Boise St accepts invitation to join Mountain West

BOISE, Idaho (AP) - Boise State on Friday accepted an invitation to join the Mountain West Conference as the two-time Fiesta Bowl winner seeks out a league that's a better launching pad into lucrative bowl games.

Boise State, now with the Western Athletic Conference, would become the Mountain West Conference's 10th member. The move would be effective July 1, 2011.

"Boise State scored - big time," Boise State president Bob Kustra said at a celebratory news conference.

The announcement was part of an ongoing conference shuffle nationwide, where leagues like the Pac-10 have lured Colorado and Nebraska is seeking membership in the Big Ten.

As Boise State aims to secure a clearer path to Bowl Championship Series games worth millions, Mountain West commissioner Craig Thompson said his league is boosting its strength by adding a football program that's captured the nation's imagination, and prime-time television exposure. The league's main goal is to make a better case to become the seventh college football conference awarded an automatic BCS postseason berth.

"It's my No. 1 goal, and I think I share it with members," Thompson said during a conference call. "We are going to try to challenge, and try to position ourselves as the seventh automatic qualifying conference."

In its two BCS bowl appearances so far, Boise State beat TCU, a Mountain West member, in the Fiesta Bowl in January and it scored an 43-42 overtime upset over Oklahoma in the 2007 Fiesta Bowl.

Boise State has also dominated the WAC, compiling a 49-4 record and winning three WAC titles in four years under Bronco coach Chris Petersen.

Thompson said Colorado's Pac-10 jump on Thursday was the catalyst for the Mountain West to move quickly to grab Boise State.

He added there's still discussion among Mountain West university presidents on whether the league should remain at 10 schools, or expand to 12 or even 16, to boost its BCS chances.

"This is a game of musical chairs," Thompson said. "People want to have a seat when the music stops."

He expects to readjust his conference's television package with CBS Sports and Versus to reflect BSU's inclusion starting in 2011. The conference is midway through a 10-year, $120 million deal with the networks and Boise State athletic director Gene Bleymaier said he expects all 17 of his school's athletic disciplines to benefit.

For instance, 16 to 18 basketball games could be televised in 2011, compared to just a single game during the 2009-10 season, he said.

"Your reputation, your prestige, the growth of programs, how people perceive you - we take another step up," Bleymaier said.

Karl Benson, the WAC commissioner and a former collegiate baseball player at Boise State, said he was disappointed in his alma mater's departure but aimed to pick up the pieces and rebound.

"It's not the first time a school has left the WAC and each time it has happened, a school or group of schools have stepped up and performed at a level that brings th