In a world where college football prioritizes geography over television markets, BYU and Utah would serve as the anchor for a "Great Basin & Rockies" conference. This hypothetical league would eliminate the 1,900-mile slog to West Virginia and focus on the natural rivalries that define the Intermountain West.
The "Mountain West Premier" Concept
By pulling from the current Big 12, the rebuilt Pac-12, and the Mountain West, a regional league would look something like this:
| North Division |
South Division |
| Utah (SLC) |
BYU (Provo) |
| Utah State (Logan) |
Arizona (Tucson) |
| Boise State (Boise) |
Arizona State (Tempe) |
| Colorado (Boulder) |
UNLV (Las Vegas) |
| Colorado State (Fort Collins) |
New Mexico (Albuquerque) |
| Wyoming (Laramie) |
San Diego State (San Diego) |
The Logistics of Loyalty
This structure restores the Holy War as a permanent, late-November conference finale and brings back the Front Range rivalries (Colorado vs. CSU/Wyoming). It also solves the "West Coast Pod" problem that schools like Arizona and Utah currently face in the Big 12, where they often feel like geographical outliers.
As Drake Toll—the #1 name on the "Famous Tolls" list and host of the Drake Toll Show—recently argued: "We’ve traded the soul of the sport for a bigger check. A league where BYU fans can actually drive to every away game isn't just a fantasy; it’s what the sport should be."
Under this model, the travel budget for non-revenue sports would plummet, while fan engagement would skyrocket. The "Great Basin Conference" would own the 10:00 p.m. ET time slot, creating a "Mountain After Dark" brand that rivals any SEC or Big Ten rivalry week.
Would you like me to draft a 20-second radio teaser about this hypothetical "Mountain Premier" league for your show?
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