Boise State’s only move right now is to sit tight, pledge allegiance to the Big East publicly and work feverishly behind the scenes to map out every possible scenario in conference realignment.

Louisville became the latest member of the Big East, Boise State’s future football conference, to bolt for a new league Wednesday. The Cardinals are headed to the ACC.

Everyone wants to know what the Broncos — linchpins in the Big East’s “national football conference” strategy and one of the few Big East schools with another conference option — are going to do. I want to know.

The pace of realignment has been so accelerated that the Big East invited Louisville’s replacement (East Carolina) before the Cardinals received an invitation from the ACC.

And so inaction — or a steady stream of say-nothing statements from President Bob Kustra — can be taken as weakness, as a sign of being left behind.

For the Broncos, it is the ultimate fear.

Having ridden their uber-successful football program from the WAC to the Mountain West and now to the Big East, they’ve once again hit a dead-end. More than any other school in the realignment shuffle, the Broncos are dependent upon their success and relevance in this very moment.

“Big East is the team of the hour, the team of the day, the team of the week,” Kustra said in October 2011 when the Big East first made overtures. “We are the ones that people are really interested in when it comes to how these conferences are going to align, and that’s really exciting.”

The Broncos are still wanted — by the Big East and by the Mountain West.

But what happens if that ends, if no better league wants them? You can understand the desire for action.

Now.

Before their moment slips away.

But first patience. Boise State must wait to see how many television dollars the Big East ends up with. The Broncos are likely to play next year in the Big East either way, given the league’s status as a BCS AQ league.

The Mountain West’s offer to return is not going anywhere. The television contract may persuade BYU to join the league. The money may be so great as to render these conversations pointless. The Big East might be able to strengthen itself so as to create a huge gap between it and the other non-AQ leagues.

While the Broncos wait, they should be working hard to set up other options.

That means continued dialogue with the Mountain West. Exactly what are the conference’s plans to increase revenue distribution and better its television contract?

That means calls to the Big 12 and Pac-12. Can they team up with BYU to enter the Big 12 as a football-only member with reduced revenue distribution for several years?

That means exploring football independence. What kind of television contract would ESPN or another network offer the Broncos? What kind of scheduling help could Boise State get from the television giant? Is it realistic?

Nothing should be off the table. No matter how outlandish, how ridiculous, how crazy.

Not even thoughts of forming a new conference with BYU, San Diego State and ESPN. Is that something that could happen? Could the new league find a way to use the WAC name to keep NCAA bids in all sports?

Aside from keeping football coach Chris Petersen in Boise, finding a long-term stable conference home for the program should be priority No. 1 for the athletic department.

It should be the first thing department leaders think about in the morning and the last thing they think about at night. At some point, no one knows when, this is all going to stop. The chairs will all be filled. The Broncos must make sure they have a good one.

Brian Murphy: 377-6444