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Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

Eye On Boise

Full house at State Board this afternoon…

Idaho state board of education prepares to meet on Thursday (Betsy Russell)
Idaho state board of education prepares to meet on Thursday (Betsy Russell)

There's a full house for this afternoon's Idaho State Board of Education meeting, which has two hot-button items on its agenda: A conference change for intercollegiate athletics at Boise State University, and final approval of a rule requiring every Idaho high school student to take two online classes to graduate from high school.

 

BSU President Bob Kustra told the board that the Mountain West "is simply not the same conference that we first agreed to join. ... My hope for a competitive and compact conference has been dashed." Now, he said, BSU football has been in talks with the Big East. "We're really honored to be considered for membership," Kustra said. "It would be good not only for athletics but for the entire university to forge new relationships." Kustra said he's concerned about travel, but said, "The good news is that the Big East is working to provide us partners through the creation of a western division."

He said, "There have been no formal invitations, but today I seek your authorization to make a decision once an invitation is extended, and also to make a decision regarding what conference basketball" and other BSU sports would be in.



Betsy Z. Russell
Betsy Z. Russell joined The Spokesman-Review in 1991. She currently is a reporter in the Boise Bureau covering Idaho state government and politics, and other news from Idaho's state capital.

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