BYU Football: Independence Spawns a Football Bill of Rights

August 31

Does the above date, the 243^rd day of the year, hold any historical significance?  Is it a “day that will live on in infamy”? Is it a date that will be remembered by the generations that follow us here on the planet Earth?

A few noteworthy events occurring on August 31:

1422       Henry VI becomes the King of England at the age of nine months.

1803       Lewis and Clark set out from Pittsburgh on their famed expedition westwards.

1920       The first-ever radio news program is broadcast from Detroit.

1969       Boxer Rocky Marciano, just one day shy of his 46th birthday, dies in a plane crash outside Newton, Iowa.

1997       Princess Diana of England and two others die in a car accident in Paris.

2010       Brigham Young University Declares Independence from the Mountain West Conference

Last Tuesday’s bombshell announcement regarding the BYU Cougars’ divorce from the MWC in all sports resulting in their assertion of football independence (and membership in all other sports moving to the West Coast Conference) left the college football community ablaze with commentary and opinion.

Details of the move purportedly include an eight-year TV deal with ESPN (promising network broadcast of “nearly” every BYU football home game) and a six-game series with fellow independent Notre Dame.

Though these niceties certainly make the deal look advantageous, “Independent” status may have been specifically alluring for BYU in terms of finding an alternative route to the BCS. 

In terms of the Bowl Championship Series, BYU is in a similar position as teams such as Utah, TCU and Boise State; all BCS “busters” with no clear path to the big dance.

In order avoid these very real obstacles, Utah has chosen to join a BCS conference and it would seem that TCU and Boise State are hoping either that (1) the MWC will eventually gain “BCS conference status” or (2) They can be successful at convincing voters and then ultimately the BCS that they deserve a shot at a national title even though they don’t play in an “approved” conference.

BYU instead has opted to avoid the conference question altogether and presumably hopes that the BCS will tender them the special consideration already afforded Notre Dame (who by virtue of finishing nationally ranked at 8 or above is guaranteed a spot in the BCS).

But what of the other implications of independence; especially those regarding scheduling, for a team that is committed to throwing off the shackles of conference membership, not just in theory but in action?

And, if independence is truly so advantageous, why doesn’t everyone do it?

BYU has claimed that they are uniquely suitable for independent status due to their national appeal, their rich history, and that they are a private, faith-based institution. 

But, these same distinctive characteristics are found in other universities; Texas, USC, Oklahoma, Florida, TCU, Auburn, Baylor, etc.

Though some of these institutions admittedly don’t meet the “private, faith-based” criteria, they certainly make up for it with their wild national popular appeal (which could very rightly be argued to be much greater than that of BYU football). 

Why don’t these schools and others prepare their feathered pens and ink their “John Hancock” on the bottom of their own Declaration of Football Independence?

The answer to this question might be at least partially answered by looking back in history to the days of our own national quest for liberty.

We all know that on July 4, 1776, the American Colonies declared themselves independent of England for various reasons of oppression. 

The colonies fought a bloody eight-year war to gain their independence, while the Cougars made a few phone calls and scheduled some meetings (and, arguably suffered a decade of membership in the MWC). 

However, both groups encountered great risk in both declaring and securing their right to self-government.

After the Revolutionary War had ended, the new United States of America (like the Cougars) took on the burden of responsibility that inevitably comes with freedom.  

In an effort to “establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility...” the new nation drafted and ratified first the Articles of Confederation and then the Constitution of the United States of America.

In order to both protect the freedoms of individual citizens of the new nation and to ratify the Constitution itself, James Madison introduced the first 10 amendments to the Constitution which came to be known as the “Bill of Rights.”

BYU, and any who chose to boldly follow in their quest for autonomy, liberty and self-rule, will both enjoy the fruits of independence but will also shoulder the burdens of responsibility that freedom brings.

This lends to the ultimate question; is the freedom worth the price of responsibility and sacrifice?

Subsequently, in order to protect their new freedoms, let’s suppose that LaVell Edwards, Tom Holmoe, Bronco Mendenhall or even Steve Young and Jim McMahon threw on a powdered wig, inserted some wooden teeth into their mouths and holed away in some dim, candle-illuminated room and penned the “BYU Football Bill of Rights?”

This document, printed on parchment and boldly tacked to the doors of the NCAA headquarters in Indianapolis, would be counted among the significant discourses in American sport.

Perhaps it would inspire other like programs to proclaim autonomy from conferences whose main goals are now “to create a national marketing brand” rather than educate student athletes and prepare them for citizenship.

Or alternatively, this treatise could spell the pitfalls of independence and result in deterring institutions from “dissolving the Political Bands that have connected them with another.” 

Regardless, my guess is it might read something like this:

The Brigham Young University Football Bill of Rights

Action of the Second Cougar Pigskin Congress, October 17, 2010, Provo, Utah

Amendment I - The Right to Schedule Your Own Games Shall not be Interfered With.

Amendment II - The Right to the Free Exercise of “Controlling Your Own Destiny” Shall Not be Deterred.

Amendment III - The Right to Make Attempts to “Back Your Way” into the BCS Shall Not be Prohibited.

Amendment IV - The Right to be Left Out of the BCS equation, with no automatic bidding guaranteed, Will not be Infringed Upon.

Amendment V - The Right to Remain A BCS “at Large” Program Shall Continue to be Inflicted upon Yourself Until Such Time as the BCS asserts otherwise.

Amendment VI - Abridging the Natural Right to Retain Your Own Television Money will not be Permissible.

Amendment VII - The Right to Not Compete for a Conference Title Shall be Granted and Preserved.

Amendment VIII - The Right to Deny Subjection to a Conference Commissioner will not be hampered.

Amendment IX - The Right to Be Forgotten, Considered an Elitist, and Be in the Back of every Preview Magazine shall be granted freely and without reservation.

Amendment X - The Right to Get in Bed with a Major Television Network Shall Not Be Obstructed

Amendment XI - The Right to Negotiate for Oneself with Bowl Games In Order to Facilitate Automatic Bowl Bids will not be violated but shall infer no guarantees.

Amendment XII - The Right to Not Share in the Conference Money Pool will be strictly enforced.

Amendment XIII - The Right to Play ”Cupcakes” within One's Own Conference and Use Them as an Excuse for a Poor Strength of Schedule Will Be Hereby Repealed and Discontinued.

Amendment XIV - The Right to Have Your Schedule Scrutinized Will Be Freely Granted

Amendment XV - The Right to Balance Your Own Schedule betwixt Winnable Games, Games against Worthy Opponents and Games Against Powerhouse Programs will be fully permissible with the burden solely shouldered Upon Yourself.

Amendment XVI - The Right to Declare Yourself the “Notre Dame of the West” will be hereby Granted but Reviled and Loathed Nonetheless.