COLUMN: UVU, WAC Figure Out Your Sh*^

Adults in the room being extremely petty in the eyes of many

Utah Valley guard Trevan Leonhardt goes up for a shot against ACU on Thursday night at the UCCU Center. Courtesy UVU Athletics.

“Isn’t this crazy?”

That was ACU head coach Brette Tanner’s first words to me before tip-off at the UCCU Center on Thursday night.

You all know what he is talking about because we have all had similar reactions to this mess between Utah Valley University and the Western Athletic Conference.

So, from all of us following along, UVU fans, basketball fans, and so many more…let me spell it out for both parties.

GET YOUR SH*^ TOGETHER!

Whatever the reason, the adults in the room are causing immense harm to the so-called student-athletes they say they are looking out for.

Yet, one side is holding out on paying an exit fee that has some significant consequences.

The other side believes it is upholding its bylaws by enforcing a rule that impacts the student-athletes more than anything.

Matt Brown at Extra Points stated that in all the years he has covered college athletics, he couldn’t recall the extreme measure the WAC took on Thursday night in removing a Utah Valley home game from its broadcast schedule.

“Maybe it’s happened before, but I can’t recall any time since I started covering college sports professionally that a conference has straight up taken a team off TV during a realignment battle.”

The social media reaction was nearly one-sided when the WAC put out a statement by Commissioner Rebekah Ray.

The reaction was instantaneous.

Here is a gallery of some of the quote tweets since initially the WAC turned off the replies.

Yes, you can see that it turned into quite the circus.

Removing Utah Valley from its broadcast schedule doesn’t just hurt the Wolverines; it hurts the Abilene Christian men’s basketball team, too. What’s worse is that both teams had NOTHING to do with the decision of the adults in the room.

Now, some people all over social media were screaming to ‘let the student-athletes play’.

Well, the student-athletes did play. In fact, both Utah Valley basketball teams played.

While the men’s team played at home at the UCCU Center, the women played at Abilene Christian.

So, we can’t say that the WAC didn’t let the student-athletes play.

It did.

Unfortunately, that statement of letting the student-athletes play could become a real issue if this crap show between the league and its long-time member isn’t resolved by Feb. 27. That is the date the WAC Indoor Track & Field Championships begin in Spokane, Washington.

If this issue isn’t resolved by that time, per what the WAC has posted, the Utah Valley student-athletes won’t be able to compete for a WAC championship.

So, who is to blame for this mess?

I am going to go out on a limb and say both are to blame for this mess.

First, Utah Valley.

Whatever the reason is that you gave for telling the WAC, when you made the announcement you were leaving to join the Big West, that you weren’t going to pay the exit fee, perhaps you should have known the WAC would come after you as it has and had a plan in place so your student-athletes weren’t in jeopardy of not competing for WAC championships.

Whatever the beef is that you want to continue to stand on and feel a moral superiority, let it go…for now.

Take the plunge, pay the exit fee, and stop putting your student-athletes at risk because of your pride or whatever other reason you have.

Once you pay that exit fee, perhaps then revisit the significant issues you feel are at hand.

As long as you stand your ground, the worse this could get, and not just from a PR standpoint but from a financial standpoint, as well.

Your reasons may be justified. And perhaps you take the WAC to court on those reasons.

But don’t let those reasons ruin opportunities for your student-athletes to compete for championships.

Second, the Western Athletic Conference.

You have stated time and time again through the lawsuit and the social media post about Thursday night’s broadcast news that you are “open to discussion should Utah Valley University seek to resolve this matter.”

If that is the case, then you should be open to the fact that the ones truly being hurt here are the student-athletes.

By-laws aside, if you are in negotiations with Utah Valley admins on how to resolve this issue, then withholding home games from being broadcast, eliminating anything Utah Valley-related from your social media/marketing content, should not happen.

This is a school that has stuck around for 12 years. It is the only school remaining from the original group of schools dating back to 2013-14.

EVERY other school from the time Utah Valley joined the WAC has LEFT already.

Utah Valley stayed loyal to you over that time. It had other opportunities. It could have gone elsewhere. But, it CHOSE to stay in the Western Athletic Conference.

Here is something to consider.

First, the WAC is down to 7 teams in 2025-26 after hitting a high of 13 in 2021-22 in men’s basketball.

It means six other teams have left, and one that initially agreed to join the WAC reneged on its commitment. So, technically, 14 teams.

If we are being honest, the WAC hasn’t done anything to solidify the league since 2021-22. There were 13 teams that season. That number in men’s basketball stayed the same the following year. Then, the number went to 11 in 2023-24, then it went to nine in 2024-25, and now it is at seven.

So, Utah Valley made a choice. The same choice as CBU, GCU, UTRGV, SFA, New Mexico State, Sam Houston, and Seattle U, among others.

Yes, all of those schools paid an exit fee. CBU just paid its exit fee ahead of the Feb. 1 deadline.

Why punish ONE school that made the same choice as others? If you want to go after them for not paying the exit fee, then sue them for the exit fee.

But, don’t say you are for the student-athletes when the student-athletes are the ones who will be hurt the most by this situation.

Should Utah Valley pay the exit fee as put forth in the by-laws? Absolutely.

Should the WAC allow Utah Valley home games to be broadcast? Absolutely.

Is this a petty shit show between the adults in the room? ABSOLUTELY.

Figure it out. And figure it out QUICKLY.

All you’re doing is hurting the student-athletes.