First, is this the last chance for BYU to get into a power conference? No. There will be changes coming to college education and to college sports. There is no way that this will be the end of expansion. One thing that we have not yet to see, which is surely coming sometime in the near future, is power 5 programs who are not keeping up deciding to accept a step back. Much like Idaho has taken a step back from the FBS and deciding to return to the Big Sky Conference. I do not know who, yet. But there are very few programs actually profitable. Sooner or later, states will look at expenses, and determine that the high cost isn't worth it. Schools, after all, are spending tons of money on facilities that do not seem to educate students, and only benefit a handful. That money has to be looked at. Is it really fair to force students to borrow money to cover the expenses of others? Some schools will have to make hard choices and determine that Power-5 athletics are not worth the price, and drop bakc. If BYU does not get into the Big 12 now, there will shortly be other opportunities.
Will BYU remain independent if the Big 12 passes on them this time time? That will be the case if they can find another conference that will work with them. Perhaps it will be the American, but just for football. It is still doubtful, at least in my mind, that the MWC will take them back. Perhaps there will be a new conference form for the Cougars. However, it seems most likely that if the Big 12 passes on the Cougars, that they will remain independent for the near future.
My hunch is that it is most likely that BYU will join the Big 12 with Cincinnati. And if it is not now, it is also not never, either.
