Boise State Will Go on the Road for Cash

Boise State has made a national name for itself in college football, even as a relative newcomer being located in Idaho and in the WAC. They have done it by committing resources to the program, finding up-and-coming coaches and paying a competitive wage to promote the stability.

Economic times are tough, though. The funding has been cut and ticket sales and donations are down. Boise State, like plenty of other programs not in the SEC, is cutting back. They are eliminating printed media guides. Jobs in athletic departments are being cut. They still need to find a way to bring in more money.
Unlike a program like Fresno State, the Broncos have not followed an "anytime, anyplace" approach to scheduling. They have occasionally scheduled a guarantee road game over the past decade, but have not done so with any consistency. That appears to be changing as Boise State football needs the money.

[Athletic Director Gene] Bleymaier is considering a guarantee game for 2010, he said. The Broncos already have six home games next year.

"Right now, I'd go where I can make the most money," he said. "If I can play at home and make that much money, then I'm going to play at home. But it's difficult to make that much money in our stadium size. ... I've tried to avoid those (guarantee games). Now they're much more of a reality going forward."

No doubt seeing that some teams are getting close to $1 million for a single game has become too attractive for Boise State to ignore. The problem is, the Broncos are no patsy. They are not a guaranteed win for the paying program.

Unlike a Tulane, North Texas, Kent State, Eastern Michigan, FIU and the like, Boise State is in the spot of a Fresno State. A team that at worst is competitive. A team opposing coaches fear to play because they feel they are in a no-win situation.

They fear the public and media perception of the game. They are expected to beat a Boise State, so the reward for winning is not in proportion to the dangers if they lose to a team that is not a BCS conference program. No matter how good the Broncos may be.

Still, given that an increasing number of patsy schools are breaking contracts at the last minute for a bigger payday from another school, Boise State should be in a position to get decent money. At least from schools that do not want to schedule even lower with an FCS foe.