SDSU head coach Rocky Long has only just begun his second stint as a MWC head coach and already he's taking a farewell potshot at the departing BYU Cougars.

"I don't like the way that [BYU] treated the league," Long said to Sign On San Diego.

Long, who was once BYU head coach Bronco Mendenhall's mentor when both men coached at New Mexico, also predicted that BYU's time as an independent would be short-lived.

"After five or six years or something, I think they'll be in a conference," he said.

Sadly, Coach Long's response to BYU's departure is not surprising. Several coaches and pundits from around the conference have already expressed their displeasure.

TCU head coach Gary Patterson was among those who initially complained, but oddly enough complaints from TCU stopped just before the Horned Frogs were welcomed into the Big East.

Fancy that.

In addition, no one complains about Utah's or TCU's departure from the MWC. And really, how could they? There isn't a non-AQ team out there that wouldn't accept a golden ticket to an AQ conference. 

So, why is BYU on the receiving end of all this criticism?

Coach Long hinted at an answer later on in the interview.

"I’ve had several players who have played in our program who have gone off on missions. The positives really outweigh any negatives from their going on missions. We can talk about a certain school—but I’m not going to talk about any other school but ours—how the maturity factor and age factor gives you a huge advantage," he said.

Gee, now what MWC school (or any other school for that matter) has players that often go on missions?

Now, if having players go on missions is so much of an advantage, why don't teams all across the country send their players off on religious or humanitarian missions for two years? Nothing's stopping them, after all. 

Really, dislike for BYU has always been the par for the course for the MWC. Oddly enough, BYU's bitterest rival on the field, the University of Utah, was also BYU's best friend as far as conference issues went. 

Could jealousy be playing a factor here? Sure. BYU may or may not succeed as an independent, but no other team in the conference could even look at independence as a possibility. 

But the bigger question here is why aren't more teams upset at MWC Commisioner Craig Thompson and the terrible TV contract they've got? Why aren't more SDSU fans upset that the successes of both their basketball and football teams are hid in the obscurity of the Mountain West Sports Network and CBS College Sports? 

BYU Head Coach Bronco Mendenhall used to be Rocky Long's Defensive Coordinator at New Mexico
Tom Pennington/Getty Images

If the MWC really wanted to keep BYU and Utah, they should have listened to their concerns over the TV contract five years ago. Where were SDSU, New Mexico, Wyoming, Colorado State, Air Force and UNLV then? 

BYU didn't mistreat the conference, Coach Long. The conference mistreated BYU with their terrible TV deal. Come to think of it, coach, the MWC has been mistreating SDSU and is continuing to do so. Same with every other team that remains in the MWC. This should be a warning to those coming into the conference, namely Boise State, Nevada, and Fresno State.

The only reason BYU is getting bashed here is that BYU found a way out. While the Cougars' move to independence is certainly a gamble, early signs indicate that BYU will do just fine, with or without the likes of SDSU scheduling them.

Rumor has it that TCU is already swallowing its pride and that a scheduling deal is in the works for next year. Add in deals with Texas, Oregon State, Notre Dame, Georgia Tech, Ole Miss and most importantly ESPN, and things are looking on the up and up for BYU.

So Coach Long, perhaps you ought to save some of your distaste for the MWC offices. Maybe you'll be able to find a way that people can actually watch your team play.