Boise State and the Mountain West wait for the dust to settle

Another great article by Dave Southorn of the Idaho Press Tribune 

Monday seemed like the perfect time for the first salvo in the college football expansion battle.

Perhaps the sport’s best-known underdog would be offered to join a more prestigious conference, the Mountain West, and become one of the big dogs.

An invitation did not come at the conference’s meetings in Jackson, Wyo., and now Boise State will have to wait for the established powers to make their moves.

“We’re going to continue to monitor the landscape nationally,” Mountain West commissioner Craig Thompson said. “... Everything’s still on the table and continues to be live.”

Many expected the nine Mountain West Conference presidents to vote on whether or not to invite the Broncos, but they did not even get to the point of a vote, with other conferences in flux.

Speaking to the Fort Collins (Colo.) Coloradoan, Colorado State athletic director Paul Kowalczyk said his fellow athletic directors were nearly unanimous in telling their presidents to include Boise State. That idea was tabled for the time being, with potential huge changes coming soon.

“It is probably not a bad way to go right now, given the shifting sands,” Kowalczyk said. “If you move too fast, you don’t know how the rest of the situation’s going to play itself out, and you may miss an opportunity.”

The first moves may happen this week, even as early as today.

Colorado’s regents met Tuesday night, and OrangeBloods.com, suddenly a big-time source for Big 12 expansion-related news, said the school could announce a move to the Pac-10 as early as today. The  Boulder Daily Camera, however, cited a school spokesperson, who said no announcement is imminent. Reports have stated that Missouri and Nebraska have until Friday to tell the Big 12 whether they plan to leave for the Big Ten or not.

The Mountain West presidents are expected to discuss expansion again in about two weeks, when UNLV’s president will return to the country from Japan. Then again, the football world may not wait.

“If things start changing and parts start flying — they have phones in Japan,” Thompson said.

Notre Dame is rumored to be being courted by the Big Ten, and should the Fighting Irish accept, the Big Ten will cease looking to add any other teams. There also are scenarios involving the Pac-10 wanting to take six Big 12 teams, with Nebraska and Missouri opting to leave, forcing the four remaining Big 12 schools to find new homes.

Under that scenario, they could jump to the Mountain West with Boise State. Or the Mountain West could just grab Colorado, possibly leaving Boise State in the Western Athletic Conference.

“This is an unbelievable, volatile period, and the poker playing that is going on is unprecedented,” WAC commissioner Karl Benson said.

Though the Mountain West Conference meetings went without an invitation, Thompson stressed that it wasn’t a given heading into it, and that the possibility of expansion is “very much alive.”

“It might have gotten a little bit off track — we never said there would be a vote at this meeting,” Thompson said. “It was presumed, it was reported, it was suggested, and in some cases, hoped for.”