The way Las Vegas Bowl executive director Tina Kunzer-Murphy sees it, selecting Brigham Young will make a difference for many years.

Because BYU should help the bowl reach the NCAA-mandated attendance average, the bowl will be able to concentrate on growing even more next season when the new four-year deal with the Mountain West Conference kicks in.

In fact, taking the Cougars already is paying off. Kunzer-Murphy said 8,000 tickets were allotted to BYU, which then asked for an additional 1,000. A BYU spokesman said about 1,300 tickets were sold within two hours of Tuesday's official announcement.

Another 6,000 tickets were sold in Las Vegas before the announcement, nearly double the usual amount, Kunzer-Murphy said.

"I'm thankful for the support of our fans, for making LaVell Edwards Stadium the way it is and traveling as well we as do," BYU coach Bronco Mendenhall said. "But I want to make it clear that our football team earned this right."

That's an issue to be debated. The bowl, Dec. 22 at Sam Boyd Stadium, receives the first choice from the Mountain West starting in 2006, though it actually had the first selection this year and took a 6-5 BYU team over conference champion and 15th-ranked Texas Christian (10-1).

"I envision us taking the champion from here on out," Kunzer-Murphy said. "The committee members' next step, we believe, is to build the bowl. Going three or four deep (in the MWC standings) is not something we want to do."

But if BYU or UNLV finish No. 2, there is little doubt the bowl will give either team a strong look instead of automatically taking the champion.

Still, Kunzer-Murphy said she wants to raise the bowl's profile beginning with the new deal, which increases its payout from $575,000 per team to $1 million.

So if this year were next, would TCU be headed to Las Vegas instead of the Houston Bowl?

"A top-20 team always helps your credibility," Kunzer-Murphy said. "For any criticism that comes about, we're trying to grow the bowl. That's what we're trying to do, and the committee members realize that. Would we have liked TCU? Absolutely, but it's not good for the future to take them this year."

That's because the bowl needs at least 29,185 fans in the stands to reach 25,000 for a three-year average for NCAA re-certification. The NCAA could re-certify regardless, but it's a risk the bowl does not want to take.

After this season, a new three-year average begins. BYU will help the bowl get to that next cycle.

"Las Vegas is close, so our fans can get there," Mendenhall said. "We're talking 130,000 LDS members in that area already existing as a support base. And I expect it to be a sea of blue."

The rest of the Mountain West bowl picture also cleared up. In addition to TCU going to Houston, Colorado State is headed to the Poinsettia Bowl in San Diego and Utah to the Emerald Bowl in San Francisco.

New Mexico was given a conditional invitation to the Fort Worth Bowl if the Big 12 Conference or Conference USA is unable to supply a team.