Look, this is the most blatant case of tampering we have seen in a while as it concerns our program. I am certain that Burgess was texting Lohner after the LOI was signed. CERTAIN. There is no putting the genie back in the bottle. Move on. It stings…badly.
What is most disheartening to me as a lifelong fan is that we seem to be content bending over for Pope and taking it. Where is the Utah response? I don’t care about Larry’s response because he will be gone by year’s end and we can move on from his dumpster fire. I want to know what Mark Harlan is going to do. Here is what I would do in his position. For context, we don’t need those asshats:
Cancel every basketball and football game with BYU. Pay the buyout penalty.
Put Tom Holmoe and all future BYU ADs on the Do Not Call List. If you want to continue to schedule them for the lesser sports, fine. Let your deputy AD deal with the scheduling. CUT THEM OFF as it pertains to hoops and football.
That is it. Let the ridiculous body that is the Utah legislature audit the AD every damn year. Show them we are operating above board. Embrace the audit, cut the bastards in Provo off. Nothing poses their fans of more than ignoring them and that’s always a plus.
For those of our fans who suggest we give Pope a look for our next hire, NoFWay! This guy is proving to be a suited loser and a dirty personality. I will not support any program that he heads.
This is the simple solution. Let them wallow in independence and the WCC. At present, we just look foolish every day we lose players and or allow a rival to poach a player AFTER HE HAS SIGNED. In the meantime, let Lohner go and have the BYU experience: Sweet Jetta, U2 tix, Harry Potter Adventure, chicks in knee shorts, and being guilted into oblivion untilYou show contrition - not when you break the honor code, but when you are caught breaking the honor code -.
No. It has not worked. They still run their mouths with would have could have and what ifs. They don’t do reality. They need us. We don’t need them. They tampered. I don’t say that lightly. Chris Burgess tampered. Let me be clear, there is no doubt about it. When any team does this you send a message. Winning has not shut them up. Kicking them to the curb for good is the only way to go.
My personal belief is that Harlan opposes Larry making waves about this. Larry is furious with what BYU did, and rightly so. But G arlan will release him and go on his merry way because I think he wants to make Larry’s seat feel very very hot. Can’t fire him, so make him very uncomfortable.
You haven’t said anything really new that many of us have argued for, for at least since we got into the PAC. If you may recall, that LK did buy out one game, and that got the religislature involved. So, while your desires are inline with what many of Ute fans want, it may not be feasible until, as Sweetgrass says, BYU is beaten consistently in BBall and football. preferably in an embarrassing manner to them.
Most of us have moved on, mostly from BYU until and unless then insert themselves into our lives, a la Lohner and his NLI release request. So you’re thoughts while appreciated, aren’t novel thoughts amongst us here at UF.N.
If the legislature wants Utah to play BYU, Utah will play BYU. Period. There’s nothing we can do to avoid it. When you have people who are willing to cut funding not only to the University itself but to the hospitals and medical research affiliated with the University just to ensure that games are played then those games will get played.
What will the legislature do? If shown clear evidence of tampering, what will they do? There is cause to derby playing them at that point. They will get their hillbilly constituents all fired up? Audit is? I welcome the audit. Show consistently that your AD is doing it the right way. Otherwise e just let this go unpunished, right?
What’s is your best idea to deal with BYU after this flagrant foul?
Well, if you can get Harlan to do something, all the more power to you. I remember writing Chris Hill a few times asking to remove BYU from the schedule for various, but coaching related incidences. Hill’s responses were along the lines of “I understand your concern, but…”
So, since getting BYU off the schedule is, unlikely IMO, let’s go out and embarrass them. Football has done well in the streak. BBall has a LONG way to go.
I’m with MesoUte here, even if it is a pipe dream. Nothing to gain from playing them really. Tired of their delusional, self righteous fanbase. It would be so nice to see them squirm. More than they are now, anyway.
The legislature can cut massive amounts of moey to the U, the U hospitals, and U-affiliated research. They were working on doing so before until we caved (and that’s why we caved). You’re crazy if you think proof of tampering at BYU would slow them down.
I don’t think you are wrong. If there is cause, however, there are any number of legal avenues. A waste of millions of dollars and not worth it in the end, but hey, I am sick of most everything to do with this legislature, Larry K, BYU, Sean Miller getting over generally, Utah/ Oregon, Utah/TX, the Scalley situation, pretty much everything. So I guess I’m not in a great place mentally. My dream of cutting BYU off is all I have to make my heart sing.
what really stings is that if Lohner truly wanted to be a Ute, he’d be one. I won’t pretend to know what occurred to change his mind, but it happened. Lets just move on, similarly to every player we’ve lost to Sean Miller and Arizona’s questionable practices. One player won’t make or break this program and we’ve had some similar breaks go our way (David Collette)
He seems to not want play for Utah anymore and would be more of a liability than an asset, so let him go. Kind of sucks if TDS was illegally recruiting him (not surprising if they did, look how many missionaries transfer there when they get back when they are not supposed to be contacted during their missions), but not going to do us any good to force him to play for us if he isn’t committed and just wants to finish the season so he can then leave anyway.
I dont know that anyone is arguing that we force him to play for us. We couldn’t even if we wanted to. I think the argument here is; whatever else is going on, this kid has screwed us over. 7 months now since he signed on the dotted line. 7 months he occupied a spot where the staff could have been recruiting someone else. At some point, you gotta stick up for yourself and respond strongly. I guess i dont see why we would make this easy for him or BYU. What PR battle are we losing by not releasing him yet? With BYU fans and their lap dog media? who cares? I think the play here is to not release him until we have a replacement. and if he misses out on a year of eligibility because of it, well, tough.