Tom Burman on Realignment: ‘Stability Was Priority One’

LARAMIE -- Wyoming's value, Tom Burman said Monday, doesn't always translate in the data and metrics categories.

You have to dig a little deeper than that, the school's longtime director of athletics admitted inside the entryway of the Arena-Auditorium. He knows it's a "hard pitch."

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Burman talked about the "brand."

That iconic bucking horse, Steamboat. He says that stands for something and is easily recognizable no matter where you travel in this country. Also, more than 23,000 fans crammed into War Memorial Stadium last Saturday night to watch an 0-4 football team.

That's the story he's going to keep attempting to tell. The question is, who is going to listen?

"The people making these decisions are not conference commissioners," Burman said, referring to the recent realignment in the Mountain West Conference that saw San Diego State, Boise State, Fresno State and Border War rival Colorado State bolt for the new-look Pac-12. "They're turning to a data specialist, a media rights specialist, who's saying, 'tell me what the value of this is? Ok, we'll take that one.'"

Utah State, unexpectedly if you ask Burman, officially accepted an offer from that conference last Tuesday, leaving the Mountain West with just six full member institutions. Only Hawaii's football program is part of the conference.

To remain an FBS league, the minimum number is eight.

"It's been extremely stressful. Probably as stressful a time as I've experienced as an athletics director," admitted with a shrug. "When Utah State bolted, I was ... surprised, because I didn't think that would be the situation to occur. And, I guess, in all honesty, a little disappointed -- a little angry. But, you move on."

Media rights -- in layman's terms, eyeballs on televisions -- lays at the heart of this shuffling. The Cowboy State has a population hovering around 600,000 residents. On the flip side, Boise's metro area is home to nearly 765,000. In Fresno, that number eclipses 800,000.

In Fort Collins, that number sits around 359,000. The campus is also roughly 60 miles from downtown Denver.

Now, Burman finds himself fighting to make sure that rivalry tilt is played like it has been nearly every year since 1899.

"We both agreed that it seems logical to continue to play this game," Burman said, referring to a conversation he had with CSU Athletics Director John Weber on Sept. 12, the day that school announced it would be leaving the league. "You know, like anybody, my emotions have gone like this, but we got to make business decisions. It's 60 miles away, that Bronze Boot, that tradition, has value. We shouldn't throw that away due to egos."

Burman said Wyoming's non-conference schedule is full through 2030, adding they would have to move a team or buyout games to make room for the Rams.

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Burman famously said back in 2011, the same year BYU left the conference and went independent, he had no desire to schedule the Cougars again in any sport. Time, clearly, healed all wounds.

"I probably was a little bit angered with the BYU situation," Burman said with a smile. "I'm still angry, but that didn't do Wyoming any good, because everyone else in the league played them right away."

What about future games with the other defectors?

"It is unsure, at this point," he said.

Wyoming, along with UNLV, Air Force, San Jose State, New Mexico, Nevada and Hawaii, all signed a Memorandum of Understanding last Thursday to remain together in the Mountain West through the 2032 season.

UNLV, who was offered by the Pac-12, and Air Force, who was reportedly courted by the AAC, will both receive a financial distribution of 24.5% for staying put. Wyoming, New Mexico, SJSU and Nevada will get 11.5% and Hawaii takes home 5%. That money -- nearly $150 million -- comes from the exit fees assessed to the five programs who left.

"Poaching fees" are in excess of $43 million.

The Pac-12 in turn filed an antitrust complaint against the Mountain West last week over those latter fees, stating they are "unlawful and unenforceable" despite signing an agreement last December. That came at the same time the two remaining members of the Pac-12 -- Washington State and Oregon State -- inked a scheduling agreement with the Mountain West.

Was that tough pill to swallow, agreeing to hand UNLV and Air Force a bigger piece of the pie?

"Stability was priority one," Burman said bluntly. "I understand the business elements that go along with this. I like this structure better than the structure we had with Boise, where they got an annual bump every year. I'm hopeful that when we go into this new league, everybody's on an even playing field, other than the lump sum of money that was part of this negotiation."

Did Burman get panicked enough to reach out to other conference to find Wyoming a future home? No. He said other leagues, though, did reach out to him. This program, he added, no matter how "isolated" it is on the map, would've found a new home in an FBS conference.

Did he ever have a direct conversation with the PAC-12 about the possibility of joining?

"Yeah, my job is to represent the University of Wyoming," he said. "I was interested in finding the best landing spot for the University of Wyoming.

Though he is unable to discuss future members and just how many new programs the conference is targeting, Burman did say a few "high-level FCS programs" are on the board.

Was there ever a chance UW was going to move down?

"Well, there's a reason why every FCS school in America called, because they're in a worse predicament than we are," he said. "People think going down is going to save you money. If that was the case, I don't think all these schools would be dying to go up, you know? To me, there's a lot more revenue potential in a Group of Five than there is in the FCS."

Burman pointed to an article penned by Chris Vannini in the Athletic on Sept. 27 entitled "The Pac-12 and Mountain West should get over hurt feelings and just merge."

The title is self-explanatory, but the cliff's notes version is: Set egos aside, come together.

"Check," Burman said. "I don't disagree, but we are where we are."

Have there been any discussions about a merger?

"Basically none," he added.

He also said he knows the pain and frustration of a fanbase that feels left in the dust. He went through them, too. Burman admitted he was surprised by the timing of it all. The original four deserters, though, didn't shock him one bit.

"It was clear for years that these four schools that went first -- three, for sure -- have been wanting to go and partner with with whoever they can to create their own league in a goal of hopefully becoming a Power-Five League, which isn't going to happen," he said. "It's Power Four and it will stay that way.

"So, I get the concern, I get the worry, but we did everything within our power to end up in a good place. I feel like we did end up in a good place, but could be a better place if we were all together."

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