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Extra Points publisher Matt Brown examines why Utah Valley has yet to accept its invitation to the Big West and points to two main reasons: “Astrid Tuminez, the president of Utah Valley University, went on sabbatical after the tragic and unexpected death of her husband earlier in February. She was originally scheduled to be on sabbatical through March 31, but industry sources have told me that sabbatical is now expected to extend through the end of April. Personally, I hope she takes however long she feels is necessary. There are some operational decisions that can be left to other university executives, but I’m told the school didn’t want to make any final conference affiliation decisions until she returns to the office. For other university systems, an interim president and sitting athletic director may be able to make those decisions and execute an agreement. In this particular situation, though, everything is a bit more complicated.” That complication involves UVU’s options with other conferences, particularly the Summit League. While the Big West probably makes more sense from a student and market demographics standpoint, Brown notes the Summit would potentially be interested in also adding Southern Utah and Utah Tech, adding: “If the only options on the table are the Big West and the Summit, my current understanding is that it remains more likely that Utah Valley joins the Summit.” Meanwhile, other options may present themselves, including one to join the Mountain West, which Brown is told is “considering potentially adding even more members, with more of a focus on institutions that do not sponsor football, to help shore up basketball quality and Olympic sport sponsorship numbers.”