ScottyBuff

The debate about Brigham Young is a valid one, and it would be extremely tempting to add a combination of Utah and BYU. Basketball travel pairs and in-state rivalries would provide synergy with the rest of the conference, and both schools would be competitive in many sports.

However, the "overlapping" of TV markets that the conference currently possesses by having two teams that draw from each major market is the primary reason that the TV contract was not as lucrative as other conferences. This can only be overcome by luring the two biggest markets to the table in Denver and Salt Lake City, not just one of them.

As a backup plan to successfully convincing Colorado to join the Pac-10, there would be several schools with slight advantages over others, but no clear-cut front-runner.

Brigham Young University is a private RU/H institution with a $300 million endowment. U.S. News & World Report ranks BYU as No. 71 in the nation, and athletically BYU has outstanding facilities and fields extremely competitive teams in many sports. The only drawback would be the above-mentioned TV market "overlap."

BYU also is a very strong traveling team for away games and would form instant rivalries with many Pac-10 schools. Sunday sports scheduling and academic research could be the tipping point on how eager the conference would be to invite BYU. Truth be told, athletically the Cougars should be the first choice to join the Pac-10, but it isn't all about the field of play (sadly).

The United States Air Force Academy is a Federal institution that is considered to be one of the top academic programs in the nation (No. 5 according to U.S. News & World Report, one spot behind Stanford). The local TV market in Colorado Springs is ranked as the 92nd-largest in the nation (Spokane is 75th), and the facilities at the school are fairly good.

There would certainly be a concern that Air Force would not be able to compete week in, week out against top-notch athletes. This point is certainly open for debate as AFA has proven that they can compete at a high level in the past. The Falcons would also be able to draw a national following, being a military service academy with members of the Air Force spread all throughout the country, including Pac-10 country.

The University of Hawaii is RU/VH school with a large endowment ($3 billion system-wide) but is not considered a top-flight academic institution. The distance from other teams would mean extraordinarily high travel costs. The TV market would be ranked 71st in the nation (behind Tucson at 66th), and the facilities are above-average compared to the other candidates.

I think the Warriors can be considered a darkhorse candidate merely because new Pac-10 commissioner Scott has mentioned several times that he sees great potential in tapping into the Southeast Asian markets. Having a foothold that shares some cultural and economic ties with those markets, as well as accessibility to live events, could be intriguing.

The University of New Mexico is also a RU/VH classified university with a moderate endowment $386 million (Arizona State is currently the lowest in the Pac-10 with $407 million). UNM is not considered a top academic school, but their graduate research programs are . The TV market ranks 44th in the nation, however, and is a growing metro area. The Lobos field a competitive basketball team with a tremendous arena and gameday atmosphere (the Pit) but have struggled on the gridiron. Current stadium expansions for the football field create even more potential for New Mexico.

UNLV is only a RU/H (same as Oregon) classification, with a $568 million endowment, and would bring further penetration of the 42nd-largest TV market in Las Vegas , however the Pac-10 is extremely well represented in this city full of California transplants. The basketball program has a history of success, but the football program and facilities are lacking institutional and community support. Travel costs would be much more manageable with UNLV compared to any other option.

The two California state schools (Fresno State and San Diego State) would be tempting but are very limited when it comes to resources and academic programs. Adding too many "California" eggs into the conference basket would be a very risky move as well.

Boise State and Nevada-Reno are located in markets that are too small, and they do not have a large national following to justify that. Both schools are limited when it comes to financial resources, academic standing, and facilities despite their on-field performance.

If Colorado cannot be invited to the conference, which is a very likely scenario, then the best option would be to have Utah and BYU. None of the other candidates could bring the prestige and marketability that BYU could, as well as competition on the fields of play.

Adding only the Salt Lake City market would certainly reduce the value of the expansion, but this would also prove to be a "preemptive strike" strategy to derail any potential that the Mountain West Conference could gain automatic qualification to the Bowl Championship Series.