The Boise State Broncos, that’s who.
… Boise State likely will be more aggressive in pursuing “guarantee” football games — one-time road games against powerhouse programs for which the Broncos are paid handsomely. Athletic director Gene Bleymaier has sprinkled those into his schedule sparingly in the past but recognizes them as an easy way to increase revenue in tight times. The Broncos have openings in 2010 and 2011 that could be filled by that type of game.
And contrary to the laws of economics at work in the universe Senator Hatch’s brain inhabits, there’s a very simple reason for that, one that has nothing to do with the BCS. Just listen to BSU AD Gene Bleymaier:
“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.” [Emphasis added.]
The bonus here is that the move should strengthen Boise State’s strength of schedule numbers. All the Broncos have to do now is win some of those games.
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This will either legitimize their contention that they are a serious football contender with other teams from major conferences OR it will expose them as the little sister to the “big boy” programs.
I guess only time will tell….but I would lean towards “little sister” over actual contender. JMO.
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I think this is great — either BSU will be confirmed as a program that can play with the big boys, or they’ll struggle against name-brand teams, which will serve as a big STFU to the meddlers on Capitol Hill. (I wouldn’t bet against the former, either, as BSU is 4-4 against BCS-conference opponents over the last five seasons, 3-1 under Chris Peterson.)
And either way, they’ll at least bring home some nice paychecks, which they can invest in expanding that stadium if they so choose.
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I think I’d rather see Boise State come to Athens than some of the other teams we’ve scheduled the next couple of years (North Texas for example). Frankly, I think we should try to schedule more non-conference games with more natural rivals in our region such as any of the ACC teams or even Conference USA teams in the south.
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As a Bronco fan, I am thrilled to see BSU moving in this direction. No more UC Davis on the schedule in October? Where do I sign up?
And it comes at a perfect time for our program as we should be fielding two of our best teams in 2010 and 2011. I could not be more terrified at the thought of coming back to Athens, but in times like this, you’ve got to do what you’ve got to do. We’ll see how it goes.
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