Edwards likes “upside” of BYU independence

When he first heard about BYU’s intention to become a football independent, Legends Poll member LaVell Edwards wasn’t thrilled.

The man who built BYU into a national power preferred seeing the Cougars in a conference, where they’d always played.

But after hearing the rationale and seeing what followed Wednesday’s announcement – deals with Notre Dame, Texas and ESPN – Edwards called the move a gamble with a lot of upside.

“They’ve got a series with Notre Dame, with Texas, an eight-year deal with ESPN, they’ve got a chance to make it work,” said Edwards, who won 257 games in 29 years in Provo and led the Cougars to the 1984 national title.

“It’s still going to be a real struggle scheduling,” he continued. “And not playing in a conference, if you get off to a slow start that creates a bit of a problem. Before you were still in the hunt for a conference championship. They’re going to have to approach things from a different perspective.

“I had it explained to me what they were attempting to do, and I can appreciate where they’re coming from and why they decided to do it,” Edwards said. “It’s a gamble, no question about it. It has some downside, but I think the upside is going to be greater if they can pull it off.”

Edwards said BYU did its due diligence before notifying the Mountain West Conference on Wednesday it will become a football independent and join the West Coast Conference in all other sports starting in 2011-12.

“It wasn’t a knee-jerk decision,” he said.

Edwards was especially glad about the six-game series BYU will play against Notre Dame through 2020.

“It will be great,” he said. “There’s a lot of similarity between the two schools. They’re both faith-based, both great institutions. They’ve had good football at both places. It’s a good fit.”

Athletic director Tom Holmoe said the decision came down to “access and exposure.” As an independent, BYU can put together a national schedule and won’t have to share its television money. The Cougars also will keep all revenues they earn from bowl games.

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