Well, it was fun while it lasted, but it's time to say goodbye. The BYU football team, which has lived in the Western Athletic Conference for 37 years, is finally leaving the old neighborhood and moving to a new address. They'll play their final WAC game today against Air Force to decide the league championship, then they'll join the exodus with some of their old buddies.
Let's face it, the old neighborhood finally just got too crowded. The Cougars hardly knew anyone anymore. They rarely saw the old gang -- Air Force, Wyoming, Colorado State, San Diego State . . . Their Saturday guests were weaker and less interesting, and the property taxes were going through the roof, what with sharing their bowl receipts with everybody and his dog, which accurately describes most of the new opponents.The WAC used to be such a quiet, simple little place. This was before the league hung out a sign -- Give us your tired, your poor, your stiffs, your schools without hope of a winning season, your football teams that have nowhere else to go because everybody has the good sense not to take them, except us. The next thing you know, strangers from Texas, California and Oklahoma are moving into the neighborhood, and the place went to pot. The big, new WAC was so bad it actually made the old WAC look good.
So it's time to move on. Go ahead, wax nostalgic and break out the family photo album. Here's a picture of the Cougars accepting the WAC trophy. Here's another picture of the Cougars accepting the WAC trophy. Here's another picture of the Cougars accepting the trophy . . .
This is a bittersweet day for the Cougars. They joined the WAC the day it opened for business in 1962, John Kennedy's second year in the White House. They grew up in the WAC, from 90-pound weaklings to league bully and national powerhouse. They had had only 12 winning seasons in 37 years of playing football before moving into the league, most of them just barely over .500. Now they have 20 bowl games under their belts and an invitation for No. 21.
A win in today's game against Air Force would give the Cougars 19 league championships in the 37 years the WAC has existed, including 18 of the past 23. Only a couple of teams in a century of college football have ever dominated a conference the way the Cougars have.
But Cougars have outgrown the WAC, or the WAC has outgrown the Cougars, and now they're outta here. The WAC has always been a work in progress, with schools coming and going. In 1962 it consisted of six schools -- BYU, Utah, Arizona, Arizona State, New Mexico and Wyoming. In '67, Colorado State and UTEP moved in. In '78, San Diego arrived, but Arizona and Arizona State left.
In '79, Hawaii joined, and Air Force followed a year later. In '92, Fresno State moved in. In '96, San Jose State, Nevada-Las Vegas, Rice, SMU, Tulsa and TCU showed up at the WAC's doorsteps with their hands out. It was no longer really the Western Athletic Conference; it was the Anything Between the Mississippi and Tonga Conference.
The WAC thought bigger was better, but there's a difference between being bigger and being fatter. Old rivalries ended, replaced by losing opponents with no local interest. Instead of eight solid teams and a couple of bad ones, there were eight solid teams and eight bad ones, and more neighbors with which to share the TV and bowl money. So BYU, Utah, Air Force, Colorado State, New Mexico, San Diego State, Nevada-Las Vegas and Wyoming formed their own league, the haves leaving the have-nots.
Today's game is the not-so-grand finale for the old WAC. It's a reminder of what was wrong with the newer, fatter league. The BYU-Air Force matchup was once a hit series before the WAC canceled it three years ago. In the future, BYU can renew acquaintances with Air Force, not to mention Wyoming, Colorado State and San Diego State (it's funny how much better games against those teams look now that the Cougars have had three seasons of playing Bad Teams From Texas, Etc.).
The WAC's problems have also taken some of the luster off today's championship game. The winner was supposed to claim an automatic bowl bid, ideally in the Holiday Bowl, but the Holiday Bowl has abandoned the league, and the latter didn't find a replacement. The Cougars and Falcons found their own bowl games. The only thing today's game will do is hurt either the Liberty or Aloha bowls by giving BYU or Air Force a loss.
People in the old neighborhood probably don't know whether to cry or throw a party now that BYU is leaving. The good news: BYU is leaving. The bad news: BYU is leaving. The league's rival coaches have heard worse news. On the other hand, absolutely none of them minded the money and notoriety the Cougars brought the league. Now the WAC's marquee team is leaving. After today, the WAC and the Cougars -- a pretty good team for nearly four decades -- are parting company for good.