3 Reasons I Won't Be Heartbroken If BYU Doesn't Get Into the Big 12

The moment is (maybe) upon us. The Big 12 head honchos are (supposedly) going to meet tomorrow and will (possibly) make a decision regarding expansion. Although it wouldn't surprise me one iota if they come out and say they're still trying to decide whether to expand or not, I have a hunch they will announce that they have decided not to expand at all. Sounds like it will just create too much drama with their current TV contracts, and they never wanted to expand in the first place-- I think they just felt obligated to "explore" the idea so people wouldn't accuse them of making a rash decision without looking into all the options. Whether the announcement is made tomorrow or six months or a year from now, I don't know, but I do know if they decide not to expand or if they do decide to expand but not include BYU, a lot of BYU fans are going to be very upset. I'm not one of those people. Here's why.

1. I like decisive people. Flakiness is one of my biggest pet peeves, and the Big 12 has made it very clear they are the WORST decision makers on the PLANET. They dilly-dally around ideas for months or years before making a decision. And usually the decision they come to after a slew of meetings is a decision to explore the idea of possibly making a decision at some undetermined point in the future. I really don't want my school to be part of an organization that can't get their act together well enough to accomplish anything. It's so infuriating, and if every single one of their decisions (or lack thereof) started affecting BYU, I think it would make me want to pull my hair out... This tweet I saw a few weeks ago sums it up pretty well:



2. I like variety. It's exciting to play a mostly different batch of teams each year. If I was Tom Holmoe, I'd probably be frustrated by the prospect of continuing to put together an entire schedule every year from scratch, but I'm not Tom Holmoe. If BYU joined the Big 12, sure, they'd play teams like Texas, Oklahoma, and Baylor every year without even trying, but I think it's fun to have a little bit of mystery and variety behind the schedule. Just judging by how tired I am of playing WCC teams in basketball year after year (and it's only been 5 years), I think I'd get pretty tired of playing the same teams every year in football, too.

3. I like the honor code. I'll try not to get on my soap box too much here, but it seems to me like the only reason the Big 12 would expand but not include BYU is because of the honor code. And if that happens, I say good-freaking-riddance. So you don't want to associate yourself with a school that stands up for what they believe in and has moral guidelines that the large majority of people in the world would never voluntarily subscribe to? Even worse, you don't want to associate yourself with that school BECAUSE of those guidelines? It is my belief that anyone who says BYU's honor code discriminates against LGBT people or sexual assault victims doesn't understand the honor code. And the honor code does SO much more good than harm that it's not even a remotely close comparison. If you want us to throw out our standards and religious beliefs to be part of your club, then I am just fine with staying as far away from you as possible.

So while there may be weeping and whaling and gnashing of teeth if the Big 12 decides not to expand or to disqualify BYU from their expansion exploration, I'm okay with it. Yes, there would definitely be some good aspects of being a member of the Big 12 (like recruiting, financial compensation, etc.), but I think being Independent is pretty good too.