Like most sports fans, sports writers can't wait until football starts up again.

Duh.

But how good? How dominating was the BYU athletic program in 2007-08, particularly, in the Mountain West Conference?

So, I devised a simple formula: Whatever place in the conference standings a team earned in a particular sport, that's the number of points it received. That means low score is best. Some MWC schools don't have teams in certain sports, so they earned a last-place score in that sport. The BYU men's volleyball team doesn't compete in the MWC, so they weren't included in my system. Same with the gymnastics team. Club teams, which complete in various leagues, also weren't counted.

Clear as mud?

OK, so this is what I came up with: In 2007-08, BYU scored a MWC-best 40 points in 17 counting sports. Second place? New Mexico, with 70 points. TCU was third with 71 points and Utah fourth with 78 points. BYU won six conference titles and finished second in five others.

An amazing year -- but not as good as 2006-07. That season, BYU scored a ridiculously low 26 points, with TCU coming in second at 69. BYU won titles in 11 of the 17 sports and was second in five others.

In 2005-06, BYU scored a total of 32 points, with six conference titles and eight second-place finishes. Second place in 2005-06 was TCU again, with 78.

I only went back three years because data is harder to find after that and I got tired. Conclusion? BYU has the best athletic program in the MWC -- and it isn't even close.

On another high note, BYU beat Utah in the first Deseret First Duel, but it was close (34-30). And in the Directors Cup college standings, BYU is 40th with one sport (baseball) still to be decided. The Cougars were just behind Virginia Tech and just ahead of Kentucky.

Here's a team-by-team look at BYU during the 2007-08 sports year:

Fall 2007

Football

11-2 overall, ranked No. 14 in final polls

Highlight: Freshman Eathyn Manumaleuna blocking UCLA's game-winning field goal to preserve the Las Vegas Bowl victory.

Vs. Utes: BYU converted a 4th-and-18 in the final moments and scored a 17-10 win over Utah to clinch the MWC title.

The Big Question for 2008: Can the Cougars' "Quest of Perfection" lead them to an undefeated regular season and a BCS bowl berth?

Women's Volleyball

24-8 overall, lost to No. 1 Penn State in NCAA regional finals

Highlight: Upsetting No. 6 Washington in NCAA tournament on the Huskies home floor.

Vs. Utes: Beat Utah twice during the regular season.

The Big Question for 2008: Can new coach Shay Goulding keep the Cougars performing at a high level?

Men's Cross Country

Won MWC title, finished 22nd at NCAA meet

Highlight: Senior Chandler Goodwin earned All-American honors with a 46th-place individual finish at nationals.

Vs. Utes: Utah doesn't have a men's cross country team.

The Big Question for 2008: Can junior Brandon Herbert step in and help make up for the loss of a strong senior class?

Women's Cross Country

Finished second in MWC, 25th at NCAA meet

Highlight: Freshman Cecily Lemmon was the Cougars' top runner at nationals (65th overall).

Vs. Utes: Outscored Utah 39 to 130 at the MWC Championships.

The Big Question for 2008: Can young runners like Lemmon, Angela Wagner and Katie Bowen lead the Cougars back into the Top 5?

Women's Soccer

12-5-5 overall, 2nd in MWC, lost to No. 7 Texas 2-0 in NCAA First Round

Highlight: Beating UNLV 2-1 to win first MWC tournament title since 2002.

Vs. Utes: Lost 1-0 to Utah in Provo.

The Big Question for 2008: Can offensive machine Katie Larkin get some scoring help this season?

Winter 2008

Men's Basketball

27-8 overall, won second straight MWC regular season title, lost to Texas A&M 67-62 in NCAA First Round

Highlight: Beating Louisville and battling North Carolina during a nationally televised tournament in Las Vegas.

Vs. Utes: Beat Utah twice during the regular season.

The Big Question for 2008-09: Can BYU overcome the loss of center Trent Plaisted and win a first-round NCAA tournament game?

Women's Basketball

13-16 overall, 5th in MWC

Highlight: Beating nationally ranked Wyoming 56-42 in Provo.

Vs. Utes: Lost two games to Utah by an average of 34 points.

The Big Question for 2008-09: Can Jeff Judkins get his young players to respond after a subpar season?

Gymnastics

Ranked No. 29 in the country

Highlight: Senior Alethea Boon finishing ninth in the all-around at the Penn State Regional.

Vs. Utes: Lost twice, once in Salt Lake and once in Provo.

The Big Question for 2009: Can the Cougars get back to the NCAA Championships for the first time since 2005?

Swimming and Diving

Highlight: Women won MWC regular season and conference championship; Men won regular-season title and finished second to UNLV in conference championships.

Vs. Utes: Men beat Utah 189-100; Women beat Utah 190-110.

The Big Question for 2008-09: Can both the men's and women's team continue to dominate the MWC?

Spring 2008

Baseball

22-36 overall, tied for fourth in MWC

Highlight: Rallying from a 10-0 eighth-inning deficit to beat Utah, 13-10.

Vs. Utes: BYU took two of three from Utah to end the regular season to clinch the first Deseret First Duel.

The Big Question for 2009: Can Vance Law get the Cougars back to the top of the Mountain West Conference after a dismal 2008 season?

Softball

44-20 overall, Second place in MWC, lost to Georgia in NCAA Regional

Highlight: Christina Gwyn-Trice spinning a no-hitter against Campbell in the NCAA tournament.

Vs. Utes: BYU split four games with Utah during the regular season.

The Big Question for 2009: Can MWC Freshman of the Year Kristin Delahoussaye, who ranked in the Top 5 in six MWC hitting categories, take a leadership role in 2009?

Men's Track and Field

Won the MWC title for the 11th straight time

Highlight: Sophomore Leif Arrhenius earned All-American honors with a fourth-place finish in the discus at the NCAA Championships.

Vs. Utes: Utah no longer has a men's track team.

The Big Question for 2009: With two more years to go, just how far can Arrhenius throw?

Women's Track and Field

Finished second to Colorado State in MWC Championships

Highlight: Junior Angela Wagner (3,000-meter steeplechase) and senior Carlee Clark-Platt (800 meters) earned All-American honors at the NCAA Championships.

Vs. Utes: BYU was second, Utah sixth in th MWC Championships.

The Big Question for 2009: Wagner was a first-year competitor in the steeplechase; can she continue to move up the leaderboard?

Men's Volleyball

25-5, Tied for MPSF regular season title, lost to Pepperdine in the MPSF Tournament finals

Highlight: Winning eight straight matches to reach the MPSF finals.

Vs. Utes: Utah doesn't field a men's volleyball team.

The Big Question for 2009: After losing All-Americans Ivan Perez and Russell Holmes to graduation, can the Cougars get to the Final Four, which will be played in Provo?

Men's Golf

Finished third at MWC Championships

Highlight: Freshman Esteban Calisto finished 10th at the U.S. Collegiate Championship.

Vs. Utes: BYU finished third, Utah fifth at MWC Championships.

The Big Question for 2008-09: Can BYU return to form and win the MWC title like it did in 2006?

Women's Golf

Second at MWC Championships, 17th at NCAA Regionals

Highlight: Senior Juli Erekson and junior Natalia Jimenez earning All-MWC honors.

Vs. Utes: Utah doesn't have a women's golf team.

The Big Question for 2008-09: Can the young Cougar team rally behind Jimenez for a strong 2008-09 season?

Men's Tennis

Lost to TCU in MWC semifinals

Highlight: Thomas Shubert earned MWC Freshman of the Year honors, posting a 21-14 record.

Vs. Utes: BYU lost to Utah 4-3 during the regular season.

The Big Question for 2009: Can Shubert lead the Cougars to the top of the conference?

Women's Tennis

Lost in MWC quarterfinals

Highlight: Both Anastasia Surkova and Kristina Doerr were named to the All-MWC Team in singles.

Vs. Utes: Utah won the regular-season match 6-1 and the MWC first-round meeting 4-0.

The Big Question for 2009: Can the No. 1 mid-major recruiting class (as named by the Tennis Recruiting Network) lead BYU to the next level?

Other Sports

The BYU men's rugby team advanced to the USA Rugby/National Guard Championship but lost to top-ranked Cal 59-7; The BYU men's lacrosse team made it to the MCLA semifinals before falling to eventual champion Michigan, 11-7; The BYU men's soccer team, which plays in the Premier Development League, is currently 4-5-1.

• Daily Herald Sports Editor Darnell Dickson can be reached at 344-2555 or by e-mail at This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it

Three years of dominance

Here's a look at the Mountain West Conference by school for the past three years, using Daily Herald Sports Editor Darnell Dickson's scoring method (low score is best).

2005-06

1. BYU, 32

2. TCU, 78

3. New Mexico, 80

4. San Diego State, 81

5. UNLV, 82

6. Utah, 83

7. Colorado State, 91

8. Wyoming, 107

9. Air Force, 111

2006-07

1. BYU, 26

2. TCU, 69

3. UNLV, 78

4. New Mexico 82

5. Colorado State and San Diego State, 89

7. Utah, 90

8. Wyoming, 100

9. Air Force, 113

2007-08

1. BYU, 40

2. New Mexico, 70

3. TCU, 71

4. Utah, 78

5. UNLV, 80

6. Colorado State and San Diego State, 92

8. Wyoming, 99

9. Air Force, 112

MWC titles won

2005-06: BYU, 6

2006-07: BYU, 11

2007-08: BYU, 6