BYU Football: Will Cougars Become the Next Boise State?

Ryan Teeples can be followed at  twitter.com/SportsGuyUtah.

Boise State is joining the Mountain West Conference next year. The Mountain West conference is basically the WAC that Boise State just left, thanks to the departures of BYU, Utah and TCU and the joining of Nevada, Fresno State and Hawaii.
 

ESPN and Boise State: A Match Made in Heaven Ends in Divorce Next Season

Oddly enough, the biggest impact of Boise State’s move is probably not the void left in the WAC, but rather the gaping hole the Broncos left in ESPN (The Mothership) programming.
 
See, BSU has been a staple for ESPN’s Wednesday, Thursday and Friday night slots, providing an entertaining and interesting product on those non-traditional college football nights.
 
And they brought with them a story to tell. A rags-to-riches tale of success against the odds, moving to 1-A in 1996, and succeeding in a small city, small stadium and small conference. All set on a blue-turf backdrop.
 
Certainly great coaching, institutional support and execution on the field has fueled Boise’s success.  But you’re kidding yourself if you think the exposure of ESPN hasn’t tremendously bolstered recruiting and national media support and recognition.
 
But that’s all gone now with Boise State’s move to the Mountain West Conference, which has no ESPN contract and whose games are on obscure, proprietary networks with awful distribution.
 
ESPN was the smoking-hot rich chick who got dumped for the ugly bookworm, and was wondering what to do with its Wednesday, Thursday and Friday nights.
 
Enter BYU.

Cougars Set to Become ESPN’s Go-to CFB Product For Weeknights

While Boise State was working feverishly to become part of the Mountain West Conference, BYU knew the ship was sinking and was looking for a raft off.
 
With Utah off to the PAC-10, the Cougars took decisive action of their own, bolting for football independence, and a tight relationship with ESPN.
 
You see, unlike the Broncos of Boise, the Cougars of Provo brought with them a national following and a top-30 TV market. ESPN needed programming, and BYU needed exposure and scheduling help.
 
It could be a match made in heaven…or…Provo?
 
So beginning in 2011, it will be BYU in the spotlight on ESPN in the evenings, sometimes beating up on patsies, other times playing shoot-out with fellow top-25 programs.
 
It may seem hard to believe, considering the venom aimed at BYU in the 80s, but the Cougars could supplant Boise State and become the next non-BCS darlings.
 
At the very least, BYU recruiters can look a recruit in the eye and tell him exactly how many times he’ll be on ESPN—in the national spotlight and on Sportscenter.
 
So while the blue turf and against-the-odds charm of Boise State has served ESPN and the Broncos well, we now enter an era where Cougars prowl "The Mothership’s" evenings and gain the recruit, voter and national attention.
 
It aided BSU to two BCS bowl wins and a legitimate shot at the national championship. Time will tell what it brings BYU. It can’t be worse than the New Mexico Bowl or the mtn.