It's infrequently that the departure of an assistant coach provokes a response comparable to the situation on I-15 in northern Utah.
When Chris Burgess left the Utah men's basketball staff last week, alarms sounded.
KSL.com noted “An assumption, even if it's wrong, that he ran away to escape a proverbial sinking ship.”
The Salt Lake Tribune pointed this out “an explosion of concern … about a possible collapse of Ute basketball.”
All due to an assistant coach who had only been in office for 2 seasons? No, it's all due to Brigham Young.
Burgess drove 45 miles down the highway for his second stint on BYU's bench. (He was soon followed by Utah big man Keba Keita, who entered the transfer portal and committed to the Cougars.)
Had Burgess left Utah to go to a different school — perhaps UCLA or Oregon — the move would have caused moderate concern in Salt Lake City. But because he left to affix the best enemy of all, the choice caused an uproar.
Welcome to a brand new chapter in Holy Lore, folks: Utah vs. BYU, the Big 12 era.
Granted, the Utes won't officially set foot of their latest home until August 2nd, when ten schools will leave the Pac-12 and travel to varied leagues across the country. But the pressure of being in the identical conference because the Cougars is already mounting.
And college sports fans are the beneficiaries, since the only thing higher than rivalry is intraconference rivalry.
Utah and BYU haven’t participated in the identical conference because the 2010-11 academic yr, when each were members of the Mountain West.
Then Utah headed to the Pac-12, and the Cougars became independent in football and a member of the West Coast Conference in basketball.
The rivalry continued, but without the added spice that got here with being in the identical conference.
When they were separated, a Utah football victory over USC had no bearing on BYU's postseason fate.
Starting this fall, every result achieved by one school impacts the opposite as they compete within the Big 12 race for a bowl spot.
This reality also applies in basketball, where conference tournaments are being seeded and March Madness is resuming.
Utah cleverly took advantage of the Pac-12's revenue and repute, improving its recruiting and at the very least outpacing the Cougars on the sector.
The Utes won eight of nine football games against BYU of their lifetime within the Power Five. They also played in two Rose Bowls and had six appearances within the Associated Press Top 25 poll at the top of the season.
Meanwhile, the Cougars struggled to interrupt through as an independent, appearing only twice within the AP rankings at season's end.
Collisions on the sector were rarer, more balanced – the Utes won 4 of seven head-to-head duels – and much less important.
The Cougars had been on the lookout for access to power conferences for years and located salvation within the Big 12, joining the conference last summer together with Houston, UCF and Cincinnati.
When Utah joins the Big 12 in just a few months, all the pieces concerning the rivalry will intensify: the criticism, the stakes, the repercussions, the elation and the dejection.
Developments that seemed largely inconsequential when the colleges were separated will matter greatly now that they’re members of the identical steel cage.
At this point, the benefits are with Utah football and BYU basketball, especially after impressive performances within the tough Big 12.
Will these positions remain relative to 1 one other once the colleges are anchored in the identical league?
Could BYU's football program regain the bottom it has lost for over a decade?
Could Utah basketball in some way sustain with the Cougars?
It needs to be fascinating to look at from a distance and fascinating to experience on the front lines along the I-15 corridor.
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