State of WAC

States of the former WAC

I woke up yesterday morning and like usual turned on ESPN while eating breakfast. Low and behold, some of the best sports news I had seen all summer, BYU was to join the Western Athletic Conference for all sports but football. The Cougars would have to come to Logan every year and play basketball against the Aggies in the Spectrum. It seemed as if this summers conference shake-up was going to be a good thing for everyone including, a Boise State-less, Western Athletic Conference.

That was until the Mountain West poached Fresno State and Nevada, two of the premier WAC football teams, yesterday afternoon! Leaving the WAC with the following six schools, Utah State, Idaho, San Jose State, Hawaii, Louisiana Tech, and New Mexico State. Six teams spread across six states, with no natural rivalries and limited historic rivalries. This is a very bad situation. Only two of the state are even neighbors!

I was opposed to the idea of super conferences (Texas & Oklahoma going to the PAC-10) this summer because of the ruining of rivalries and the large geographic distances that would separate the institutions, but in reality those conferences could survive that. The WAC with six teams, can not. And I am not willing to pay another increase in student fees so that Utah State's athletic teams can travel to Ruston, LA and Honolulu, HI because ESPN and its TV money do not want to support a conference with just six teams.

Honestly, I don't know what can be done and I have absolutely no power to do anything about it. So in theory, this blog is more of a rant than a solution, but if I were in charge of the WAC, this is what I would try and do; entice Montana to move up from the Big Sky and Wyoming to move back from the Mountain West, all the while still getting BYU's sports for everything besides football.

Montana could be looking to make the jump from the FCS Division and into the Bowl Divison. They have done just about everything in the FCS and they could see this move as their chance to make it on the national scene. Boise State made the jump less than 20 years ago and look where they are now! The WAC is a depleted conference football wise and the Grizzlies could quite possibly have a winning record in their first season. They would restore a rivalry with University of Idaho by doing this too. Wyoming would make the move for similar reasons; a chance to play in an easier conference, keep its long standing ties with BYU for all other sports, and create new rivalries with schools such as Montana and Utah State.

It will be interesting to see what happens to the WAC, the 6th oldest conference in the Bowl Division, hopefully it will still be around by the year 2011.

Watch Your Words Boise State

Boise State is preparing to play its last season in the WAC and though the football season doesn't start for another month their is already controversy as the Broncos don't seem to be ones who like to maintain in-state rivalries.

"Why would we (go to Moscow)?" Broncos Coach Chris Petersen. "I don't think our fans even like to go up there. Most of Idaho's fans are in Boise anyway."

Boise State President Bob Kustra added, "I frankly don't care whether we ever play 'em (Idaho) again as long it goes. I don't see any reason to do it in Boise, but if somebody sees a reason to do it in Boise, fine.”

"It’s a culture that is nasty, inebriated and civilly doesn’t give our fans the respect that any fan should expect when visiting an away game," Kustra continued.

Really?! Have you ever been to one of your own football games? Don't get me wrong, I have a lot of good friends, who are good people and Boise State fans, but the two times Boise State has come to Logan to play my Aggies, Bronco Nation has been the "nasty, inebriated" culture that doesn't give even the home teams fans respect. If the people up in Moscow are as bad as Kustra says, it must be hell on earth and I highly doubt that. Florida and Florida State, Texas and Oklahoma, USC and UCLA, play each other every year and I am sure those fans are a lot worse to each other than some farm boys in Idaho are to each other. If you have read my blog before you know I am all for rivalries and tradition which makes me all against not playing this game! Yes, Boise State has won 11 straight games but Idaho is an up and coming team winning eight games last year. Overall BSU only holds a slight advantage at 21-17-1. Idaho continued to play BSU when the series was 17-10. So stop making excuses.

This whole ordeal is nothing out of the ordinary for the Broncos. In 1994 Boise State University made plans to move out of Division 1-AA's (now FCS) Big Sky Conference and into Division 1-A's (FBS) Big West Conference beginning in 1996. The team was off to a hot 6-0 start before coming into Holt Arena of Idaho State University. Two years earlier in 1992 the Bengals unvieled a play called the "Globe of Death," which led Idaho State only its 5th victory over the Broncos, and still had Bronco Nation upset. The game was dubbed by BSU officials as the "last visit to Pocatello."

Well as it stands, it was also the Broncos last lost in Pocatello. The Bengals had ended the Broncos perfect season in a 32-31 victory. Luckily for Boise State their run at a National Championship because of the playoff system in Division 1-AA. The loss to the Bengals was their only loss besides in the 1-AA National Championship.

So let it be that on November 12 in Moscow, ID if Boise State loses this time, the hopes of a national championship are out the door. Maybe Coach Pete and Pres. Kustra need to be a little more cautious before running their mouths or history just may be relived.