The Front Row with MARK NELKE Nov. 6, 2011

It was obvious in recent years in Western Athletic Conference football, there was Boise State and then there was Everybody Else.

That hasn't changed this year, with the Broncos moving to the Mountain West. With the possible exception of TCU (and the Horned Frogs are fleeing the conference next year), it's still Boise State and Everybody Else.

Boise State plays every year for a BCS bowl game, and possibly a shot at a national title game. Everybody Else plays for a conference title and some random bowl game.

I'm surprised they didn't rename the WAC in recent years - Boise State and the Western Athletic Conference. Or, this year, Boise State and the Mountain West.

Kinda like those old bands where they bring in one person that makes an otherwise ordinary group sound much better.

Like Tony Orlando and Dawn. Like Bo Donaldson and The Heywoods. Like Frankie Valli and The Four Seasons. Like ...

You get the drift.

SO, GOOD for Boise State if it wants to strike while the iron's hot and find the league for its football team that will make the most money for its football program, and give it the best chance to play in a BCS game - even if it's the far-flung Big East. Can't blame the Broncos for trying to cash in while they can.

However, like the people who open a new credit card account because of the immediate reward of a free flight, you have to wonder about the long-term ramifications of league-hopping.

Maybe it doesn't matter anymore. If, after a few seasons, the Big 12 becomes a more attractive alternative for Boise State, well, nice knowin' ya, Big East. Thanks for everything.

Boise State has traveled well in recent years - of course, it's easy to do that when your team is often pounding the other team into mulch, and your fans can take over the stadium of the home team.

The Bronco fans flock to Reno and Las Vegas for obvious reasons, and to Arizona for the Fiesta Bowl. We’ll see how exciting those trips to Louisville and Cincinnati get after a few years. Or Connecticut. Or Rutgers. Or Houston.

What does this mean for Idaho? Nevada, Fresno State and Hawaii are already leaving the WAC for the Mountain West after this year, and according to media reports, Louisiana Tech and New Mexico State could be picked up by Conference USA, and Utah State and San Jose State might be candidates for the Mountain West.

That would leave the Vandals and a bunch of guys named Joe in what’s left of the WAC, though Idaho has pretty much intimated it would be interested in joining the Mountain West as well.

I don’t see the Vandals dropping back down and returning to the Big Sky, as many have suggested. More likely is part of the Big Sky may fall in the WAC someday, though Montana, etc., had its chance recently and said, uh, no thanks.

In its quest for riches, Boise State bailed on the WAC after last year. Now, the Broncos could need a league in which to dump all of its teams other than football. If I were the WAC, I would laugh and laugh and laugh, then laugh some more, and then hang up, if Boise State called asking for help.

Sorry, honey, but ...

I’VE THOUGHT for years that Boise State should just go independent in football, ala Notre Dame. The Broncos have basically been a lone wolf anyway, humoring its conference by playing in it, while seeking national games to increase its profile.

I asked the BSU people about this once, and they said they didn’t think it had been seriously considered. But that’s partly because there is no path to a BCS game for any independent other than Notre Dame, which can qualify for a BCS game if it finishes in the top eight in the BCS.

But if Boise State went independent, there would be no more complaints of the Broncos being stuck with a soft schedule. They would be in control of how tough a schedule they had. Maybe ESPN could create The Bronco Network. When they weren’t showing Boise State football games, they could have a camera pointed at the Greenbelt, showing people walking, running and riding along the Boise River.

So what will happen in the upcoming days, weeks, months? Who knows. It’s already hard to remember who is in what conference anymore, and which games are more meaningful than others. And that doesn’t figure to get any easier anytime soon.

(Two generations from now, a little boys speaks — “Really, Grandpa? Utah vs. BYU used to be a conference game too?)

Try to rattle off the names of everybody in Conference USA.

But the process could make for some interesting television.

Could be a reality show — Keeping up with the Broncos.

Mark Nelke is sports editor of The Press. He can be reached at 664-8176, Ext. 2019, or via email at [email protected].