The cost of hiring a Football Championship Subdivision (FCS) team to play patsy for Boise State has spiked 125 percent in the past five years.
Boise State will pay Idaho State $225,000 for its appearance Saturday night at Bronco Stadium (6:07 p.m., KTVB).
The Broncos paid the Bengals just $100,000 in 2003. Boise State won 62-0.
The increased cost is a result of the exploding number of games between Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) teams and FCS teams created by the addition of a 12th regular-season game in 2006.
"More (FBS) teams are playing (FCS) games," Boise State athletic director Gene Bleymaier said, "and so with more options for them it has driven the price up. They're able to shop."
In 2005, 49 FBS teams played at least one FCS opponent.
In 2007, it was 73.
This year, it's 83 out of the 119 FBS teams.
That means bargaining power for the little guys and higher price tags for the big boys. Around the country, some FCS teams reportedly are making more than $500,000 for appearances at places like LSU and Ohio State.
Idaho State is certainly cashing in. The Bengals will collect $335,000 this year for games at Boise State and Idaho ($110,000). Next year, they will make more than that for a single trip to Arizona State, interim athletic director Jeff Tingey said.
It's a win-win relationship.
"They want to make sure they can look good in front of the home crowd and get the media to be nice to them," Tingey said of the FBS teams. " It helps in the athletic department significantly as far as padding our budgets."
So far, the bidding war hasn't affected Boise State's ability to grab FCS opponents. The Broncos will open the season against an FCS team for the third straight year and next year's game against UC Davis (also a $225,000 price tag) will be the sixth against an FCS team in seven years.
The cost to buy a home game against an FBS team without a home-and-home contract is much higher - approaching $1 million, Bleymaier said. Boise State can't afford those games.
"What drives these prices up in many cases is when there's a change to a schedule - somebody pulls out - and then all of a sudden somebody needs a game," Bleymaier said. "People right now who are looking for a game in '09 are going to pay a premium because they're starting to panic."
Bleymaier isn't surprised by the run on FCS opponents. While college football fans looked at the addition of the 12th game as a chance for more intersectional matchups like Monday's UCLA-Tennessee opener, most athletic directors looked at it as a way to generate more revenue for their departments.
"Schools with huge stadiums, when they can bring in an opponent at a reasonable price, they can make a lot of money," Bleymaier said.
Bleymaier only wants to play FCS teams in odd-numbered years, when the Broncos can play 13 games because of an exemption for their trip to Hawaii. That allows him to schedule seven home games in those years.
However, he had to buy an FCS team for the 2006 and 2008 schedules, too, to ensure the Broncos had six home games - his first priority in scheduling.
That trend should stop. The Broncos have four FBS opponents already lined up for the 2010 and 2012 seasons.
And in 2011, Bleymaier faces an interesting decision. He has four FBS foes on the slate - and three of those games are at home. That means he could buy an FCS team and have eight home games, sign a home-and-home deal or take a one-game contract to play at a school like Washington or Georgia and cash a big paycheck of his own.
"It's a great situation," Bleymaier said, "because you can always find road games."
Here are the Broncos' upcoming nonconference opponents:
2009: vs. Oregon, UC Davis and Miami (Ohio); at Toledo, Tulsa
2010: vs. Oregon State, Toledo; at Miami (Ohio), Wyoming
2011 (one opening): vs. Utah, Wyoming, Tulsa; at Bowling Green
2012: vs. Bowling Green, BYU; at Utah, Oregon State
***
Get ready for musical linebackers this season.
The Broncos plan to play up to eight linebackers on a regular basis, shuttling players into the game based on situation and rotating guys to make sure deserving backups get playing time.
So while freshman Aaron Tevis and seniors Kyle Gingg and Tim Brady are listed as starters, the coaches say not to get wrapped up in who's listed where on the depth chart.
"The goal is to have the most productive three guys possible out there," linebackers coach Viliami Tuivai said. " Whatever the situation calls for, to get the optimal three guys out there."
Sophomore middle linebacker Derrell Acrey, who got bumped out of the starting lineup late last week, will play in passing situations. He intercepted four passes in practice this week.
"Derrell is definitely involved," Tuivai said. "That guy's definitely a ballhawk. There are other phases of his game he's trying to get better at."
Tuivai also plans to use senior Dallas Dobbs and freshmen Hunter White and Dan Paul. Junior-college transfer Daron Mackey could join the rotation, too, but coaches are still debating whether to redshirt him.
To play all those guys, several players are going to have to be flexible. Gingg will play in the middle and on the weak side, Brady might play on the strong and weak sides and Dobbs could play anywhere.
Brady, who moved from the strong side to the weak side last week, and Gingg, who moved from weak to middle, said they were surprised by the changes.
"They want me to kind of be the guy that can play more than one position and kind of help get some other guys on the field," Gingg said. "I don't exactly know the whole plan, but that's the vibe I got."
***
Senior tailback Ian Johnson was named to the watch list for the Doak Walker Award, which goes to the nation's top running back. Idaho's Deonte Jackson, Nevada's Luke Lippincott and Southern Miss' Damion Fletcher also made the list.
Chadd Cripe is in his seventh season covering Boise State football for the Idaho Statesman. Contact him at ccripe@idahostatesman.com or 377-6398.
The Idaho Statesman is pleased to offer this opportunity to share information and observations about what's in the news. Some comments may be reprinted elsewhere in the site or in the newspaper. We encourage lively, open debate but ask that you remain on topic. Comments that are profane, personal attacks or otherwise inappropriate are subject to removal.
@Nyx.CommentBody@