2010–2013 Mountain West Conference realignment

[1] This arrangement, however, proved to be less than satisfactory to most of the pre-1996 members, as the conference now spanned from Hawaii to Oklahoma—a distance of about 3,900 miles (6,300 km) and four time zones.

[1] During another major round of realignment in 2005, Texas Christian University (TCU) joined, seeing the MWC as an upgrade from its then-current home of Conference USA (C-USA).

The Mountain West, which had previously announced that their plans for expansion were on hold for a potential expansion including Boise State, announced on June 11, 2010, in advance of a July 1 deadline for WAC teams to withdraw from their conference,[5] that Boise State had joined the conference, and would begin play for the 2011–2012 season.

This development presumably would have boosted the MWC's hopes of securing an automatic bid to college football's lucrative Bowl Championship Series.

With the decision of the Big 12's Texas and Oklahoma public schools to stay in that conference, the Mountain West then became an expansion target itself, with the Pac-10 reportedly focusing on Utah.

On August 18, Andy Katz of ESPN.com, citing multiple sources, reported that BYU was considering leaving the MWC to become an independent in football, while its other sports[8] would rejoin the WAC.

According to Katz' sources, BYU was stunned that it did not receive an invitation during the earlier conference shuffle, and the school wanted to further differentiate itself from its archrival Utah.

"[12] The story, bubbling under the surface for several weeks, erupted when hackers reportedly broke into the Twitter account of the athletic department of another MWC member, Colorado State, and said that an announcement of BYU's plans was imminent, leading the Salt Lake Tribune to publish Holmoe's remarks on August 18.

[14] Ultimately, the two schools and the WAC came to a settlement, with Fresno State and Nevada agreeing to remain in the conference through the 2011–12 academic year in exchange for a reduced exit fee.

At that time, Utah State had been rumored to have changed its mind since originally declining its invitation, and once again actively sought acceptance into the Mountain West.

With respect to the MWC, UH system president M. R. C. Greenwood stated in a news conference, "We have a handshake but we have yet to agree on the details.

As a part of the agreement that brought Hawaiʻi into the Big West, the school would provide an annual total of about $500,000 in travel subsidies to other conference members.

[21] The overtures toward Hawaiʻi were at least partially driven by the prospect that TCU would receive an invitation to the Big East Conference, which ultimately came on November 29.

The MWC's board of directors met in Las Vegas on January 23 with expansion on the agenda, although no invitations were expected to be issued.

[34] Like Hawaii, they would be required to help the other schools defray their extra travel costs, and the Big East was expected to contribute some of this money.

[38] The December ESPN report indicated that if Boise State opted to stay in the MW, the conference would then seek to add a 12th football member for 2014.

However, Air Force and BYU were said to be content with their current situations, and the other two schools reportedly had no interest in a Big East without Boise State.

[38] On December 31, Boise State announced it had decided to stay in the MW, leaving the Big East, much like TCU, without ever playing a game in it.

Boise State decided to remain in the MW because of that conference's geographic proximity and the Big East's continued instability.

Rights to the Broncos' home games would be sold in a separate package from the league's primary contract with CBS Sports Network.

As a part of the deal, any MW member (not just Boise State) that appears on ESPN, ESPN2, or broadcast networks ABC, CBS, or NBC could receive a bonus of $300,000, with an extra $200,000 for a Saturday game.

[40] Also, beginning in 2014, if an MW team appeared in a BCS-sponsored bowl game—either the four-team national playoff expected to begin at that time (ultimately known as the College Football Playoff), or one of the so-called "access bowls" (one of which has a guaranteed spot for a "Group of Five" team)—the revenue from that game would be split 50-50 between the participating school and the conference.

The Mountain West was also looking at potentially adding Houston or SMU, both of which stated they would join the Big East in 2013, as its 12th football member.

[41] SDSU athletic director Jim Sterk reportedly tried to make the Big East move work even after Boise State's decision to stay in the MW.