BYU Goes Independent

BYU is going independent in football after all. BYU says it is leaving the Mountain West Conference and will go independent in football while joining the West Coast Conference in all other sports in the 2011-2012 school year. BYU and its new conference announced the moves in simultaneous releases late Tuesday afternoon, saying further details would be given at a news conference Wednesday at BYU’s LaVell Edwards Stadium. BYU said its resignation from the Mountain West takes effect June 30, 2011, allowing the Cougars to start West Coast Conference play next fall. The announcement ended nearly two weeks of speculation since BYU’s original plan to go independent surfaced, then unraveled within hours when the Mountain West Conference made a protective move and invited Nevada and Fresno State to leave the WAC for the MWC. BYU had an agreement worked out with the WAC to join in all sports except football, which would play as a Bowl Subdivision independent. The Mountain West’s catch of Nevada and Fresno State foiled the plan and left BYU with little time to come up with something else before Sept. 1, the deadline to notify the Mountain West of any plans to leave before the 2011 school year. – SI.com

WAC’s hopes of reeling in BYU get darker

As the window further closes, it increasingly appears the Western Athletic Conference is not in Brigham Young University’s plans as school officials sort out their options for going independent in football and placing BYU’s other sports in another league. Sources in Logan familiar with the situation told The Tribune on Monday it appeared the Cougars were now looking elsewhere for a nonfootball affiliation. That could mean the West Coast Conference — an eight-school league composed of private, faith-based institutions — is now BYU’s destination for its other sports. Utah State, which as of two weeks ago was closely tied to BYU’s plans, expects details about BYU’s intentions of becoming an independent in football to be announced today. BYU must give the Mountain West Conference notice of its intention to leave by Wednesday. – Salt Lake Tribune

Fight over Nevada’s departure from the WAC could end in court

As Nevada begins its transition into the Mountain West Conference, there are two certainties. One, the Wolf Pack will eventually get there, perhaps as early as next summer. Two, little is likely to be decided before Nevada’s lawyers and the WAC’s lawyers earn their paychecks. Nevada’s intentions to leave the WAC and to do so in less than a year have violated two contracts, and the WAC is prepared to take legal action to recoup its losses, WAC commissioner Karl Benson said Monday. Nevada and Fresno State announced on Aug. 18 their intention of joining the MWC, which Benson said violates a resolution agreed to by all the WAC schools except Boise State and Louisiana Tech. The resolution, reached Aug. 13 and also agreed to by BYU, states that those WAC schools would remain in the WAC through June 30, 2016 or face a $5 million penalty. Fresno State signed the resolution; Nevada President Milton Glick verbally agreed to it on Aug. 14. The resolution was drawn up in reaction to BYU’s desire to become a football independent and join the WAC in all other sports. BYU, in discussions with the WAC, wanted assurance that the WAC would maintain its current structure. – Reno Gazette-Journal

Appearance fees for non-BCS programs growing

Louisiana-Lafayette is getting $875,000 from Georgia to visit, in a deal signed three years ago. And in today’s world that’s a bargain. Georgia just signed a deal to give Buffalo $975,000 to open the 2012 season in Athens. Similar deals were given to North Texas ($975,000 to come in 2013) and New Mexico State ($925,000 for 2011.) On the flip side, Louisiana-Lafayette hasn’t signed a deal for under $900,000 since it scheduled Georgia. It’s getting $950,000 from Florida for a 2012 game. That matchup with the Gators was negotiated with Greg McGarity, then at Florida, now the Georgia athletics director. “The key thing is getting teams in here for one game,” McGarity said. “And you’re gonna have to pay a million dollars. It’s not gonna go down.” How did it get to this point? It traces back to the NCAA allowing all teams to play a 12th regular season game, starting with the 2006 season. – Ledger-Enquirer

Tressel remains obedient on moving ‘The Game’

It has been assured that Ohio State and Michigan will continue to play annually, but a debate rages over whether to slot Ohio State and Michigan in opposite divisions and run the risk of the Buckeyes and Wolverines playing on back-to-back weekends. In that instance, ”The Game” might be moved to earlier in the season, a change that has been panned by former players even as OSU director of athletics Gene Smith, president E. Gordon Gee and Michigan AD Dave Brandon have said recently they’re open-minded to moving. The Ohio State-Michigan game has been the two teams’ finale since 1935. On Monday, speaking at his first weekly luncheon in preparation for the season opener Thursday night against Marshall, Tressel tried to bob and weave. ”I guess my stance on all of this stuff is what I am going to be in favor of is what the group needs and what the group decides,” Tressel said. ”I’m going to focus on [OSU's] 25 seniors and the 2010 football team and not allow myself to get distracted [by] all of the discussion.’ – Beacon Journal

BYU still talking to WAC

Don’t count the Western Athletic Conference out of Brigham Young University’s future athletic plans just yet. WAC commissioner Karl Benson told The Salt Lake Tribune on Friday evening that his conference is still negotiating with BYU about the possibility of the Cougars going independent in football and placing its non-football sports in the WAC. “Both sides are still working on a deal that will be beneficial to the WAC and to BYU,” Benson said. Earlier Friday, a source at Utah State also confirmed that negotiations were taking place between the two sides. – Salt Lake Tribune

South Carolina ties to hotel go back to 2009

The ties between South Carolina football players and the Whitney Hotel date to at least 2009, multiple sources close to the program said Thursday. Tight end Weslye Saunders, who is at the center of the NCAA’s investigation of USC, is among the players who lived at the Shandon-area hotel last year. Gamecocks coach Steve Spurrier asked at least 10 current players to move out of the hotel last week and pay their bills. Saunders, a senior from Durham, N.C., is one of several players who owe the hotel thousands of dollars after receiving a discounted monthly rate of $450. Players have been told to re-pay the difference between what they paid and a rate that officials determined to be fair market value. Another source said Saunders must re-pay more than $5,000 to the hotel, where he still had a room as of Wednesday night. At least two players had not made any payments to the hotel for several months, according to a source. USC is working cooperatively with the NCAA on the investigation. Spurrier said this week players could miss games as a result of the Whitney investigation, based on the NCAA’s history with players who received extra benefits. – The State

BYU likely to remain in Mountain West

The Mountain West Conference-BYU impasse could be resolved as soon as today, numerous sources said Wednesday, with all indications that the Cougars will remain in the MWC. The Provo, Utah, school doesn’t have many alternatives since the Mountain West pulled the rug from under the Western Athletic Conference by raiding Fresno State and Nevada. BYU was contemplating going to the WAC in all sports except football and becoming an independent in football but playing a handful of WAC opponents. BYU has made no secret it wants greater freedom to broadcast its games over its network, BYU-TV. Unlike the proposed University of Texas network, BYU-TV isn’t a cash cow but a vehicle for spreading the Mormon faith. – Denver Post

South Carolina players received reduced hotel rates

Some South Carolina football players owed the Whitney Hotel several thousand dollars after receiving reduced room rates during extended stays at the hotel that have come under NCAA scrutiny, a source close to the situation told The State on Wednesday. Multiple sources said some players had been living at the Whitney since the spring while paying a rate of $450 per month. But officials determined players should have been paying about $1,200 a month, and players were told by school officials to pay the difference to the hotel. For at least two players who had not made any payments, the resolution meant they owed the hotel close to $5,000, according to one of the sources. USC coach Steve Spurrier would not comment Wednesday when asked about players owing thousands to the hotel, located in the Devine Street shopping district. Jamie Blevins, general manager of the Whitney, has referred all questions to the NCAA. –

The State

Delany: OSU-UM process nearly complete

Walking uphill and going nowhere at the same time, Jim Delany addressed how close the world was to a midseason Michigan-Ohio State game. [Big Ten] honchos appear poised to place the teams in opposite divisions. That would allow the schools to meet in the Big Ten title game but likely would move their rivalry game to October to avoid the threat for a late-season rematch. Delany cautioned that no final decision has been made, saying the process is “80 percent” complete after university presidents and athletic directors have analyzed a dozen models. … “If Duke and North Carolina were historically the two strongest programs and only one could play for the right to be in the NCAA tournament, would you want them playing in the season-ending game so one is in and one is out?” he asked. – Chicago Tribune

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