http://www.idahostatesman.com/2010/04/25/1167057/murphy-boise-states-door-to-the.html
Murphy: Boise State's door to the Mountain West is closing
BY BRIAN MURPHY - [email protected]
In the last 15 years, Boise State's football team has met nearly every challenge and overcome nearly every obstacle in its path. The meteoric rise from Division I-AA to the top 5 of the Football Bowl Subdivision is close to miraculous.
Too bad the Broncos can't simply play for an invite to the Mountain West Conference. That might be the only way they could get in soon, as a number of factors are working against Boise State.
Its long-distance flirtation with the league seems doomed by factors outside of its control.
The BCS revealed last week the criteria it will use to determine whether another conference gains automatic qualification into the big-boy party of college football. It was a welcome bit of openness from the BCS.
Halfway through the evaluation period (one that could change drastically by its end Dec. 4, 2012), the Mountain West is close, but unlikely to meet the criteria to become the seventh BCS conference.
Simply adding Boise State - an invitation would have to be extended and accepted by Sept. 1 in order for Boise State to join by July 1, 2011 and to be count toward the Mountain West's totals for this evaluation period - would not be enough to put the Mountain West over the top.
Strike one for the Broncos.
The Mountain West, like its counterpart, the WAC, is currently being held back by its worst teams. Adding the Broncos and dropping San Diego State from its membership would do the trick, but Mountain West commissioner Craig Thompson said in December that removing teams from the league is "a non-starter."
The Mountain West's profile, however, is good enough (if it maintains its current standing) that it would be allowed to apply for an exemption from the Presidential Oversight Committee, a 12-member board made up of league presidents from all 11 FBS conferences and the president of Notre Dame.
The league certainly has a case, considering it ranks ahead of Pac-10, the Big East and the ACC in two of the three categories used by the BCS.
The Presidential Oversight Committee and this exemption process are new bits of information, catching even conferences off-guard and leaving many uncertain about the process.
Bill Hancock, the executive director of the BCS, said the Presidential Oversight Committee would consider the overall strength of the conference, whether adding it would make it more attractive to television and the bowls, the conference's history and the number of spots available - vague criteria that gives the 12 members lots of discretion.
Adding Boise State would enhance the Mountain West's case before the committee, for sure. But there is no way of knowing whether the Broncos' inclusion would be a difference-maker.
Furthermore, if the Mountain West did gain automatic qualification status, it would be good for just two bowl seasons - 2013 and 2014. A new four-year evaluation period begins this year for use in bowl seasons 2015 through 2018. It's a big risk adding another school for an uncertain - and short-term - payoff.
Strike two for the Broncos.
Lastly, the Big Ten and Pac-10 are considering expansion, moves that could reconfigure the college football landscape. The Mountain West, which is in danger of losing its top schools in a big shakeup, could preemptively add the Broncos, helping their BCS case and hedging against the potential loss of Utah, BYU and/or TCU.
The Mountain West would be far less attractive to the BCS and to the Broncos if it were to lose two or three of those teams. The WAC could try to poach some Mountain West teams in that scenario using its ESPN contract as bait.
But conference expansion starts at the top and it is unlikely that any league will move until the Big Ten starts the dominoes - a wait-and-see attitude that could doom any invitation.
By then it might be too late for Boise State and the Mountain West, potentially perfect partners who have never quite gotten their timing right.
Strike three.
Murphy: Boise State's door to the Mountain West is closing
BY BRIAN MURPHY - [email protected]
In the last 15 years, Boise State's football team has met nearly every challenge and overcome nearly every obstacle in its path. The meteoric rise from Division I-AA to the top 5 of the Football Bowl Subdivision is close to miraculous.
Too bad the Broncos can't simply play for an invite to the Mountain West Conference. That might be the only way they could get in soon, as a number of factors are working against Boise State.
Its long-distance flirtation with the league seems doomed by factors outside of its control.
The BCS revealed last week the criteria it will use to determine whether another conference gains automatic qualification into the big-boy party of college football. It was a welcome bit of openness from the BCS.
Halfway through the evaluation period (one that could change drastically by its end Dec. 4, 2012), the Mountain West is close, but unlikely to meet the criteria to become the seventh BCS conference.
Simply adding Boise State - an invitation would have to be extended and accepted by Sept. 1 in order for Boise State to join by July 1, 2011 and to be count toward the Mountain West's totals for this evaluation period - would not be enough to put the Mountain West over the top.
Strike one for the Broncos.
The Mountain West, like its counterpart, the WAC, is currently being held back by its worst teams. Adding the Broncos and dropping San Diego State from its membership would do the trick, but Mountain West commissioner Craig Thompson said in December that removing teams from the league is "a non-starter."
The Mountain West's profile, however, is good enough (if it maintains its current standing) that it would be allowed to apply for an exemption from the Presidential Oversight Committee, a 12-member board made up of league presidents from all 11 FBS conferences and the president of Notre Dame.
The league certainly has a case, considering it ranks ahead of Pac-10, the Big East and the ACC in two of the three categories used by the BCS.
The Presidential Oversight Committee and this exemption process are new bits of information, catching even conferences off-guard and leaving many uncertain about the process.
Bill Hancock, the executive director of the BCS, said the Presidential Oversight Committee would consider the overall strength of the conference, whether adding it would make it more attractive to television and the bowls, the conference's history and the number of spots available - vague criteria that gives the 12 members lots of discretion.
Adding Boise State would enhance the Mountain West's case before the committee, for sure. But there is no way of knowing whether the Broncos' inclusion would be a difference-maker.
Furthermore, if the Mountain West did gain automatic qualification status, it would be good for just two bowl seasons - 2013 and 2014. A new four-year evaluation period begins this year for use in bowl seasons 2015 through 2018. It's a big risk adding another school for an uncertain - and short-term - payoff.
Strike two for the Broncos.
Lastly, the Big Ten and Pac-10 are considering expansion, moves that could reconfigure the college football landscape. The Mountain West, which is in danger of losing its top schools in a big shakeup, could preemptively add the Broncos, helping their BCS case and hedging against the potential loss of Utah, BYU and/or TCU.
The Mountain West would be far less attractive to the BCS and to the Broncos if it were to lose two or three of those teams. The WAC could try to poach some Mountain West teams in that scenario using its ESPN contract as bait.
But conference expansion starts at the top and it is unlikely that any league will move until the Big Ten starts the dominoes - a wait-and-see attitude that could doom any invitation.
By then it might be too late for Boise State and the Mountain West, potentially perfect partners who have never quite gotten their timing right.
Strike three.
