Thanks to the checkbook of Bristol sports programmer ESPN, BYU is perfectly happy with “Plan B,” The Associated Press reports.
Two weeks after BYU’s original intention to go independent in football collapsed in a matter of hours, athletic director Tom Holmoe made the announcement Wednesday that has been haunting him for much of the last month: The Cougars are going solo in football, accepting the many risks with the hopes of greater rewards.
BYU and ESPN have reached an eight-year deal for the network or one of its affiliates broadcast the Cougars’ home games, which at the moment are a lot of open dates.
BYU’s other sports have found a new home in the West Coast Conference, which is a non-football league and turned out to be an ideal fit after BYU’s deal with the Western Athletic Conference crashed hard on Aug. 18.
“I’d say it was exhilarating, fun, hard, terrible, great — and done,” Holmoe said with a weary smile during a news conference at LaVell Edwards Stadium.
Holmoe said BYU is trying to gain more exposure and immediately announced two moves that will get the Cougars some notice.
Holmoe said scheduling as one of just four independents in major college football was an obvious risk that BYU considered, but felt the Cougars still have enough name recognition and a large fan base that should make building a schedule without eight conference games at least a little easier.
One of the future opponents will likely be Notre Dame, which Holmoe said is working with BYU to iron out the details on a six-game deal through 2020. Another is archrival Utah, which is also leaving the Mountain West after getting an invitation to join the Pac-10 next year.
The Cougars will also be without the Mountain West’s guaranteed bowl spots and there will be no league title to try and win. But Holmoe said BYU will have more chances to play in the spotlight on ESPN, where BYU was once a regular when the network was still a cable newcomer.
