Boise State Football: 5 Reasons the Broncos Should Stay in the Big East

Is the grass greener—or in this case, bluer—on the other side of the fence…err, country? Boise State will find out in 2013 when the Broncos' football program hops from the Mountain West to the Big East.

Though the Big East has had a bit of turmoil of late, with teams leaving and the resignation of commissioner John Marinatto, there has been speculation about the Broncos and its football-only partnership with the Big East, though, according to the Philadelphia Inquirer, BSU athletic director Mark Coyle has denied any thoughts of the Broncos pulling out.

Why should the Broncos stay in the Big East? Here are some thoughts.

1. AQ Conference or Not…

It seems that every year there is a debate about Boise State's place in bowl games and why teams for AQ conferences (unless the NCAA adopts a model that gets rid of automatic qualifiers) are selected to games that BSU may have, by virtue of rankings, been better qualified.

That debate will be pushed aside (albeit just a bit, because there will still be talk about the strength of schedule) when the Broncos join a higher-profile conference. According to a story by the Philadelphia Inquirer, Big East coaches are pushing for the BCS playoff system based off invites to winners of major conferences—which the Big East considers itself to be—which still sounds like the AQ school system just colored differently.

2. It's About the Money

Hopping out of the Big East would cost Boise State $5 million, and while there would be travel involved (further than the Broncos have been used to), there is also the potential for more money on the table to cover those expenses—especially if ESPN had media rights to the league through the 2012-13 season but has not picked up those rights moving forward.

ESPN has been a fan of the Broncos and attended Big East meetings in which media rights were discussed. Both NBC and Fox were also at those meetings and may have made pitches to pick up TV rights to Big East games.

3. Recruitment

Forget the guys from overseas and Canada, Boise State has done pretty well recruiting from the western states. Moving to the Big East, though, gives the school more opportunity for exposure to a wider range of recruits from coast to coast.

4. Rankings and the East Coast Voters

Playing in the western-most time zones, at night, may mean that some of those responsible for casting votes for the various polls did not get a chance to see BSU play live. Of course, playing against teams from the eastern-most time zones is not a guarantee that voters will watch them play, but it does allow for potentially more exposure to those on the other side of the country.

5. New Fields to Conquer

Boise State proved to be a power in both the WAC and the Mountain West Conferences in football over the past decade, and it is as good a time as any to move to another conference, one that offers new challenges, to test those waters.

With so many graduating from top-contending teams, one last year in the MWC is not a bad idea prior to taking on the rigors of a new schedule against teams the Broncos have not faced before.