FORT COLLINS — There’s been no invitation from the Big East, and if and when the much rumored bid arrives, Boise State president Dr. Robert Kustra said Saturday no decision has been reached regarding acceptance.
“No, there has not been a decision,” he said at Hughes Stadium before the kickoff of Boise State’s 63-13 rout of Colorado State.
Furthermore, Kustra said he has no idea of a timeline for potential Big East expansion.
“They have given no indication of that from what I’ve read in the media,” Kustra said.
The obvious advantage of a move would be participating in an automatic qualifying BCS league and a bigger conference revenue distribution. But with the Big East’s uncertain future, there’s no guarantee of either edge.
“One of the objectives of almost any team you can identify in either the Mountain West or Conference USA is to one day get AQ status,” Kustra said. “So with all these options, one of the key objectives is how does this meet the objective of getting AQ status.”
Although an alliance between the Mountain West and C-USA had been in negotiation for months, Friday’s announcement coincided with national speculation Boise State and Air Force and a growing number of C-USA schools would draw invitations to salvage the Big East.
Without changes, the Big East would have six schools going forward compared with 22 in the merger of the MWC and C-USA.
As to whether the merger would enhance Boise State’s chances of remaining in the Mountain West, Kustra said: “That’s hard to say. We really don’t know what the options are. The best thing for Boise State right now is to keep the options on the table.”
Certainly, the merger won’t hurt the prospect of keeping the Broncos.
“I’m excited about the possibility of the Mountain West/Conference USA arrangement because I think it’s important for both conferences to look out for the future,” Kustra said. “This is a future that is going to be changing dramatically and this makes a lot of sense for all the universities.”
Saturday was Boise State’s first Mountain West football game. Clearly the Broncos are good for the conference, whether home on the blue turf or away. The No. 5 team packed CSU’s home field unlike any foe since Louisville in 2002.
Kustra didn’t give CSU counterpart Dr. Tony Frank any additional insight. “I imagine Bob is looking at all of the possibilities and trying to decide what’s best for his school,” Frank said.
Meanwhile, CSU athletic director Paul Kowalczyk said he was greeted at the game by some mixed fan reaction to the proposed merger of the two conferences but nothing overwhelmingly negative.
“It’s too fresh right now,” Kowal-czyk said. “Some are supportive, some are wondering if it’s a good thing. I haven’t heard anything negative.”
Kowalczyk said it was a “good move” for CSU.
“We can’t stay static. We can’t determine every way the wind is blowing,” he said. “If these are some things you can control you need to take advantage of that. I think this is a good move for our conference to try and create stability.”
Said Frank, “If there’s one predominant emotion, it’s that we can keep some of our rivalries intact.”
Natalie Meisler: 303-954-1295 or nmeisler@denverpost.com
