The thought control system at ESPN has wanted the "little program that could" story to remain in Boise forever. They even have a seperate TV deal apart from the MWC. It does not work that way. For a lot of reasons it moves around the country. We had it for a time (unfortunatly for us before the current bowl and playoff system meaning we went to frozen Detroit in a meaningless game) others before us and now Boise's time has passed. Western Michigan looks like the team right now, but it will move again and again.
Boise's program, according to Sports Illistrated a few years ago, is a corporate creation. The firms around the town had trouble attracting people to move there because there was "nothing to do". They cranked $$ into BSU sports, the opera, playhouse, outdoor stuff, minor league baseball, so on. The economy has shifted and those $$ are getting smaller.
Could not care less about them.