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Utah Utes: Putting Utah/BYU Rivalry On Hold is Pointless and Petty

By Hashim R. Hathaway

January 1, 2016; Stanford, CA, USA; Utah Utes head coach Larry Krystkowiak instructs against the Stanford Cardinal during the second half at Maples Pavilion. The Cardinal defeated the Utes 70-68 in overtime. Mandatory Credit: Kyle Terada-USA TODAY Sports
January 1, 2016; Stanford, CA, USA; Utah Utes head coach Larry Krystkowiak instructs against the Stanford Cardinal during the second half at Maples Pavilion. The Cardinal defeated the Utes 70-68 in overtime. Mandatory Credit: Kyle Terada-USA TODAY Sports /
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The decision by Head Coach Larry Krystkowiak to remove the Utah/BYU game from the schedule starting next season is an awful move for a longtime rivalry.

In collegiate sports, there are few things more exciting than a rivalry game, but thanks to Utah Utes Head Coach Larry Krystkowiak, the basketball rivalry with the BYU Cougars, a rivalry that stretches back to 1909, is no more.

At least for now, anyway. In separate statements, BYU and Utah announced Wednesday that the Utes have cancelled the game for the 2016 season, the final game under the current contract.

The last time the Utes and Cougars didn’t face one another in a season, it was for a pretty good reason, better known as World War II.

According to Krystkowiak, his reasoning for the cessation in the near century-old rivalry is due largely to the level of contentiousness between the two schools in recent years, culminating with an altercation in December 2015 where BYU’s Nick Emery punched Utah guard Brandon Taylor at the end of Utah’s 83-75 victory over the Cougars.

From Krystkowiak’s statement:

"“The events that have occurred in our recent games with BYU led me to ask Dr. Hill several weeks ago if we could take a cooling off period and put the rivalry on hold…the level of emotions has escalated to the point where there is the potential for serious injury.”"

Outside of the Utes’ camp, everyone else seems pretty surprised by the decision, including BYU Head Coach Dave Rose, who called the decision the first in his 32 years “not to have [a contract] fully executed.”

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The rivalry between BYU and Utah isn’t just relegated to basketball. The football rivalry, known famously as “The Holy War” is even older, reaching back to 1896, and is every bit as contentious, culminating in December’s Las Vegas Bowl, where the Utes held off the Cougars 35-28.

In the realm of rivalries, what’s been going on between these two schools is something pretty special and for Krystkowiak and athletic director Chris Hill to put a stop to it based on one incident feels pretty petty and does absolutely nothing productive for either university.

What some coaches seem to fail to get is that despite their perceived vast powers, they will never be bigger than the programs they lead. Krystkowiak has been with the Utes since 2011, and with an overall record of 77-66, he’s done a damn fine job returning the program to a level of prominence, but to put a stop to this classic rivalry, just reeks of a wrongheaded decision that starts the seeds of dissension in a fan and alumni base that so often leads to termination.

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Both Krystkowiak and Hill doubled down by putting the onus for this break in the rivalry on BYU, saying that if they didn’t clean up their act, implying that the Cougars are a (physically aggressive) dirty program, that the rivalry may never resume, it’s only going to build ill will between the schools and with its status as the in-state rivalry, nothing good can come from this.

To be sure, one incident does not a dangerous series make. Yes, there were flagrant fouls and other levels of tough play, but neither team can be seriously accused of outright goonery, no matter what Krystkowiak would like people to believe.

Far more notable for animosity and on-court violence, the Crosstown Shootout (nee Crosstown Classic) between Xavier and Cincinnati saw more than its share of physicality, leading to an all-out brawl in December 2011 that led to the suspension of four Bearcat and four Musketeer players.

Threats were made to suspend the series on both sides, but other accommodations were made and the series continued unabated, and without further incident. For Krystkowiak to put the kibosh after a much lesser incident just makes him look a bit disingenuous, especially since the series between the two schools is tight at 129-128 in favor of BYU.

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There is no good reason to run from this rivalry, and to continue to do so simply sucks the fun out of it for both the fanbase and alumni. If this is something that can’t be fixed after 2016, without significant progress in the NCAA Tournament, it might end up on the list of reasons why the Utah Utes have a new head coach.

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