The Bishin Cutter wrote:
I don't consider the AQ thing the final straw for Boise. The system goes away in two years, and when it does, the Big East and MWC will be indistinguishable from each other on paper. Both will become "have-not's."
But should Boise decide to make this BEF "mistake" anyway, I fully expect them to announce renewing their ties with the Big Sky. For Boise, this last-second finagling is all about getting something better from the Big West, or (and yes, I mean this) an all-sports invite to the Big East.
I agree wholeheartedly that the Boise/SDSU in the Big East thing is dumb, and that Boise State's presence decides which conference is better.
However, the areas the Big East is more attractive for Boise State:
-- Slightly better competion (CIN, USF, UCF in final BCS rankings five times in last five years; NEV, HAW in BCS rankings twice in last five years)
-- An East Coast conference means more TV dollars. Regardless of the difference in product, the Big East can offer basically four time slots to TV: 12/1 ET, 3/3:30 ET, 7/8 ET, 10/11 ET (at SDSU, at Boise). The MWC can offer three.
-- Bowl Tie Ins.
Big East (SEVEN) Orange (status TBA), Russell Athletic (Orlando), Pinstripe (NY), Beef O'Brady's (St. Pete), Liberty (Memphis), Compass (Birmingham), Belk (Charlotte).
MWC (FOUR): Las Vegas (Duh), Poinsettita Bowl (SD), Armed Forces Bowl (Ft. Worth), New Mexico (Albuquerque)
And they'll be attractive as at-larges for the Fiesta and Idaho Potato (with the WAC being toast) either way.