This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2011, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.

Is BYU giving itself a national black eye with the way it is dealing with the Big East in regards to that league's proposed expansion and western addition? Brett McMurphy of CBSsports.com posted an interesting blog Tuesday afternoon in which he quotes an anonymous source in the "college football industry" as saying that BYU's attorneys working on the deal with the Big East are "a piece of work." Here's a link to the blog. Bottom line is that McMurphy is reporting much of what The Tribune had in this morning's newspaper: that talks between the Cougars and the Big East have hit a snag — a snag that might be very, very difficult to overcome. "I doubt BYU will happen," the industry exec told McMurphy. "They are being extremely unreasonable all of a sudden. This is one reason why they did not get into the Big 12."Wow. That's kind of what I have been told regarding BYU and the Big 12, although my sources said it had more to do with BYU's lack of a western traveling partner than anything else, including TV. The Big 12 decided to look east rather than look west, and chose West Virginia. Air Force said no and Boise State's academics were not up to snuff, I was told. As far as the Big East and TV negotiations are concerned, don't forget that BYU still harbors extremely ill feelings toward NBC-Comcast due to the way the Cougars perceive they were treated by that network when they were members of the MWC. NBC-Comcast is said to be very interested in landing the Big East TV contract when the bidding begins next year.