Boise State Broncos Add Horsepower To Mountain West Conference

The Mountain West Conference has accepted Boise State.

The Mountain West, which has been dominated in recent years by BYU and TCU, now becomes a very serious football conference.

With recent history proving that schools like TCU, Boise State, and BYU can compete with the so-called “big boys,” the Mountain West Conference will be a very solid conference with much more appeal to other mid-level institutions.

With the future of the Big 12 up in the air right now, it wouldn't be surprising to see schools like Kansas, Kansas State, Baylor, or Iowa State follow Boise State into the Mountain West.

Aside from strengthening the conference, this move creates a rivalry between TCU and Boise State that, in recent years, has become somewhat of a tradition.

The two teams faced each other two consecutive years, first in the Poinsettia Bowl where TCU squeaked out a narrow 17-16 victory, and the 2010 Fiesta Bowl, which Boise State won 17-10.

The teams have developed a hatred for each other, partly due to the fact that they always play close, hard-fought games and partly due to the fact that playing each other in 2010 was a slap in the face as they both felt snubbed from the BCS Championship.

Both schools have highly sought after coaches that have done wonderful jobs at building programs that don’t always get the best recruits.

They incorporate teamwork and intelligence to compensate for lack of talent.

If both Gary Patterson and Chris Peterson remain at their respective schools, these programs will continue to build, creating what will inevitably become a fierce rivalry that brings national attention to the Mountain West Conference.

Boise State’s acceptance into the Mountain West will be yet another domino in the conference realignment fiasco that college football faces in the upcoming months.