Getty ImagesEarlier this month, Boise State president Bob Kustra stated very plainly that “it’s too late” for his football program to make a move from the Mountain West to the Big East in 2012, saying he “can’t imagine how anyone can pull that off.”
Thanks to a couple of developments in recent days, however, the door remains for the Broncos to pull off just that.
Tuesday, the Big East and West Virginia officially announced an agreement that will allow the school to leave the conference for the 2012 season. Such a move creates a hole in the remaining Big East members’ conference schedule, which Boise State could easily fill by moving a year ahead of schedule.
Additionally, the MWC and Conference USA announced earlier this week that the two conferences will dissolve in order to create a single league. Part of that new creation could include adding current members of the WAC; while Boise State’s football program is moving to the Big East, its other sports are headed to the WAC.
Add those two developments together, and you have, as the Idaho Statesman writes, “Boise State… still considering moving its football program to the Big East this fall.”
However, there could still be a couple of obstacles for the Broncos to hurdle in order to make an early move. According to athletic director Mark Coyle, those two hurdles are financial considerations and ensuring the school’s other sports have a solid home as well.
“Before we make any move, we need to make sure we cover all our expenses,” Coyle said. “If a transition takes place now, there are expenses we need to cover before we make a move.”
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“With the departure of West Virginia, it’s created this talk about somebody jumping to the Big East. We have had those conversations, but it’s not a simple black and white answer,” he said. “Yes, we want to make sure that football has a solid home, but we have to have a solid home for our 18 other sports.”
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“We’ve got to find the right fit for all our programs,” Coyle said. “We can’t lose focus of the student-athletes.”
As far as the financial aspect of an early move goes, the Statesman reports BSU would have to pay between $7.5 million and $9 million for an early departure from the Mountain West, as well as money to the WAC for putting their other sports team in that conference a year early. One potential financial avenue for Boise State would be for the Big East to take some of the money it will receive from the WVU/Big 12 settlement and assist its newest member in joining a year early.
Such a move might actually be of greater benefit to the Big East as it would alleviate the scheduling concerns created by WVU’s departure as well as adding a prominent, successful football program to a conference that desperately needs it.
The Mountain West will be gone after next year anyways so why can’t the Broncos stick it out for one more year?This whole conference shuffle is making college football look even more ridiculous than it already has.
They are holding out one more year hoping …begging that the b1g12 (10) will take them. It will never happen.
Pitt and WVU should have stayed in the Big East. The four-letter network is creating an 16-game playoff. The BCS will go the way of the dodo bird
The Big East is thinking about adding them to next season because now they would only have 7 teams next season.
Can someone wake me when all the conference realignment gets finalized? I lost track about eight moves ago.
Even if they go to the Big Least, BSU will still not play anyone good.
…and iplaybad would continue to be a douschebag