Earlier today it was being reported that the Air Force Falcons are expected to join the Big East as a football-only member and put their other sports in the Missouri Valley Conference. Now, Boise State is being targeted by the Big East
as a football-only member. Boise State was discussed about a month ago but travel distance was a concern, but that also was before the Big East would be losing Pitt and Syracuse to the ACC.
Boise State would need to find another home for their other sports and WAC commissioner Karl Benson has said that he would be willing to bring back Boise State for the non-football sports.
If Boise State does go to the Big East this completely nails shut the Mountain West gaining a BCS bid at all in the future, and the Mountain West is essentially what the WAC is. The best team in the league would be Nevada or Hawaii next year and probably would be worse than Conference USA.
Some people are commenting that the Mountain West should go after Houston, SMU, Tulsa and others to join the Mountain West, but what is there to offer. The games are not as wide spread on television due to not being on ESPN and the quality of competition is less in a Mountain West without Air Force or Boise State.
Some also suggested that the top teams from C-USA and Mountain West break off and form a new league like what happened in 1998 when it is clear the 16-team WAC was going to fail. With a brand new league the teams could possibly set up a deal with ESPN and not be shackled by the current Mountain West television deal that lacks in exposure.
The thing is the Mountain West has nothing to offer Boise State to stay if they do get an offer to join the Big East or any other BCS league. Craig Thompson has his work cut out for him to see if he can save this league.
The only good news about Boise State to the Big East is that the reports are in the infant stage and Boise is being considered and do not have one foot on the way out like Air Force seems to have.
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