4 minute read
From Mountain West to Pac-12
Ashton Jeanty, Albertsons Stadium. PHOTO COURTESY OF BOISE STATE ATHLETICS
Boise State navigates the new business of college athletics
BY DAVE SOUTHORN
To best understand the fast-changing college athletics landscape, you don’t need to know which basketball players you will see in the NBA—you’ll need an MBA. In no period has there been as much of a shift as in the last five years with wide-open transfer capabilities, pay for players through name, image, and likeness agreements, and potentially the biggest— conference realignment.
Since 2021, 33 schools have changed conferences, 15 just in the 2024 college football season. And in 2026, Boise State will join that list with a move from the Mountain West to the Pac-12.
“When it came down to making the final decision, we chose this path because it puts Boise State in the best position for success and is in the best interest of this university and community,” Boise State athletic director Jeramiah Dickey said on Sept. 12, the day of the announcement.
However, the decision is anything but a guaranteed success. As it currently stands, it’s much more of a calculated risk.
During the 2024 season, the Pac-12 has just two teams—Washington State and Oregon State. Yes, you read that correctly. Once the home of some of the top athletics programs in the country— like Stanford, Oregon, USC, and Washington—10 schools left for the Big Ten (four), Big 12 (four), and Atlantic Coast Conference (two).
Joining Boise State in the Pac-12 will be familiar faces in San Diego State, Fresno State, Colorado State, and Utah State. Semi-prominent schools such as UNLV, Memphis, and Tulane all turned down interest, while basketball powerhouse Gonzaga (which has no football team) accepted an invitation.
“There are several questions yet to be answered and we have a strong direction with time to build something epic,” Dickey said on Sept. 12.
The NCAA requires a conference to have eight members—the Pac-12 has been excepted because of its unprecedented shift—so the group will need to add at least one more before the 2026 season.
Adding to the mystery of the move is perhaps the biggest driver of it all—money.
...we have a strong direction with time to build something epic.
That is why any school moves conferences, and why USC and Rutgers have played a Big Ten conference game this season, the road team traveling 2,500 miles for a Friday night game. Media rights are king, the money big and not always clear to most fans.
But Dickey and others are confident that the reformed Pac-12 will bring in enough media interest to make it all financially worthwhile—even if Boise State will be subject to an $18 million exit fee.
Currently, Boise State makes a little more than $5 million annually through the Mountain West’s television rights deal. It is unclear what sort of deal the Pac-12 would bring in, though it would not be the $30 million per year that the old Pac-12 schools turned down (which led to its collapse).
Longtime West Coast reporter Jon Wilner wrote that “an average of $10 million per school per year seemingly approaches the ceiling for the rebuilt Pac-12.”
“In my opinion, we have the next five years to determine the next 30 for us,” said Dickey. “We have to double down, and I’m going to always bet on us.”
Of the last 11 Mountain West football championships, ten have been won by schools planning to join the Pac-12. It should provide a step up in terms of conference strength for Boise State, bringing along some of its primary rivals and should be an excellent basketball conference, too.
“Boise State football, Boise State athletics, it’s been on the rise for years,” said Boise State football coach Spencer Danielson. “…I’m so excited for the future, it’s a huge moment for Bronco Nation.”
