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Welp. I think we all kind of figured a confrontation between Boise State and the Mountain West Conference was going to happen.
And—to put it lightly—things have escalated.
Boise State's Friday night statement said it is "weighing our options" regarding the potential end of its separate home game negotiating rights (and extra $1.8M).
— Dave Southorn (@davesouthorn) January 22, 2020
Can confirm that it did file a lawsuit that day against the Mountain West.
We all kind of figured that the arrangement was going to the courts. But, with the current TV deal running through 2026, going to court now seems... aggressive.
Apparently, though, it’s because of payments right now.
If I’m reading correctly, sounds like Boise State asked for more than the agreed $1.8 million extra because Thompson admitted the Broncos were big reason the new deal happened. League then got mad and voted to give them nothing instead. https://t.co/R9PSPd1Tm3
— B.J. Rains (@BJRains) January 22, 2020
Money makes people do weird things. And a lot of money make people do really weird things.
Boise State is claiming the value of their home games helped the MW get a “better” deal:
For the MWC fans who have argued JUST LET BOISE LEAVE WE DON'T NEED THEM, uh, I don't really know how you can argue this isn't true?
— Matt Brown (@MattBrownEP) January 22, 2020
Boise is why your league has TV value! pic.twitter.com/gv0Y1NEHnU
This is a pretty bold thing by Boise State to hang their argument on. Not that I disagree but the value of the Boise State brand is going to be argued. When compared to the other teams in the league, it seems pretty cut and dry. People (complainers of the blue field notwithstanding) generally like watching Boise State games. So much so that Fox has jumped on that bandwagon.
So that’s cool.
But this whole thing is going to get worse. And, for both institutions’ sake, hopefully there is an amicable agreement.