Boise State To Announce Major BCS Opponent for 2010 or 2011 Schedule

There is a rumor floating around Boise that the undefeated Fiesta Bowl champions may have a major BCS program close to an agreement on a deal to play BSU in 2010 or 2011.

According to the web site Bronco Nation, Boise State University President Bob Kustra said in response to the rumored schedule addition, "it's going to be a good one."

Kustra would not offer any other details about the on-going negotiations, and my calls to the BSU athletic department concerning the rumor were not returned.

Many college football experts and fans have been critical of Boise State's schedule, especially their non-conference schedule.

There is little anyone can do about BSU's WAC schedule, so the only area of their schedule the Broncos can impact are the non-conference games.

Virginia Tech has been attempting to move their game against BSU at FED EX Field in Landover, Maryland from Oct 2, 2010 to Labor Day weekend.

It doesn't appear Boise State is interested in the proposed Virginia Tech schedule change, although anything is still possible.

Instead, BSU may be working on a deal that takes the Broncos on the road to face another BCS program sometime in September, and possibly over Labor Day weekend.

There are a number of possibilities for dates, but if the present negotiations are for a deal in 2010 then Labor Day weekend seems the only possibility without rescheduling other games.

Additions to schedules often involve moving other game dates, but because a 2010 deal is so close the moving of existing game dates would be difficult.

Boise State does have an open date on their 2011 schedule.

In November, BSU Athletic Director Gene Bleymaier and WAC Commissioner Karl Benson had both told reporters that they were having difficulty in finding any major BCS programs to play the Broncos.

BSU has offered to "play anybody, anytime, anywhere" on a one-away game deal.

Thus far there have been no takers on the offer.

ESPN has also been involved in the attempt to get BSU a date against a major program with the additional offer of national television coverage.

Last year Bleymaier was given a new contract at BSU. The new contract had a clause added that pays Bleymaier a $25,000 bonus for scheduling BCS teams in the future.

If the deal presently in negotiation comes to fruition it will help silence the critics that say BSU doesn't play anybody.

Bleymaier has not mentioned any potential opponents.

Based on previously released schedule information available for BCS conference teams there are a number of possibilities.

Some of those possibilities don't make sense.

For instance, Washington State still has potential openings in 2010 and 2011, but the Cougars aren't what you would call a major BCS program.

If there was any deal at all involving Washington State it would have to be a home and home deal, so I can easily rule the Cougars out.

Minnesota shows open dates, but again, the Gophers aren't considered a major BCS program.

Notre Dame has possible open dates in both 2010 and 2011, although many believe the Fighting Irish are close to signing deals with other schools. One of those could be TCU.

The Irish have a game scheduled on Labor Day weekend 2010 however, so if the BSU is talking about a 2010 addition to the schedule, it would appear Notre Dame would be out.

That leaves a few strong possibilities: Michigan, Michigan State, Oklahoma State or possibly Nebraska.

It appears that three of those teams could fit a date with Boise State into their schedules with the exception of Nebraska.

Nebraska has home dates in 2010 against South Dakota St., Western Kentucky and Idaho.  One of those games would have to be moved to accomodate the Broncos.

Tom Osborne, Nebraska AD and Bleymaier have had discussions in the past about a potential deal and it is understood that those discussions were never closed.

Michigan in Ann Arbor would be a marquee game for BSU, as would Oklahoma State in Stillwater.

Michigan State, while a good program, would not offer that "marquee game" value, but it would be an upper-tier BCS program for BSU to schedule.

The general opinion is that Bleymaier is asking for a $1 million dollar guarantee for BSU to travel on a one game away deal.

Michigan ranks No. 7 in football-only revenue generation, at about $58 million per year. Clearly they can afford Boise State.

Oklahoma State is not far behind Michigan in football-only revenue generation, especially in the new T. Boone Pickens Stadium.

OSU’s actual football-only revenues are not available, but thought to be between $50 and $54 million. They too can afford Boise State.

While the potential opponents listed above are all possibilities, it should be noted that my speculation is based on information presently available.

When BSU President Kustra said “it’s a good one,” I immediately eliminated a number of other possibilities.

It should also be mentioned that Dr. Kustra’s idea of "a good one" and my idea of what makes "a good one" could be quite different.

If the rumors floating around Boise are true, it sounds like Mr. Bleymaier might get a bonus this year.