Boise St. to stay in Mountain West for 2012-13

BOISE (AP) - Boise State's highly successful football program won't be moving to the Big East early.

The school announced Wednesday that despite repeated conversations with the Big East, the Broncos will remain in the Mountain West for the 2012-13 athletic seasons.

In a statement, the school said there were too many obstacles and financial concerns to make the move a year earlier than expected.

"While we have had several discussions with the Big East and the WAC in moving our sports into those two leagues a year earlier than previously stated, the university feels there were too many obstacles to overcome to make the move at this time," Boise State President Bob Kustra said. "While there certainly would have been advantages in making the move a year early, it became clear that it would not be fiscally responsible, as all of the expenses associated with early entry into the two conferences would not be covered."

Boise State was announced as the newest member of the Big East for football - along with San Diego State, Houston, SMU and Central Florida - with the intent of beginning in the 2013 season. Discussions had grown since the early December announcement about Boise State's potential for moving a year earlier than planned.

Boise State has had one of the most successful football programs in the country over the last decade, playing mostly in the Western Athletic Conference before joining the MWC this past season. The Broncos are 73-6 over the last five seasons with two BCS victories.

The WAC is expected to be the landing point for the rest of Boise State's athletic programs - with the exception of wrestling, which competes in the Pac-12 Conference. But there are concerns about the future of the WAC with the merger of the MWC and Conference USA and the potential for some current WAC programs to possibly move to the new megaconference.