Under the pressure of a $5 million deadline, Boise State sent its letter of resignation to the Mountain West, officially withdrawing before the June 30 deadline, the Las Vegas Review-Journal is reporting.
The move, though not surprising, means that Boise State will be leaving the MWC after the 2012-13 academic year, most importantly to move its football program to the Big East.
According to Andy Katz of ESPN.com, it appears Boise State is looking to do what San Diego State has done, joining the Big East in football and the Big West in all other sports.
Both Big West commissioner Dennis Farrell and Boise State men’s basketball coach Leon Rice told Katz that Boise State’s status outside of football is undetermined, as to where the school will end up after to the 2012-13 season.
The move is undoubtedly driven by football, as most of realignment has been, but details about the Broncos’ future are still to be worked out.
Though Boise State avoids a $5 million penalty by filing for defection before the June 30 deadline, the Broncos will be losing $2.5 million in revenue by leaving the Mountain West, the Las Vegas Review-Journal is reporting.
If Boise State joins the Big West in 2013-13, with Pacific leaving for the West Coast Conference, the conference would look as follows: Boise State, San Diego State, Cal Poly, Cal State-Fullerton, Cal State-Northridge, Long Beach State, UC Davis, UC Irvine, UC Riverside and UC Santa Barbara.
In 2011-12, the Broncos finished 13-17, including 3-11 in the Mountain West.
Daniel Martin is a writer and editor at JohnnyJungle.com, covering St. John’s. You can find him on Twitter:@DanielJMartin_