The Boise State Broncos will stay in the Mountain West Conference rather than join the Big East Conference, the MWC announced today.
Boise State will remain a member of the MWC in all sports effective immediately. The Broncos were set to join the Big East on July 1, 2013.
“Without question, conference affiliation has been an odyssey for Boise State, with all the unexpected turns and changes that term suggests,” stated Boise State University president Robert Kustra. “The benefits of geographic footprint, revenue, and national exposure have to be balanced against the changing circumstances of conference realignment. I am confident that our Mountain West membership is the very best decision for Boise State University, our student-athletes and our incredible fan base.”
“We are very pleased today to announce Boise State University’s continuing membership in the Mountain West Conference,” said Commissioner Craig Thompson. “Maintaining the Broncos program as part of the already solid foundation we have established creates a posture of great stability for the Mountain West going forward. It also enhances the Conference’s competitive and marketplace platforms, positioning us favorably in the evolving FBS landscape.”
As part of their new agreement with the Mountain West, Boise State’s home football games will not be part of any “current or future Mountain West Conference wide television rights contract.” Further, the league will “guarantee the rights to Boise State home football games that are sold as a separate package.”
Another provision in the new contract stipulates that the MWC will honor Boise State’s previous non-conference scheduling contracts and that they will not “regulate Boise State’s uniform colors or designs.” This means that the Broncos will once again be allowed to wear all blue uniforms at home.
With Boise remaining in the MWC, the conference will have 11 football members for the 2013 season: Air Force, Boise State, Colorado State, Fresno State, Hawaii, Nevada, New Mexico, San Jose State (new), UNLV, Utah State (new), and Wyoming.
San Diego State is set to join the Big East in 2013, but could also decide to stay in the MWC. That would give the conference 12 teams with the possibility of splitting into divisions and staging a championship game.
A report from CBSSports.com indicates that MWC commissioner Craig Thompson has been in talks with 3-5 teams about the possibility of joining. One of those is likely San Diego State, with the others rumored to be Houston, SMU, UTEP, and UTSA.
BYU is also a candidate to rejoin the Mountain West, but they would likely require a television rights contract similar to Boise State in order to pry them away from independence.
The Big East, which recently announced their new 6-team divisions and 2013 home/away opponents, is in turmoil once again. And it could get worse if San Diego State stays in the MWC and Houston, or others, bolt for greener pastures.
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someone finally with sense.......I hope San Diego St. does the same thing next week......the MWC is a very good conference that only can get better......BYU should rejoin as well.
SDSU will certainly rejoin the MWC as they will probably be able to negotiate the same type of deal.
I also expect BYU to rejoin, especially since the MWC will be letting the teams that actually appear on network TV keep most of the revenue.
I suspect the MWC will look something like this: Certainly a stronger conference than the Big East leftovers.
EAST
Boise
BYU
Utah
Wyoming
Air Force
Colorado St
WEST
SDSU
Fresno St
Nevada
San Jose St
Hawaii
UNLV
oops I left NM out of the east.
I'd add houston & SMU
Utah is in the Pac 12.
@Mike
he meant Utah State
Thanks caimy, yes obviously I meant USU.
I can see all sorts of trickle-down from this. MWC takes some of the western Big East teams, Big East takes some more C-USA teams, then C-USA takes teams from the MAC or Sun Belt, who then try to get Idaho, NMSU, or an FCS team...........the possibilities are endless.
SDSU better hurry up.....if BYU rejoins before they do,they'll be stuck in the Big East..very pleased Boise is returning,we Spartans sure owe them a beating or three....
SDSU is afforeded the right to rejoin the MWC before BSU. Therefore, they'll definitley be returning if BSU has already been allowed to rejoin.
East:
Air Force, Colorado State, Houston, New Mexico, SMU, Utah State, Wyoming & in 2014 UTEP added
West:
Boise State, Fresno State, Hawaii, Nevada, San Diego State, San Jose State, UNLV & in 2014 BYU added
just a reminder - the 16 team WAC broke down
Mountain (East):
Air Force-BYU, Colorado State-Wyoming, New Mexico-UTEP, Houston-SMU,
Pacific (West):
Boise State-Utah State, Nevada-UNLV, Fresno State-San Jose State, Hawaii-San Diego State
Pairings above would be end of season rivalries. As for cross-division games, the only rivalry that would need to be protected would be BYU-Utah State. BYU also shares rivalries with some of the "West" teams, but I guess you can't satisfy everyone. Perhaps switch BYU and Utah State in above alignment?
I doubt SMU and Houston are likely candidates. Just because they are located in large TV markets, that doesn't mean that they will provide massive TV revenue. Remember, the MWC no longer has its own network, so their revenue is based on actual viewers; not simply TV households like the Big Ten and Pac 12. Both Dallas and Houston are Longhorn and Aggie country. In DFW, SMU is also less popular than TCU and Baylor.
I see the MWC holding steady at either 12 or 13 teams, depending on whether BYU wants in or not.
TCU is more popular than SMU in DFW, but not Baylor. Baylor is 8th in DFW TV power behind Texas, Texas A&M, Texas Tech, Oklahoma, TCU, SMU, and even freaking UNT. Baylor is pretty much devoid of a real fanbase.
Boise already has four non-MW games, which means that a 9-game MW schedule in which Boise does not play at Hawaii would require Boise to lose one non-conference game. Boise played at Hawaii on 11/10/12, making this scenario very likely if SDSU rejoins. (SDSU not rejoining would keep the conference at 8 games.)
I think MW will stick with an 8-game schedule, so Boise has nothing to worry about unless BYU also joins the MW.
Part of the press release said that the MWC will allow Boise to keep all Non-Conference scheduling commitments. So it looks like an 8 game schedule for the foreseeable future.
It´s all about Money, and blue uniforms, and this should be an amateur sport?
Yes it is about the money. It costs money to have athletic programs, and without income, there is no gymnastics team, swim team, softball team, cheerleading program, athletic scholarships or anything else.
And Hernandos, this seems like it was a sound financial decision. Do you have a problem with that?
Dear Bill,
Boise State University has an endowment of $78.5 million, with just 1 % interest rates income, Boise State can finance gymnastics team, swim team, softball team, cheerleading program, athletic scholarships or anything else.
78M is nothing for an endowment. I know Iowa is over 1 billion (yes billion with a B) and that is the smallest one in the Big Ten.
Even the University of Idaho is almost 250 million.
Furthermore, their are usually terms and conditions attached to such an endowment; including the stipulation that they be used for ACADEMIC pursuits.
The problem is Boise State, they would like to play football in the Duck Tales Conference against Duckburg College, Spoonerville U and St. Canard College, if they got enough money.
I apologize to everyone to responding to Hernandos other post. I did not realize he was a troll who was unable to discuss the realities of college football.
https://fbschedules.com/ncaa-13/indep/2013-byu-cougars-football-schedule.php
Look at BYU schedule... now way they should rejoin... a ACC ND type deal would make sense for Both Partys though.