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Before beginning his closing remarks at the priesthood session of the October 2003 general conference, LDS Church President Gordon B. Hinckley issued the customary end-of-session travel advisory — but with a humorous addendum.
As usual, the prophet asked conference attendees to obey traffic laws and be courteous and careful in driving. He then added a caution for eager Cougar fans who may have been disposed to leaving the session in a rush.
"The BYU game will not be over for at least two hours," President Hinckley said, drawing laughter from the congregation. "In fact, I've cut my talk a little short so that you — not I, but you — can watch it."
Later that evening, the Brigham Young University football team defeated San Diego State at Qualcomm Stadium in a game that by necessity began after the 8 p.m. close of the priesthood session.
This year, however, such admonition will not be necessary. By the time the 178th Semiannual General Conference of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints begins Saturday morning, contests involving BYU, Utah and Utah State will already be in the books. While scheduling considerations vary from school to school and season to season, this week's games reflect a conscious effort to avoid conflicts between two high-interest happenings in this state — college football and LDS general conference.
"There are a lot of people who want to do both," said Fred Esplin, vice president of institutional advancement at the University of Utah. "We realize that if it's within our power to schedule around conference, it works for fans and it works for us."
The San Diego State contest in 2003 is one of three instances in the past 10 years when BYU has played a football game following the Saturday evening priesthood session. That setup, however, is far from ideal for the school, which is owned and operated by the LDS Church.
What is ideal for the Cougars is the Friday night BYU-Utah State matchup, a traditional setup between in-state rivals that resumes this weekend in Logan after a five-year hiatus.
"It really is advantageous for both BYU and Utah State," said Tom Holmoe, BYU athletic director, who is in charge of scheduling.
Beginning Oct. 2, 1981, when the Cougars defeated the Aggies 32-26 in Provo, the two schools have faced each other 12 times on the Friday night before the first weekend in October. Nine of those games took place between 1991 and 2002, the last year the two teams played the night before conference.
Because of its affiliation with the LDS Church, avoiding games during the Saturday conference session block, which runs from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. Mountain time, is a virtual imperative. BYU's preference is to schedule a nonconference opponent on a weeknight leading up to general conference. If the school is unable to fill that week with a nonleague contest, the Mountain West Conference takes the responsibility of scheduling a game, which BYU then requests be on the road and begin after 8 p.m. Mountain time if on Saturday.
Holmoe, however, would rather not leave it up to the MWC.
"If I can control that by playing a nonconference game on a Thursday or Friday, that's great," he said.
Since its most recent Friday night contest with Utah State, BYU has played twice on a general conference Saturday after 8 p.m. (2003 at San Diego State, 2004 at Colorado State), once on a Friday (2005 at San Diego State) and once on a Thursday (2006 at TCU). Last year, the Cougars had a bye week during general conference weekend.
Of course, college football scheduling is a tricky process. BYU and Utah State, both of which joined new conferences within the past decade, have only played each other once since 2002, making the traditional Friday night arrangement nonexistent for half a decade. But the Cougars and Aggies are now scheduled to play through 2012, and Holmoe hopes the two teams can continue to meet on Fridays before the first weekend in October.
"BYU would love to continue to play a game with Utah State on conference weekend," he said. "It's a great game that's gone back for decades."
Some recent Cougar-Aggie contests would certainly fit that description. On Oct. 4, 2002, at Logan's Romney Stadium, Utah State built a 31-7 halftime lead before BYU rallied for a 35-34 victory. The previous season, the Aggies once again led at halftime before losing 54-34 at LaVell Edwards Stadium in a game that featured 989 yards of total offense. In 1999, BYU needed a field goal in overtime to defeat Utah State in Logan.
Utah State has never defeated BYU in a Friday night matchup, and the Aggies' lone win over BYU since 1982 came in 1993, a 58-56 classic played on Oct. 30. But the pre-general conference matchup is also beneficial for Utah State fans in Cache Valley, a community with a sizable Mormon population.
"We have a very similar demographic as far as our attendance and our fan base," said Kevin Dustin, Utah State's associate athletic director of development and a USU graduate. "It works well for us in Logan. We face some of the same challenges with Saturday games on conference weekend. It's been well-received up here.
"It just makes too much sense and works well for everyone involved, but schedules are very difficult to match up at times."
Holmoe, however, will advocate the Friday night setup for the future. In most cases, weeknight games are problematic for BYU fans, many of whom travel from across the state of Utah as well as Idaho and Wyoming. The school also doesn't like to intrude on the high school football schedule, Holmoe said. But the Friday night BYU-Utah State game affords a unique opportunity for Mormons coming into town for general conference who also might be fans of the Cougars or Aggies.
"That kind of is a really special weekend for them," Holmoe said.
Tonight at Rice-Eccles Stadium in Salt Lake City, the 15th-ranked Utah football team will face Pac-10 opponent Oregon State, which pulled the upset of the year so far when it defeated then-No. 1 Southern California last week. The game will be televised nationally on Versus.
Much like the Friday night Utah State game is for BYU, this is the ideal situation for the University of Utah.
Tonight's game will mark the fourth time in the past six years that the Utes have played on a weeknight leading up to general conference weekend. On three occasions, the Utes have played the Friday night before the Saturday sessions — at home against Oregon in 2003, on the road at New Mexico in 2004 and on the road at Louisville in 2007. The only home game since 2001 that has conflicted with the Saturday general conference schedule was in 2006 against Boise State — a 1 p.m. start.
Avoiding the general conference schedule is a "conscious decision," according to Esplin.
The school's administration is aware that many Utah football fans are active Latter-day Saints, Esplin said, and they would rather not be put in the position of having the two events conflict with each other. Chris Hill, the school's athletic director, takes that — and other factors — into account when scheduling the season.
"They love to watch the Utes, but they also have other obligations," Hill said of LDS Utah fans. "I want to balance that. I think in this community it's important to balance LDS and non-LDS."
Utah's preference for that weekend is to play on the road or invite a high-profile team to Rice-Eccles Stadium for a weeknight game on national television, such as tonight's matchup. That's the "best of both worlds," according to Hill.
There are, however, other considerations. Esplin points out that weeknight home games create parking problems, because school is in session. Hill says the school doesn't want a "steady diet" of Thursday night games, and there are times in the scheduling process when conflicts with general conference are unavoidable. He also has to take into account fans who aren't LDS who want to see games on a Saturday.
"There are going to be times when we do have a conflict and we have to live with it," Hill said. "It's just a fine line that we walk, and it's indicative of the community that we're in that we need to be sensitive to all sides of the issue."
Both Esplin and Hill say the feedback they've received from fans on the scheduling approach has been positive. And more than likely, a number of players appreciate it as well. Because of the Thursday night game, team members will have the opportunity to attend the priesthood session together on Saturday night at the Conference Center.
Terry Baker, an instructor at the Salt Lake University LDS Institute of Religion and the adviser for the Latter-day Saint Student Athlete Association at the school, says it's the fourth time he can remember players participating in a conference session as a team.
Utah's football roster has a prominent LDS influence. Fifty-five of the 110 players listed are church members, making this weekend a meaningful event for many team members.
"They strongly believe that their activities off the field affect their activities on the field," Baker said. "It's just a spiritual high for them. They thoroughly enjoy being on the floor close to the prophet."
E-mail: ashill@desnews.com
