SMU's new conference dodged a major bullet on Wednesday when Kelly Lyell of The Coloradoan reported that Boise State had rejected the Mountain West's last-ditch effort to keep their signature football school.
When the Mustangs committed to joining the Big East last year, they finally seemed to be on the path towards renewed relevance in college football, but that was before the latest whirlwind batch of realignment rumors, which have seemingly marginalized the conference.
Boise State was the signature addition on the football side, but the school has been getting cold feet with the Western Athletic Conference looking ready to disintegrate. Unlike SMU, the Broncos are joining as a football-only member, as they had planned to stash their non-revenue sports in the WAC.
In an effort to keep Boise State, the Mountain West had proposed an uneven revenue distribution plan that would have disproportionately rewarded them for their football success.
The Broncos' rejection of that offer keeps them committed to the Big East for the time being, but neither the conference nor any of its new schools should breathe easy just yet, as the dominoes have only begun to fall from what could be a monumental off-season of conference re-alignment.
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