Boise State football coach Bryan Harsin shared his discontent with the Mountain West Conference and urged university leaders to leave the league in emails obtained by the Idaho Press, according to a story published Tuesday.
The Broncos have been members of the Mountain West since 2011.
On Sept. 11, Harsin emailed then-Boise State athletic director Curt Apsey and university president Marlene Tromp, according to the Idaho Press, after a conference call that followed the league’s decision, at that time, to postpone its football season to the spring because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
“That leads into the conference conversation that we need to address again and for as long as it takes to put a plan together to move,” Harsin wrote at that time, per the Idaho Press. “NOW is the time! The longer it takes the longer we stay in the MW. I am 1000% convinced we need to make this move for football and if that means other sports too in the long run it will be what’s best for this University.
“I understand there are risks and budgets and travel costs that’s all real to me. I also know that’s exactly why Boise State is the program it is today because we took risks necessary to grow our program.”
BYU earned a brief mention in one of Harsin’s emails when he expressed frustration over the conference’s decision to not play during the pandemic, writing, “If the California schools can’t go then replace them with BYU or whoever else we need so we can play soon … ,” per the Idaho Press.
The Mountain West eventually announced on Sept. 24 it would play a revised eight-game schedule for football this fall that kicked off the weekend of Oct. 24. The Broncos (4-1) ended up playing BYU in Boise, a game that was originally scheduled this season before the pandemic forced schedule revisions across college football. The Cougars beat Boise State, 51-17, in early November.
“In my opinion we should be leading the way in the MW on vision, planning, decisions and testing,” Harsin also said in the email, per the Idaho Press. “Boise State is the Standard in the MW and we should take the lead on all these things and stop letting the MW control what we do. Let’s not forget they are not willing to fulfill their contractual obligation that was agreed upon when Boise State joined the MW.”
Other conferences discussed
Two days before Harsin’s email, Apsey indicated via email to Harsin and Tromp that he had engaged in conversation with at least two conferences about Boise State’s future, according to the Idaho Press. One wasn’t specified — though as the Press’s B.J. Rains and Don Days surmised, its description in the email resembled the West Coast Conference. Apsey also mentions Big West Conference commissioner Dan Butterly by name in the email, per the Idaho Press.
If Boise State were to join either the WCC or Big West, it would need to find a home for its football program, as neither conference sponsors the sport. BYU, for example, plays as an independent in football, while its other sports compete in the WCC.
It wouldn’t be the first time Boise State has explored that option. In 2011, the school had agreed to join the Big East in football and move its other sports to the WAC. Instead, the Big East dissolved and Boise State negotiated to stay in the Mountain West, a deal that provided the school additional television revenue compared to other MW teams.
How would this affect Utah programs?
A Boise State departure from the MW would directly impact Utah State, which plays alongside the Broncos in the conference’s Mountain Division. The Aggies joined the conference in 2013 and won the Mountain Division that first year, just ahead of Boise State, before losing to Fresno State in the league’s championship game. Boise State has won the Mountain Division all but once since 2014; in 2018, Utah State tied for first with the Broncos but lost the head-to-head tiebreaker.
BYU and Boise State have played every year in football since the 2012 season and last year agreed to an additional contract that would extend their series through 2034, with one off-year in 2024. The Broncos hold a 7-4 lead in the series, though the Cougars have won the past two meetings.
How BYU’s football series with Boise State would be impacted if the Broncos switched conferences — or if the independent Cougars would be involved in any conference alignment discussions — is obviously too early to tell, but worth noting if something were to come from these discussions.
from Deseret News https://ift.tt/3qBSuwO
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