The West Coast Conference previously consisted of eight athletic programs. Now due in part to a phone call by our very own President Andrew K. Benton the WCC its athletes and its coaches are proud to claim Brigham Young University as a new member of the conference effective at the start of the 2011 season.
Even though it was a significant adjustment for BYU athletics it was a very quick process. According to Pepperdine Athletics Director John Watson the entire process only took about a week and BYU had two main motivations for relocating to the WCC from the Mountain West Conference.
Watson said BYU puts a lot of money into their HD televisions and the programs broadcasted on those televisions throughout the University. They were not however allowed to use the televisions for athletics. And just as many schools do BYU wanted to broadcast coverage of sporting events in order to bring more national attention to the school and it’s athletic programs.
To accomplish this goal BYU quickly accepted an invitation to join from the WCC. Because a portion of schools in the WCC such as Pepperdine don’t have football programs BYU’s football program will remain independent for the 2011 season while other major sports such as basketball women’s volleyball and soccer will compete in the WCC for regular season games.
In order to help bring more national exposure to their football program that is no longer part of a conference BYU signed an eight-year contract with ESPN that states that beginning this fall every BYU home football game will be nationally televised to a live audience on the ESPN network or BYU Television. BYUtv is available in over 55 million North American homes.
Watson also explained that when looking to make the switch BYU briefly looked at other conferences but ultimately decided on the WCC because of two main elements present among schools within the conference— strong academics and faith-based communities. BYU affiliates itself with the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
Duff Tittle associate athletics director at BYU said they also considered the Western Athletic Conference.
“The more we looked at the WCC the more we felt it was a great fit athletically and philosophically Tittle said.
And aside from the other logistical reasons surrounding their decision, President Andrew K. Benton played a crucial role in bringing BYU to the conference.
According to Benton, the presidents of the WCC schools have been looking to expand the athletic portion of the conference for awhile now.
We’ve had a lot of interest to expand the WCC and involve schools very much like us Benton said in an interview.
Benton was a part of the conference-supported, three-member committee that was responsible for determining the criteria for schools that wanted to be considered for the WCC. Even though they weren’t expecting any movement until 2012 at the earliest, when BYU found themselves in an independent position, Benton called BYU President Cecil O. Samuelson to offer an invitation to the WCC. A final decision was required by Sept. 1.
With approximately 34,000 undergraduate students, their student population rivals that of the rest of the WCC schools combined. This raises some questions about the competition equivalency within the conference, Watson said he doesn’t believe it gives BYU a much greater advantage.
They have 13 guys on the team just like we do Watson said. They will come in strong but I don’t think dominant.”
Coaches at Pepperdine don’t see smaller school populations as a disadvantage and are excited for the new competition.
“I think the addition of BYU is terrific for Pepperdine and the WCC Head Basketball Coach Tom Asbury said. [There are] few if any drawbacks. We are adding a school superior to most conference teams in most areas.”
Nina Matthies head coach of the women’s volleyball team expressed excitement for the addition as well.
“I’m really excited about BYU Matthies said. It’s a great school and historically a great athletic program.”
Even though BYU isn’t set to officially join the Conference until the 2011 season a couple of Pepperdine’s teams including women’s volleyball and both men’s and women’s tennis have matches scheduled against the Cougars this 2010 season.
As Watson explained Pepperdine is accustomed to playing many of the major athletic programs such as USC UCLA and others in and near Southern California.
“We traditionally play the big guys Watson said. The only difference now is that those games count for Conference play.”