Following the lead of Utah (which is headed for the Pac-10 next year), BYU will leave the Mountain West for the 2011-12 season and become an independent in football according to ESPN.com’s Andy Katz.

Speaking purely from a competitive standpoint, I hate the idea that Boise State, Fresno State and Nevada are coming into the Mountain West next year right as Utah and BYU are leaving. A conference featuring TCU, Boise State, Utah, BYU, Fresno State and Nevada would be incredibly fun to watch over the next couple of years, assuming of course that all of those teams stay relevant.

From a football standpoint (all other sports are joining the WCC, most notably basketball), I don’t quite get BYU’s decision here. Utah’s move to the Pac-10 makes sense because they’ll be guaranteed a seat at the BCS table. But because BYU is becoming independent, they won’t.

It feels like BYU is opting out at the worst possible time, unless I’m overlooking something here.