Every year since 2012, BYU and Boise State have faced off in a series that has become one of the latest additions to the long list of college football rivalries.
The future of the rivalry is in doubt, though, given BYU’s impending membership in the Big 12 Conference (the Cougars are expected to begin Big 12 competition in 2023).
In an impromptu Q&A on Twitter Tuesday, Boise State athletic director Jeramiah Dickey spoke to the issues facing future BYU-Boise State matchups, given the Cougars’ future obligations.
“One more game with them and then done... for now,” Dickey wrote. “They (BYU) have been awesome to work with.”
When questioned about the frequency of BYU-Boise State games in the future, and whether or not the Cougars would fall off the Broncos’ schedule completely or if the teams would play on a more intermittent basis, Dickey was forthcoming.
“Challenging for them as an independent,” he wrote. “Utah and Utah State also important to their base. I have hope we can get a (home and home) in (the) future, but they need to figure out Big 12, etc (and) I completely understand.”
The Cougars and Broncos were scheduled to play every season through 2034, excluding a hiatus in 2024, but that agreement no longer holds, given BYU’s future in the Big 12.
There are plenty of reasons for the series to continue, and future conference expansion could render all of this moot if Boise State is invited to join the Big 12, but for the time being the future of the BYU-Boise State rivalry is in up in the air.
The Big 12 is reportedly examining the creation of divisions for its impending 14-team league (Texas and Oklahoma are slated to leave the conference for the SEC in 2025), and BYU has reportedly agreed to play Nevada in the 2024 season opener.