Notebook: ESPNU to air Boise State-Idaho game

The Boise State-Idaho rivalry is going national.

ESPNU will televise the Nov. 14 football game between the teams at Bronco Stadium.

Kickoff has been moved to 1:30 p.m. The game was originally scheduled for 1 p.m. and was to be televised by KTVB. The network will not broadcast the game now, however, after ESPN exercised an option in its contract with the WAC.

ESPNU is on channel 301 on CableOne, channel 614 on DirecTV and channel 148 on Dish Network.

It is the first time Boise State will be shown on ESPNU. The Broncos (7-0) now have seven nationally televised games, matching a record for the program.

Idaho (6-2) has three ESPNU appearances scheduled this season. The Vandals defeated Colorado State on Oct. 3 and will meet Fresno State on Nov. 7 on the network.

It is another indication that ESPN is seriously considering hosting its weekly College GameDay broadcast from Bronco Stadium on Nov. 14.

Though not a rule (witness last week's appearance in Provo, Utah for the TCU-BYU game), the network likes to be able to promote a game on one of its networks - ABC, ESPN, ESPN2 or ESPNU - during the popular Saturday morning preview show.

College GameDay has never appeared at a WAC venue, commissioner Karl Benson said.

ESPN is not likely to announce its decision until Monday, Nov. 9 as the network wants to see what happens with other games around the nation, particularly Iowa vs. Ohio State.

Other prospects for that weekend include: Florida-South Carolina, Notre Dame-Pittsburgh and Utah-TCU.

BRONCOS WON'T MOVE VIRGINIA TECH GAME

Boise State will not agree to move next year's game against Virginia Tech, athletic department spokesman Max Corbet said Wednesday.

The game is scheduled for Oct. 2, 2010, at FedExField in Landover, Md.

Virginia Tech athletic director Jim Weaver said on a radio show this week that the game would move to Labor Day. Boise State already had indicated it didn't want to play on a different date, Corbet said.

Playing the game on Labor Day would have given the Broncos a difficult turnaround for their next game.

The Broncos don't have a game scheduled for opening weekend. They play Toledo at home Sept. 11, at Wyoming on Sept. 18 and at home against Oregon State on Sept. 25.

BSU MAKES GAME-DAY CHANGES AT STADIUM

Beginning with Saturday's game against San Jose State, BSU will start a text message service that allows fans to quickly alert security and operations staff to problems at Bronco Stadium.

Fans can text messages to 208-991-FANS (3267) about spilled drinks, unruly fans or other issues needing immediate attention.

® Fans who leave the stadium and attempt to return later will have to go through designated gates only to keep security standards high. Boise State did not release which gates would be designated as re-entry gates.