Could Boise State be returning to the Mountain West? (Brian Losness-US PRESSWIRE)
Officials from Boise State, San Diego State and BYU have had conversations with Mountain West Conference officials about the possibility of returning to the MWC, ESPN reported, based on sources.
Boise State and San Diego State, which are currently in the MWC, have committed to join the Big East in June, while BYU is currently an independent after previously being in the MWC.
The discussions with the MWC were initiated because the BCS commissioners announced last week that, starting in the 2014 season, an automatic access bowl berth would be awarded to the highest-rated champion to the “Group of Five” conferences — the Mountain West, Big East, Conference USA, Mid-American and Sun Belt conferences.
That means the Mountain West will have the same access to those bowls as the Big East, whose champion currently earns an automatic berth to a BCS game while the MWC champion does not.
That automatic BCS game berth was one of the reasons those schools wanted to join the Big East.
However, a San Diego State official told ESPN, “Nothing changes, we are committed to the Big East.”
