This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2014, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
Well, now we know — without a shadow of a doubt — where BYU football coach Bronco Mendenhall stands in relation to the football program's future. Mendenhall wants the Cougars to join the Big 12. Whether that is a possibility — and it sure looks doubtful — remains to be seen. Mendenhall pleaded, if that's not too strong of a word, for BYU to receive an invitation to join that Power Five conference on Thursday, telling a reporter from the Austin American-Statesman newspaper that "We would love to be in the Big 12." The coach who is entering his 10th year at the helm in Provo told Brian Davis that it would "make a lot of sense" for BYU to be in the Big 12. "Our attendance is high enough. And our winning percentage is high enough," Mendenhall told Davis. "We have the entire Salt Lake City and Utah market as well as a worldwide following because of the [LDS] Church. There's be a ton to offer the Big 12 because it's a money-generated world right now. You're talking about an amazing kind of brand." The article throws a wet blanket on Mendenhall's wishes, however. Davis said he talked to two Big 12 sources who told him "BYU's chances are slim."