The No. 12 Ball State University football team would love to play No. 9 Boise State University in a bowl game, but the right offer was never presented to make the speculation reality.
Ball State athletics director Tom Collins said the Humanitarian Bowl gave him an outline this week to try to entice the undefeated Cardinals to play the undefeated Broncos in Boise, Idaho. After discussing the outline with coach Brady Hoke, Collins said, the two men decided it was in Ball State's best interest not to play Boise State in the Humanitarian Bowl.
"I would love to [play Boise State]," Collins said. "It would make financial sense if it were on a neutral field and it were in warm weather, but that's not what we were offered."
Collins said he mostly stayed out of the discussions, which were primarily between Mid-American Conference Commissioner Rick Chryst, Western Athletic Conference Commissioner Karl Benson and potential bowls, because he did not want to spend a lot of time on the talks while they were still in the speculation phase.
The Humanitarian Bowl, which had a lot of "what ifs," presented an outline to Ball State - but never a formal offer, Collins said.
Humanitarian Bowl Executive Director Kevin McDonald said his board's first choice was for a matchup of Ball State and Boise State, and it was able to clear most of the hurdles needed to make the game happen.
"We would have loved the matchup," McDonald said. "We look at it almost as the other BCS bowl game. Two undefeated, highly ranked teams playing each other in Boise. We thought it would have been exciting and we think it is a game that should have been played."
Officials said there was no single reason why the approximately 10 days of discussions ended without a matchup of two of the nation's four undefeated college football teams.
Ball State considered the cost of travel for fans, the experience for the team, the financial ramifications and the competitiveness of the game when it considered playing in the Humanitarian Bowl, Collins said.
Benson said he was not surprised by Ball State's decision and he understood its reasons for not wanting to play in the Humanitarian Bowl.
"I don't know if it was ever leaning one way or the other," Benson said. "I think the fact that the amount of time that was taken to run all of the considerations, Ball State certainly gave it a lengthy review."
McDonald would not talk about all of the specifics but said the Humanitarian Bowl developed an enhanced proposal to get Ball State to go to Boise.
"We tried to enhance the financial end of the deal," he said. "We would have signified Ball State as the home team in their home jerseys. We tried to do the major things to make them comfortable, knowing they would still be in a stadium primarily full of Boise State fans."
Although Collins said the Humanitarian Bowl was the only bowl that presented Ball State with an outline for a matchup with Boise State, Chryst said talk between the conferences was not limited to that game. Other options, such as the Independence Bowl, were also considered as possible alternatives for the game, he said.
"We really tried to explore," Chryst said. "We talked with other bowls about any possible moves of teams from one bowl to another.
"I do think all of the possible scenarios were exhausted, and I think probably for the right reasons."
From the beginning, McDonald said, he knew the chance to get Ball State and Boise State together for a bowl game "was a longshot."
Boise State was onboard with the idea of playing Ball State in the Humanitarian Bowl, which is played in the Broncos' stadium, he said.
"When it became a reality that the game could happen, they came onboard with it," McDonald said. "Prior to that I think they were hoping to play in the Poinsettia Bowl against [Texas Christian University.]"
Boise State athletics director Gene Bleymaier could not be reached for comment either Wednesday or Thursday.
McDonald said the inability to finalize the matchup came down to Ball State deciding the Humanitarian Bowl was not the right move for its program, which he respects.
"Ultimately I think it came down to playing on Boise State's home field,' McDonald said.
Chryst said the strong relationships the MAC has with its affiliated bowls - the Motor City Bowl, the International Bowl and the GMAC Bowl - made it possible for the conference to look into the possibility of Ball State playing in a game with Boise State. The three bowls understand what a special year Ball State is having, the national attention the potential Ball State-Boise State game received and that the conference wanted to find the best possible matchup it could for the Cardinals, he said.
Collins said Ball State takes its commitment to the MAC and its bowls very seriously. He did not have any indication about where the Cardinals will play this postseason, he said.
While Ball State is unsure of what matchup it will now have, speculation has been that Boise State will play Texas Christian in the Poinsettia Bowl. McDonald said the Broncos viewed the potential matchups with Ball State and Texas Christian as "1" and "1A."
Benson said although Boise State will not play Ball State, it still has a great potential matchup.
"I think it certainly is a very, very attractive alternative," he said. "No. 9 vs. No. 11. The undefeated vs. undefeated may have had more sizzle. If Boise State-TCU materializes, it will be one of the top three or four bowl games played through the course of the year."
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