Four days after an expected invitation did not come to fruition, Boise State will indeed get their long-sought invite from the Mountain West and move on from the WAC.
According to a tweet from ESPN.com‘s Joe Schad, “Boise State will join the Mountain West Conference today.”
Shortly after Schad broke the news, the Mountain West confirmed that Boise St. would be joining the league as its 10th member. The move will become effective July 1, 2011.
“We are pleased and excited to welcome Boise State University to the Mountain West Conference,” said Commissioner Craig Thompson in a statement. “Since our inception just 11 short years ago, the Mountain West has experienced tremendous success, and the addition of Boise State will further enhance that strength. The MWC continues to strategize regarding potential membership scenarios and bringing Boise State into the Conference is an important part of that evolution.”
“The invitation to join the Mountain West Conference reflects the excellence that Boise State University has demonstrated academically and athletically,” said Boise State President Robert Kustra. “It will be a privilege to compete and partner with such a successful group of member institutions. This move is in the best interests of Boise State’s future, and the university is excited to be part of one of the nation’s most outstanding conferences
Even with the decision this past Monday by MWC presidents to table the expansion discussion due to all conference hell breaking loose, this move comes as a surprise only in terms of the timing.
In announcing that the league would not be expanding at this point in time, commissioner Thompson made certain to stress that the topic of expanding the conference was still very much alive.
It was thought that the Boise issue would be addressed again by the Mountain West at some point between June 15 and June 30; apparently, that timeline was expedited. Why was it expedited?
We’ll likely have to wait until the press conference announcing the move -- scheduled for 2 p.m. ET this afternoon -- to find out.