This is a comparison of the possible future media markets of the MW and Big East if the worst happens -- which honestly is the only reason that Boise State would bail on the Big East and return to the MW. This worse case scenario would involve the losses of Louisville, Cinci, UConn, and Rutgers. Also, for the sake of this argument, I am going to assume the best case scenario for the MW, which would entail that SDSU, Houston, SMU, and BYU all follow Boise State to the MW.

MOUNTAIN WEST CONFERENCE

School - Metro - Population

Colorado State - Fort Collins-Loveland-Greeley, CO - 364,816

Wyoming - Laramie, WY - 30,816

Air Force - Colorado Springs, CO - 645,613

New Mexico - Albuquerque, NM - 887,077

UNLV - Las Vegas, NV - 1,951,269

Nevada - Reno, NV - 694,960

Fresno State - Fresno, CA - 1,107,416

Hawaii - Honolulu, HI - 953,207

Utah State - Logan, UT - 125,442

SJSU - San Jose, CA - 1,975,342

SDSU - San Diego, CA - 3,095,313

Boise State - Boise, ID - 616,500

Houston - Houston, TX - 6,086,538

SMU - Dallas, TX - 6,371,773

BYU - Wasatch Front, UT - 2,328,299

TOTAL MEDIA MARKET NUMBERS - 27,234,381

If SMU and Houston remain in Big East then that number would reduce to - 14,776,070

If SDSU remains in Big East it would reduce further to - 11,680,757

If BYU remains independent it would further reduce to - 9,352,458

If Boise State remains in Big East it would further reduce to - 8,735,958

BIG EAST CONFERENCE

School - Metro - Population

USF - Greater Tampa Bay Area, FL - 4,000,000

UCF - Orlando, FL - 2,818,120

Memphis - Memphis, TN - 1,316,100

Temple - Philadelphia, Pa - 6,385,461

Navy - Baltimore, MD-Wash, DC - 8,924,087

TOTAL MEDIA MARKET NUMBERS - 23,443,768

Plus whatever schools they add

Now if SMU and Houston stay then that would rise to - 35,902,079

If SDSU stays then that would rise back to - 38,997,392

Add Boise State stays its - 39,613,892

And that's still with the potential losses of Louisville (1,307,647), Cinci (2,130,151), UConn/Rutgers-New York Metropolitan Statistical Area (22.1 million)

Plus whatever additional schools they add.

My final determination is that the potential media windfall supports Boise State staying the course and moving to the Big East over the Mountain West.