The travel distances is definitely problematic - even if you’re flying. Unless something has radically changed, it takes two connector flights to get to Morgantown Airport; and that last flight into Morgantown is in a smallish turboprop. I don’t know the flight logistics for Manhattan, Lawrence, Waco, Iowa City, Stillwater, Lubbock or Waco.
Let me just say it is sucking more and more just doing the drives to and from four corners and Las Vegas due to the need for a recovery day (or two). This getting old ■■■■ sucks.
I keep forgetting Salt Lake City doesn’t have an airport.
Many airlines will add the flights. Wasn’t the nearest team in the Pac 12 8 hours away in Boulder? The problem with Utah is their nearest opponent now is 45 miles.
I’m asking sincerely – why wouldn’t you want to go to a Kansas/Utah game in Allen Fieldhouse? It’s got to be a top 3 basketball experience doesn’t it? Including pros, college, overseas or wherever.
BYU was 7–33 shooting in the first half. Yikes! Probably lucky to only be down 19. To shoot 21% and have the opponent shoot 51% could be a recipe for being down closer to 30 at the break. My guess is BYU heats up in the second half and makes a game of it. I sure hope not, but I seriously doubt they stay that cold. But I still think TT wins it.
Of course I would. I’ve been there. It’s awesome. My eyeroll response to @BamaFanNKY was to poke a little fun at his tendency to educate us poor rubes in Utah about so many things pertaining to sports. I love you, Bamafan, but sometimes more than others.
For example, this gem:
Just a reminder that the Football Powers may be gone but y’all about to be in hell with that Conference in Hoops.
Never would have dawned on us without that helpful “reminder.”
HAHAHA. I get it. I know but it’s the “off season” and sometimes some folks only focus on the conference in terms of Football only. Or Academics only. But, the landscape of College sports nothing is sacred now and its better to go in with Rose Colored glasses instead of doom and gloom.
Cougars can hang with anyone when they heat up from outside, but on a cold shooting night are rather vulnerable. (Same can be said for many teams of course).
There were still distances, but by plane it was a lot simpler, faster, and cheaper than what one will likely see now. Figure the longest flight time to a PAC 12 school was 2 hours, and then about an hour by rental car. Yes, driving for us older folks could feel like the slog from hell; but it was doable.
Going back to my earlier point, unless you can land a direct flight to Pittsburgh then make your connector to Morgantown, you are looking at having to fly from SLC to Chicago - then to Pittsburgh - to Morgantown. When I did this flight in the past, it took me most of a day to get from SLC to Morgantown while on my way to Camp Dawson. Cincy, UCF, and Houston are direct flights of about 4-5 hours…not bad to handle. I haven’t priced them, but my guess is none will be as expensive as a round trip to WVU. I will say West Virginia was a beautiful hilly place, but July and August was humid and hot when I was there to a month. It really didn’t rain but the perpetual fog was something else. For folks used to dry, it was a radical change.
I get you are bringing up Morgantown but not many people fly into Morgantown. It’s like most teams playing my local team fly into Nashville. I guess I need to have more empathy because where I live I am less than 2 hours-ish to 4 P5 schools and a host of G5. That said, I would assume many East coast alumni are going to be able to make more games.
Not to mention our fan/alumni base’s geo footprint and the Pac-12 geo footprint are one and the same. Meaning we have a substantial built-in presence in almost every Pac-12 city. Whereas Morgantown, Cincinnati, Stillwater, Lawrence, Orlando, etc… not so much.
And for myself and the thousands of other Utah fans in Seattle, which is a major hub for two airlines: the fastest we can get to Ames, IA is seven hours. To your point, nothing previously was more than three.
Thank God the U administration does not see the Big12 as a long-term destination, anything more than 1-2 years will be a significant blow.
This is a silly debate. Good luck convincing Utah fans that getting to B12 road games from the Western USA will be a breeze and is not a downside to this new conference affiliation.
eh. I didn’t say breeze but let’s not pretend your school was a breeze for opposing fans in the Pac 12 either. My SC and UCLA family members always complained about Utah being added (as you’ve probably also heard). People always said culturally it’s not a Pac 12 school and it’s in the wrong time zone. Everyone complains about additions or conference changes.
Also, I’m not trying to convince anything. The Pac 12 was great but it doesn’t exist. The new Big XII looks good though. Great matchups and possibility of fun games and new rivalries. Not to mention you gain an old rival and bring 3 Pac 12 teams with you. There are 4 easy road games right there for the olds who don’t want to travel to the CST and EST. It also means most of your games will be seen to those East Coast Sports writers who vote. There are many advantages but yes… we all wish SC didn’t act like the Trojans they are.
Call me arrogant, but one of the many pluses about getting into the PAC was leaving those blowhards behind. When you say “SC fans act like Trojans”, the zoobs say “hold my (non-alcoholic) beer”
