It’s official: Brigham Young will go independent in football and to WCC in other sports

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The West Coast Conference just issued a release making it official: Brigham Young is going independent in football starting in 2011 and joining the WCC in other sports.

Brigham Young, a Mountain West member, had planned on going independent in football and joining the Western Athletic Conference in others sports, but that plan was foiled when the Mountain West raided the WAC of Fresno State and Nevada.

That will leave the WAC with only six schools after Boise State leaves for the Mountain West next year.

The Salt Lake City Tribune reported that BYU has 12 sports offered by the WCC, and it is unclear what happens to the sports not offered, which include swimming, diving and track.

Here’s the Mountain West’s response to the news:

“Since its inception, the Mountain West Conference has worked strategically to grow and strengthen the league, in order to position itself at the highest level of intercollegiate athletics,� said MWC Commissioner Craig Thompson. “Our Board of Directors’ diligent exploration of options to advance the membership’s objectives is ongoing. This includes conversations with our television partners to address issues of mutual importance, as well as determining the optimal configuration for the Conference and investigating the possibility of various collaborative alliances. We look forward to the future with great excitement – particularly welcoming recent additions Boise State, Fresno State and Nevada into the Mountain West.�

--Chris Dufresne