There's a scene at the end of an old movie titled "The Candidate" in which Robert Redford's character has just won a seat in the United States Senate. He has worked long and hard and compromised his principles to beat a popular rival, but while the post-election celebration goes on around him he has a simple question for his political adviser: "What do we do now?"
That's where BYU finds itself. The Cougars have labored for 12 years as an independent in collegiate athletics to catch on with a conference, or rather a Power Five conference. They finally got their wish; on July 1 they officially graduated from independence and became members of the Big 12.
What do we do now?
Independence is great if you're a country, but it's a tough place to be in college sports. Now the Cougars have a seat at the big-boy table in the strange, inequitable, free-for-all world of college football and basketball. They are one of the haves. They're going to be treated like an equal, at least until NIL and the transfer portal blow up college football and force a reset (it's coming). They have a direct path to the national playoff. They get a share of conference riches (TV money). They have guaranteed games against top teams after years of struggling to fill their schedule.
They're one of the big shots, finally. They could turn the tables and tell the University of Utah that they can't fit the Utes into their schedule. That would be fun.
They've had almost two years to prepare themselves for their grand entrance into the Big 12, to stand in front of the mirror and give themselves the once-over. How do I look?
They will play eight conference games each season (and this season that includes games against both of the outgoing schools, Texas and Oklahoma ). This should address all those old complaints about their strength of schedule (well, maybe not; instead of backloading their schedule with cupcakes, the Cougars have merely moved them to the front of the line; they will open the 2023 season with Sam Houston State and Southern Utah; they're already acting like a Power Five big shot).
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Anyway, back to the original question: What are they going to do now? Can they compete against these guys? Will they raise their game as Utah did and become a top-10 program a few years after joining a new league, or do they sink into oblivion as Colorado has since joining the Pac-12?
The Cougars have never competed in a conference like the Big 12. In football, the league put three teams in the top 25 in 2022 — a down year — and four in the final top 10 in 2021, and six current members in the top 25 in 2020 (including BYU). BYU ranked behind 12 current members of the Big 12 in last year's Sagarin Ratings.
And football might not even be the biggest challenge for the Cougars.
Last season, for the seventh time in 12 years, the Big 12 put seven teams in the NCAA basketball tournament, including a No. 1 seed, a No. 2 seed and two No. 3 seeds. It has qualified six or more teams for the NCAA Tournament in 19 of 26 years.
The Big 12 office put it this way: "The Big 12 has captured (two of the last three) national championships with Baylor winning the 2021 title and Kansas bringing home the 2022 trophy. Conference teams have played in the last four Final Fours and the past three national championship games. Sixty percent of Big 12 institutions have advanced to the Final Four since 2002, the highest percentage among conferences."
BYU ranked behind 13 current members of the Big 12 in last season's final Sagarin Ratings. The Cougars have been to the NCAA Tournament once in eight years (one of those years was canceled because of the pandemic).
In volleyball, track, soccer, golf and cross-country, the Cougars will be among the best in the league, but the real test will be in basketball and football. The timing to make a jump up in leagues could have been better for the football and basketball programs — especially the latter. On the positive side, they've got their foot in the door. That's what they wanted.
BYU athletic director Tom Holmoe joins fans in the wee hours Saturday morning to celebrate the Cougars officially becoming members of the Big 12 Conference. | BYU Photo
BYU fans gather in the wee hours Saturday morning to celebrate the Cougars officially becoming members of the Big 12 Conference. | BYU Photo
BYU cheerleaders and Cosmo gather with fans in the wee hours Saturday morning to celebrate the Cougars officially becoming members of the Big 12 Conference. | BYU Photo
BYU fans gather in the wee hours Saturday morning to celebrate the Cougars officially becoming members of the Big 12 Conference. | BYU Photo
