Boise State Looks West

By Justin Worsley

It seems ages since the Western Athletic Conference experimented with college football, expanding to 16 teams. After the experiment failed, the WAC split into two conferences, the latter becoming the Mountain West Conference.

It now looks like the MWC may be taking the WAC's best program. According to the Denver Post's Irv Moss, on June 7, Boise State could receive an invitation to the MWC when the conference holds its annual board of director's meeting in Jackson, Wyoming.

The MWC, which is not currently a power-conference, has been in the backseat of expansion rumors this off-season, letting the Big Ten take the main stage, but after the Big Ten has balked on any decision, it seems like the MWC could be taking the headlines. Rumors have circulated that the reigning MWC champions, Texas Christian, could be sent to the Big XII, however, if they do stay, the MWC could have four competing programs in Boise State, TCU, Utah and Brigham Young University.

If Boise State does accept the invitation, they would not enter the conference until 2011, which means one last season in the WAC. Boise State finished last season undefeated, capping the season off with a 17-10 Fiesta Bowl victory over TCU. While the game last season was played merely for pride, it could be much more significant now, pushing the beginning of a new college football rivalry.