Despite their objections to the Bowl Championship Series' selection process and revenue distribution, university presidents in the WAC and Mountain West conference agreed to participate in the system for four more years Wednesday.

"We have no choice," Boise State president Bob Kustra said after the WAC presidents voted unanimously to sign the deal. "The repercussions were just too dramatic and too costly."

The WAC attached a letter to its contract that explained "the concerns we have" and "our strong objection to the current BCS structure," Kustra said.

The two leagues were the only two among the 11 Division I-A conferences and Notre Dame that had not yet agreed to the lucrative new BCS deal with ESPN.

If the leagues had not signed the agreement by the Thursday afternoon deadline, their teams would not have been allowed to participate in the five BCS bowl games and would not be eligible to receiver a cut of the $125 million annually that ESPN will pay to televise bowl games after the 2010 regular season.

The new BCS deal extends through the 2014 bowl season.

"If a conference wishes to compete at the highest levels of college football, and the only postseason system in place for that is the BCS, no one conference can afford to drop out and penalize its football program," the Mountain West said in a statement.

The WAC and Mountain West are among five conferences that do not receive an automatic berth in the BCS. Six conferences' champions are guaranteed a spot in the prestigious games.

The five non-automatic qualifying conferences divide a 9 percent share of BCS money among themselves each year. If a team from one of those conferences reaches a BCS game then the leagues get another 9 percent share. In the past, that amount has been roughly $9.5 million.

Under the new contract, that share will rise about 40 percent, WAC commissioner Karl Benson said. Boise State received more than $4 million as part of the BCS payout after defeating Oklahoma in the 2007 Fiesta Bowl. Hawaii received a similar amount after its appearance in the 2008 Sugar Bowl.

Benson sent a letter to the league's presidents outlining the ramifications of not signing the agreement. Benson did not take an official position nor did he vote on the matter.

"When I read Karl's memo outlining the problems associated with not signing, how could a president not vote aye for signing this thing?" Kustra said. "We could all read between the lines."

Kustra said Tuesday that not signing the agreement "may be a risk worth taking."

But like his fellow presidents in the WAC and Mountain West, Kustra opted not to take that chance, which would have had effects on nearly every aspect of his athletic department's budget.

"There were so many financial ramifications to not signing," Kustra said. "We didn't have any elbow room."

Instead, the leagues will have to change the system from the inside. The leagues are now partners with the BCS - making it a bit tougher to rail against the unfairness of the enterprise.

Congress has held two hearings this year about the BCS, and Sen. Orrin Hatch called Tuesday for the Justice Department to investigate the system for what he called a violation of antitrust laws.

Kustra said he wanted broader representation for the non-automatic qualifying conferences.

The Mountain West, which has been trying to gain greater access for its members after undefeated Utah was denied a shot at the national championship last year, said it "will continue its efforts for change."

"Our goal is to ensure the eventual outcome of these endeavors is what our universities and student-athletes need, what the vast majority of American sports fans want, and what is long overdue: an equitable system," the league said in a statement.

Brian Murphy: 377-6444