For those who believe the BCS only impacts college football, think again. In the past, it's been major football-playing conferences that have had to deal with BCS ramifications and conference shifting. But no longer. Non-football leagues are now feeling the indirect impact of the BCS as well.

It says here that BYU's sudden about-face late Tuesday afternoon, announcing that it was leaving the Mountain West and going the independent route in football while joining up with the West Coast Conference for basketball and other sports, is a regrettable development. Not that it is going to be bad financial deal for the WCC; to the contrary, it might provide a windfall for the league and open it up to more potential expansion in the future. Nor might it be a bad deal on the financial end for BYU. But as the college sports landscape keeps changing, at an accelerated pace, the very fabric of college athletics continues to be stretched and stretched. If the pattern continues, conferences are soon going to be unrecognizable from their former selves, as we reported in an exhaustive report early last spring. At the time, we projected continued movement toward "super leagues" to consist of as many as 16 schools each, with continual raiding and poaching of conferences as a new order evolves in college sport, dominated by subjects such as regional TV channels, network share, and exposure to major TV markets. What was once a slow transformation is now accelerating, and at some point the ever-changing landscape is going to alienate the customer/fan base that has made college sports so lucrative and appealing in the first place.

And it says here that it is a dangerous path in which college sports is embarking.

In the big picture, BYU's move is not terribly significant, except for the fact that it has involved a non-football league for the first time in the chain reaction of events related to the BCS. The machinations and behind-the-scenes deals involved in BYU's break from the Mountain West include a myriad of factors, some unique to the Provo-based school, which is the beacon for the Church of Jesus Christ Latter Day Saints. BYU's mission is altogether different from most other institutions of higher learning, many of those publicly funded. The Provo-based school and its high-profile football team are also viewed as vehicles to deliver the LDS message to the masses, which was one of the reasons behind the school's Tuesday decision to abandon the MWC. It wasn't the only factor, however. Money, more specifically TV money, was also a factor in the deal, as BYU was increasingly dissatisfied with the deals brokered by the Mountain West, including its own TV network "The Mtn," in which the Cougars didn't believe allowed them to maximize their popularity. With their own BYU-TV network and studio facilities at the Provo school, and appeal to national cable networks, the Cougars believe they can generate more exposure for their LDS message away from the Mountain West, and likely make more money as well (although some MWC insiders aren't so sure of the latter).

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The BCS angle in the BYU situation is a bit different, however, in that most informed observers don't see how the Cougars have improved their BCS prospects by going the independent route. Although spurred by the Pac-10 in its recent expansion of two schools, BYU was still a potential major player in conference shuffling, likely to be courted by the expansion-minded Big XII, and a linchpin of efforts by the Mountain West to secure an automatic BCS berth for its champion. But it is doubtful that BYU would have even entertained the thought of going independent had the Pac-10 not snatched up local rival Utah. And had the Pac-10 succeeded in its raid of the Big XII South in early June, it is doubtful it would have bothered to invite the Utes.

Still, it surprised many that BYU made the move, which seemed to be a dead issue last week after the deal the Cougars had supposedly cut with the WAC instead blew up, with Nevada and Fresno State bolting from that loop for the Mountain West. BYU's potential affiliation with the WAC for all sports other than football involved a well-developed scenario in which the Cougars would still be scheduling at least 4 and as many as 6 WAC schools in football while joining up for other sports, including basketball. The WAC was then reportedly going to "trade" far-flung Louisiana Tech to Conference USA for closer-by UTEP, a move that made sense on geographical and rivalry terms. Then, the WAC was supposedly going to explore the option of raiding the WCC for Gonzaga to enter as a hoops-playing member (as would be BYU), while also making a run at UNLV and San Diego State to further strengthen its west coast presence and re-ignite football rivalries with nearby Fresno State, San Jose State, as well as Nevada.

Fresno and Nevada, however, had different ideas, and had never masked their desire to join the Mountain West, especially since Fresno had felt left behind when the original "Mountain West 8" broke from an earlier version of the WAC in 1999, leaving the Bulldogs behind. As for Nevada, it always wanted to reconnect in a league with sister school UNLV since their long ago days together in the Big West. But the lure of a Utah and BYU-led Mountain West was always part of the attraction for the Bulldogs and Wolf Pack, and, for that matter, Boise State, which, believing it stood a better chance to get a chance at an automatic BCS berth by joining the MWC, did so on June 11, when BYU and Utah were still in tow and the Pac-10 appeared to be going in the direction of adding six current Big XII schools. But the Pac-10's deal with Texas and other others fizzled early in the week of June 14, and by that Thursday, June 17, Utah officially left the MWC, effective 2011. Now, just over two months later, BYU has done the same. Meanwhile, Boise, Fresno, and Nevada (the latter two apparently not able to join the MWC until 2012) find themselves now aligned with a new league not too different in composition from their former WAC home.

Our well-placed sources in the Mountain West told us last week that BYU was not going anywhere, at least for the moment, after the WAC deal collapsed, although the September 1 "deadline" for any announcement kept open the possibility the Cougars might still have other plans. But things began to move in another direction early this week, and Tuesday morning we learned from unimpeachable sources inside the MWC that "things have been changing" over the past 24 hours at BYU, and that a move wasn't yet out of the question. Most of the MWC insiders didn't believe BYU would have the audacity to pull off such a deal without the WAC as a landing spot, so we can only imagine their reaction when informed of BYU's decision and new affiliation with the WCC.

Meanwhile, expect the Mountain West to aggressively seek two replacements after the departure of BYU, moves that would put the league up to 12 schools and open the possibility of a league championship game. Sources inform us that the University of Houston is a likely target, as well as SMU. (Sources also informed us that it is unlikely that TCU will be courted by the Big XII, which already counts Dallas-Fort Worth in its TV pocket despite the fact there are no member schools currently based in the Metroplex, with the Frogs likely to stay put in the MWC). Utah State, apparently a participant in the original plans to get BYU involved with the WAC, is another possibility, as is New Mexico State. Meanwhile, discussions of a possible amalgamation with Conference USA, with a championship game between the leagues to perhaps determine BCS eligibility, are also still on the table. Stay tuned, because we don't think we've heard the last of this story, or others about conference shuffling, for that matter.

In conclusion, however, we want to return to the previous theme of the story, that being the changing composition of the West Coast Conference, which has suddenly lost a lot of the charm it had developed over its near 60-year existence. The schools in the conference were all similar in size and focus, all religious based (each save Pepperdine being Catholic/Jesuit), all comparable in scope. Gonzaga, of course, had captured lightning in a bottle with its hoops team over the past decade, but WCC history is replete with national contenders in basketball, including the memorable USF back-to-back national champion teams featuring Bill Russell in the mid 50s, as well as some powerhouse Santa Clara sides in the late 60s under HC Dick Garibaldi. Indeed, most of the league members have taken turns in the national spotlight over the years, with Gonzaga and Saint Mary's merely the latest. Some schools had moved in and out of the WCC over the decades (indeed, UNLV and Nevada were once members of the league), but it had always maintained a uniqueness and quaintness and had emerged as a quintessential "mid major" in college hoops over the past decade. And long before enlisting BYU had become a hot topic, sources had told us of more expansion talk on the league table, with former members Seattle U and Pacific, each sympatico with the previous scope and balance of the league, possible additions in the near future.

The fact there were no "monster" instituions within the WCC had long been a part of its undeniable appeal for college sports fans. And as a parent of a WCC alum (Santa Clara), I can testify to the unique, family atmosphere of the league. There was something very neat about these similar-sized schools in the same region competing against one another, with many long-standing rivalries in the mix. There's a very colorful football history for some WCC schools, too, which we will recall in a future piece.

On one hand, the WCC might feel blessed that it landed such a big fish as BYU instead, but the league has sacrificed something to do so. How a monolith such as BYU can be competing in a league with smallish establishments such as Loyola-Marymount and Pepperdine, each with basketball facilities seating under 4500, seems a bit awkward, and the WCC will certainly have to jump through plenty of BYU-placed hoops, including its "no playing on Sunday" edict, which will cause some juggling for the WCC hoops tournament, which traditionally runs from Friday thru Monday. We would expect the Sunday schedule to be skipped entirely now that BYU is in tow.

More big-time programs might be part of the WCC's future as well, with Hawaii reportedly considering the same sort of arrangement as BYU, and we're pretty sure the WCC would welcome the Warriors with open arms, too. Whatever, we think the damage has already been done. The image and appeal of the WCC has been altered by the addition of BYU.

The WCC's charm has been lost, perhaps forever. And we think that somewhere down the line, college athletics will eventually suffer because of it.