The departure of Utah assistant Chris Burgess to BYU offered a glimpse of what's to come when the bitter rivals are in the same conference.
Not often does the departure of an assistant coach generate a reaction comparable to the situation developing along I-15 in northern Utah.
When Chris Burgess left the Utah men’s basketball staff last week, the alarm sounded.
KSL.com noted “a perception, even if it is false, that he bolted to get away from a proverbial sinking ship.”
The Salt Lake Tribune referenced “an explosion of concern … over a possible Ute basketball collapse.”
All because of an assistant coach who had been on the job for just two seasons? No, all because of Brigham Young.
Burgess moved 45 miles down the freeway 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 for any other school — for UCLA, perhaps, or Oregon — the move would have been cause for lukewarm concern in Salt Lake City. But because he left to join the utterest enemy of all, the decision sparked an uproar.
Welcome to a new chapter in Holy Lore, folks: Utah vs. BYU, the Big 12 era.
Granted, the Utes won’t officially enter their new home until Aug. 2, when 10 schools depart the Pac-12 for various leagues across the land. But the pressure generated by competing in the same conference as the Cougars is already mounting.
And college sports fans are the beneficiaries, because the only thing better than a good rivalry is a good intra-conference rivalry.
Utah and BYU haven’t competed in the same conference since the 2010-11 academic year, when both were members of the Mountain West.
Then Utah bolted for the Pac-12, and the Cougars became an Independent in football and a member of the West Coast Conference in basketball.
The rivalry continued, but without the extra sauce provided by membership in the same conference.
When they were separated, a Utah football victory over USC had zero impact on BYU’s postseason fortunes.
Starting in the fall, every result produced by one school will impact the other as they compete in the Big 12 race and jockey for bowl position.
That reality applies in basketball, as well, with conference tournament seeds and March Madness resumes.
Utah made expert use of the Pac-12’s revenue and reputation, upgraded its recruiting and left the Cougars behind, at least on the field.
The Utes won eight of nine football games against BYU during their life in the Power Five. They also played in two Rose Bowls and made six appearances in the end-of-season Associated Press top-25 poll.
Meanwhile, the Cougars struggled for traction as an Independent and appeared in the end-of-season AP rankings just twice.
Collisions on the court were less frequent, more balanced — the Utes won four of seven head-to-head matchups — and far less significant.
The Cougars spent years searching for entry into the power conferences and found salvation in the Big 12, joining the conference last summer along with Houston, UCF and Cincinnati.
When Utah becomes a member of the Big 12 in a few months, everything about the rivalry will be amplified: the vitriol, the stakes, the repercussions, the elation and dejection.
Developments that seemed largely inconsequential when the schools were separated will feel momentous now that they are members of the same steel cage.
At this point, the advantages are with Utah football and BYU basketball, particularly after its impressive showing in the rugged Big 12.
Will those positions hold relative to each other once the schools are entrenched in the same league?
Could BYU’s football program regain the ground it lost over a decade?
Could Utah basketball somehow pull even with the Cougars?
It should be fascinating to watch from afar and riveting to experience on the front lines along the I-15 corridor.
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