Boise State Unlikely to Fill West Virginia's Potential Void in Big East in 2012

It looks unlikely that the Boise State Broncos will fill the potential void in the Big East that would come from West Virginia leaving the conference in 2012.

According to Brian Murphy of IdahoStatesman.com, Boise State president Bob Kustra told The Statesman that he doesn't see the move working with the time period they are dealing with:

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"It's too late. I can't imagine how anyone can pull that off. We would never want to pull it off in a fashion that dealt shabbily with our existing partners in the Mountain West. I don't think that could ever work," Kustra said.

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While a move to the Big East would make sense from a football standpoint, as the Broncos BCS hopes have been hindered by their lack of a competitive schedule in the Mountain West, it appears as if this would be asking for too much too soon.

Two days ago Jon Wilner of mercurynews.com cited sources in a Tweet that stated Boise State was under pressure to be that team to replace WVU:

While this latest report directly flies in the face of that Tweet, the fact remains that somebody will have to fill any potential void left by West Virginia.

It appears, at least for now, that Boise State will not be the program to do so.

What This Means

This means that right now the Big East is in a whole lot of trouble, especially if WVU does indeed leave for the 2012 season.

According to Murphy's report in The Statesman, if West Virginia is able to get out of the Big East in time for football season, the conference would be left with just seven football schools in the conference.

They need to get a replacement if they want to remain relevant in the ever-changing college football landscape, especially with the bigger and more prolific conferences looking to potentially expand.

Getting Boise State into the fold would be a huge win for the Big East conference, but with this latest report it looks as if they are going to have to either keep looking, or try harder.

What Happens Next

The thing you're going to want to keep your eye on is the ongoing legal dispute between West Virginia and the Big East.

This dispute is holding up the conference movement, and for the time being it's keeping the Big East above water as far as the members of it's conference are concerned.

If WVU can indeed get legal permission to move to the Big 12 though and do it in time for the football season, expect the Big East to get desperate and start trying to make some brash moves.

Don't be surprised if this isn't the last of the chatter you hear regarding Boise State and the Big East.