heard when I was a missionary in Montana.) It was "now is not the right time" and "without some of our rivals (Montana State) it would not be worth it" and "how can we pay for this". Surely, Montana fans would show up from all over Montana to see the likes of Washington, BYU and other former rivals in Missoula. These schools are certain to schedule home and home games with the Grizzlies. Montanans would also travel to a bowl game, even in Boise.
This could be why everyone is silent on the issue. Negotiations are pending and in the dark. But indications are that the WAC wants a 12-team football conference. There may also be a football-only invitation to Cal-Poly and/or Cal-Davis in the works. Allowing these schools to keep their other sports in the travel-friendly Big West Conference may be a win/win for both the WAC and for these California schools.
The WAC may not make a lot of money by staging a conference championship game, but can reduce football travel costs by dividing. Try this out for size:
West Division
Cal Poly (Football-only)
Denver (Non-football)
Idaho
Montana
Montana State
Utah State
San Jose State
East Division
Lamar
Louisiana Tech
Louisiana Monroe
New Mexico State
Texas State
UTSA
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