G-BO wrote on August 11, 2008 06:17 PM: Utah and byu should both become independents in order to dominate the world in all their formidability. I and the rest of the MWC fan base surely do not want to "hold back" these two TITANS. Whatever...the Pac-10 is not about to invite byu. The mormons can't play on Sunday and the utah runnin'beehives are a far cry from becoming an elite conference member. So sorry to break it to you great salt lake area residents but the PAC-10 is more likely to invite Colorado and Hawaii. So get used to your MWC jail cell...or become independents!

rebelx wrote on August 04, 2008 08:01 PM: If UNLV ever even CONSIDERED anything but D1 athletics, the administration pushing it should be fired immediately.

UNLV is the only University for a community of 2 million plus. The reason football hasn't done anything is because they can't string together any success whatsoever...but there's no excuse for not doing it. UNLV just needs continuity, and a great leader...that's it. It will happen some day, mark my words.

Vegan wrote on July 02, 2008 10:43 AM: BYU and UTAH need to get out of the MWC. The MWC is holding them back in so many ways. Please Please Please PAC10 save those schools from the MWC.

Chad wrote on July 02, 2008 10:18 AM: BYU & Utah are formidable. The MWC may not compare with the Pac 10 from top to bottom, but BYU & Utah certainly hold their own. If those programs were added to the Pac 10, then recruiting would only get better too. They already compete well with Pac 10 teams, and with the BCS name attached, they would no doubt increase that ability as well as up the strength of an already powerful Pac 10.

The only reason Pac 10 teams should think twice before adding the Utah/BYU rivalry is that many of those teams will lose in the beehive state. Ask UCLA or Arizona how fun it was to play football in the state of Utah last year. If you want a fun trip to Vegas each year, schedule UNLV to give a thumping to. Visiting Reno is of no appeal outside of an easy win, either. But if you want a tough game, come to Utah.

The MWC, as a conference, would miss BYU & Utah greatly. But the Pac 10, as a conference, would benefit hugely. The MWC teams could win easier without the likes of BYU & Utah. The Pac 10 teams would have to deal with two more tough opponents in their schedules.

So, how gutsy is the Pac 10? How good do individual teams in that conference really think they are? BYU & Utah bring prestige, but the reason they haven't been added already is because of member teams fear of adding losses to their schedules (In both recruiting and on the field).

Oliver Clothesoff wrote on July 01, 2008 11:29 AM: In 3-5 years, UNLV will be a shell of its present self due to the budget gutting (not a typo). The football program will be lucky if it still exists in 5 years, and many other sports will be gone. Today, UNLV can sort of BS its way into almost being in the same league of, say, Washington State. In 5 years it will not be worthy of sniffing WSU's jock strap. Let alone UCLA's.

The Real Rebel Realist wrote on July 01, 2008 11:20 AM: "Finally, any pair of schools invited into the Pac-10 probably should continue the pattern of sets of geographic and reciprocal rivals,"
Which is the most obvious characteristic of choosing which schools to add.

First: Therefore I don't see the PAC 10 moving on any Texas school any time soon.

Second: Everyone knows that the success of the two major sports is all that matters when talking about college athletics. UNLV does fall way, way short football wise but here are the numbers none the less.

By the numbers: Head to Head wins for football and basketball combined for the last two seasons:

2007/2008
UNLV: 5
UTAH/BYU: 3

basketball (2-1 vs BYU; 2-1 vs UTAH)
football (0-1 vs BYU; 1-0 vs UTAH)

2006/2007
UNLV: 5
UTAH/BYU: 3

basketball (2-1 vs BYU; 3-0 vs UTAH)
football (0-1 vs BYU; 0-1 vs UTAH)

NCAA Tournament Appearances/Wins
2007/2008
2006/2007

UNLV: 2/3
BYU/UTAH: 2/0

National Championships All Time(Two majors only)

UNLV: 1 (1990 Basketball)
BYU/UTAH: 2 (BYU 1984 Football;UTAH 1944 Basketball if you want to count this)

NCAA Tournament Appearances

UNLV(EST. 1957): 16
BYU (EST. 1875): 23
UTAH (EST. 1850): 26

NCAA Bowl Appearances

UNLV(Football started 1968): 3
BYU(Football started 1922): : 26
UTAH(Football started 1892): : 13

Another Big Year Is Here wrote on July 01, 2008 09:40 AM: Texas and A&M people. That's who the PAC-10 makes a move for first. And, you all are crazy who talk about UNLV being a I-AA school. That's absolutely absurd.

The only thing that takes UNLV out of PAC-10 consideration is the disastrous football team, which could have been averted by building on John Robinson's mediocrity. At least Robinson had them winning on the national scene (at Wisconsin in '03). One more sucky Sanford season and he should be done.

Paul wrote on July 01, 2008 09:03 AM: rebelrealist, good point. UNLV is probably a very good 1-AA team for football but of course golf and basketball will never want that for themselves.

Similar to Dartstock's comments, if BYU/UTAH go, then we should seriously consider taking the best of the MWC, WAC, and Big Sky and make a new 12 team conference with two divisions where we can also have our own conference championships. The schools west of the Mississippi not already taken by the Big Ten or Big 12 are few and far between-mainly due to geography. We neeed to get realistic about what our options are.

rebelrealist wrote on July 01, 2008 08:49 AM: UNLV should consider Division II or III. Even discussing them in the PAC10 is a joke. It's like discussing the AREA 51's and MLB expansion. Or Cashman Field and the ball fields at Lorenzi park. Las Vegans are clinging to the flash in the pan that was the early 90's basketball team. Hope springs eternal.

Pac10 fan wrote on July 01, 2008 07:48 AM: I know that UNLV's football program is not a top-tier program, but BYU nor Utah is a good fit for the conference. Who is going to want to travel to the exciting Provo/Salt Lake cities? Nobody. Vegas and Reno are much better cities to visit.

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