Mountain West had ‘in-depth discussions’ about keeping Boise State in league

The Mountain West said it had “in-depth discussions” with Boise State about keeping the Broncos in the league in the future, but that the school late last week opted to “continue with its plan to move to various other conferences.”

The league also confirmed that Boise State “has not yet officially withdrawn from the Mountain West.”

The Mountain West said it was a “one-time opportunity” for Boise State to reconsider its position.

The statement from Commissioner Craig Thompson to the Idaho Statesman came hours after Boise State Athletic Director Mark Coyle met with the media in Florida at the Big East meetings and denied full-blown meetings with the Mountain West. Coyle said he attended the Mountain West meetings “a few weeks ago.”

College football coach rankings: Alabama’s Nick Saban tops list of 124 coachesSporting News has ranked the 124 FBS head coaches by conference. Now it’s time to see how they rate overall.

First, some notes about our list:

— The Big 12 coaches have by far the best average ranking: 27.2, which crushes the second-best SEC’s average ranking of 43.3. Next in line: the Pac-12 (43.8), ACC (45.6) and Big Ten (46.8).

— Of course, the Big 12 has only 10 teams. Compared with the top 10 rankings by conference, it falls slightly below the SEC’s average of 26.6. The Pac-12 still ranks third at 34.5, followed by the Big Ten (35.9) and the ACC (37.0).

— The SEC is the only league other than the Big 12 whose lowest-ranked coach isn’t in the 100s. Tennessee’s Derek Dooley, the No. 14 SEC coach on our list, ranks 99th overall.

Read more: aol.sportingnews.com

Penn State wants Boise State’s Petersen as next coach

Penn State is reportedly interested in having Boise State football coach Chris Petersen move east to take the same position with the Nittany Lions, according to a report in the Patriot-News (Harrisburg, Pa.).

School officials have reportedly visited Idaho twice in recent days in order to make a sales pitch to one of the nation’s most successful coaches in recent years.

chicagotribune.com
12/23/11