Provo • Around the country, the perception persists that BYU’s move to football independence in 2011 and into the West Coast Conference for most of its other teams has had a damaging effect on the school.
For instance, Pat Forde of Yahoo Sports last week called BYU one of the “losers of the decade of realignment in college sports,” and said its rogue football program has had a “mediocre decade of treading water” since it left the Mountain West Conference after the 2010 season.
The truth is that while BYU’s marquee sports — football and men’s basketball — may have tailed off a bit the past few years, its overall athletic program continues to be one of the best in the country.