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Wednesday Weekly: May 20, 2026.
The Pac-12 and the Mountain West won’t make it to trial, to the surprise of no one, with the two conferences’ announcement of an agreement to settle their two-pronged legal battle. The one prong is the $55 million in poaching fees the Mountain West claimed it was owed for the Pac-12 taking five of its schools. The other was more than $100 million in exit fees the MW wanted from the five institutions. One common piece of ground between the two leagues: they were sick of paying millions to attorneys, and that was only going to accelerate. Where the dollar amount finally settles is going to be interesting, as the Mountain West promised UNLV and Air Force a reported $25 million apiece in incentives to stay in the conference. Will the MW be able to cover that? And if not, what does it mean?
WOULD THERE EVEN BE A WINDOW FOR UNLV?
It comes up all the time—what is the Pac-12’s plan for expansion? It’s becoming increasingly clear that it’s a big ol’ nothing burger for the time being. The conference has dug in its heels on the philosophy that any addition must bring tremendous value, or the Pac-12’s TV partners won’t bite with extra revenue. The pie is sliced as thinly as the current teams can bear right now. Which brings us to UNLV, which has turned down the Pac-12 twice but hasn’t been able to convince anybody that the door is closed. But is the door closed from the Pac-12 side? According to Jon Wilner of the San Jose Mercury News, an industry source with expertise in media rights was asked how much the Rebels would increase the Pac-12’s media value. “Not one dime,” the person said. UNLV may have missed its opportunity.
THE END OF MW COMPETITION
Boise State’s final competition in the Mountain West wrapped up last Saturday with the outdoor track and field championships in Clovis, CA. It happened 46 days before the Broncos officially join the Pac-12, and it’s been a great run in the Mountain West. It starts with football, where Boise State went 146-49 with seven league titles. It also marked the best stretch in Broncos men’s hoops history, with five NCAA Tournament berths. The Boise State women won five Mountain West titles in 15 seasons. There were also five outdoor track individual national championships, three from Allie Ostrander and one each from Emma Bates and Kristie Schoffield. The next chapter awaits.
MORE DEPTH WHERE IT’S NEEDED
The Boise State wide receivers room—by consensus—had a pretty good spring, led by the emergence of true freshman Rasean Jones out of Rocky Mountain. Now Bronco Nation News reports that there’s another reinforcement at the position. Romeo Carter, who signed with Boise State in December as a defensive back, requested the change from coach Spencer Danielson, and it was granted. At 6-3, Chris Van Sickle of BNN notes that Carter becomes the Broncos’ second-tallest wide receiver. He also has run 10.7 seconds in the 100-meter dash.
DALMAS PUTS A FOOT INTO PRO FOOTBALL
It was a mixed bag for Jonah Dalmas in his pro football debut last Sunday. The former Boise State standout booted a 48-yard field goal on his first attempt to give the Columbus Aviators a 3-0 lead over the Birmingham Stallions. What happened on Dalmas’ second attempt wasn’t his fault. The Stallions’ Steven Gillmore came unblocked off the edge, knocked down Dalmas’ 55-yard try, and returned it for a touchdown to give Birmingham a 14-3 lead—and that was the final. Dalmas’ second-quarter field goal was all the points Columbus could muster.
No Bronco has a story quite like that of Dalmas. During the COVID season in 2020, the opener didn’t happen until late October, and preseason practices were under wraps. So when the first depth chart was released and there was an “or” between Dalmas and Joel Velazquez, we wondered, “Who’s that first guy?” Turns out Dalmas was a former soccer star at Rocky Mountain and had asked for a Boise State football tryout. From there, he became the Mountain West’s career scoring and field goals leader. Dalmas has been waiting for this chance since misfortune in the 2024 Fiesta Bowl. He never gave up.
DURYEA DONE, BUT NOT FORGOTTEN
The “something’s gotta change” crowd got some last Friday with the retirement of top assistant Tim Duryea from Boise State men’s basketball. And change will probably be good—this will likely be Leon Rice’s most important hire as he goes into his 17th year with the Broncos. But Boise State did get offense out of Duryea’s eight seasons—including the rags-to-riches development of players like Derrick Alston Jr. and Abu Kigab. Not to forget that before his three-year head coaching stint at Utah State, he was an assistant with the Aggies for 14 seasons under Stew Morrill. USU was as good then as it is now, and Duryea’s offensive contributions were key. Utah State won seven conference championships and earned eight NCAA Tournament berths during that time. Boise State was fortunate to have him.
IT’LL BE HARD TO TOP THIS ONE
It was the most memorable game yet, a little more than two months into Athletic Club Boise’s first season. ACB rallied from a 3-1 halftime deficit last Saturday night to beat Monterey Bay FC 4-3 before another loud and appreciative sellout crowd of 7,206. Boise got goals from Jake Crull and Dominic Gasso in the first 10 minutes of the second half to tie it. Then in the 73rd minute, Monterey’s Nico Gordon was ejected with a second yellow card, and AC Boise played the remainder of the match with a one-man advantage, spending virtually the entire time on the visitor’s side of the field. There was a feeling of inevitability, and Boise’s Thomas Amang delivered with the winning goal in the 86th minute.
The win is AC Boise’s second in USL Cup play—and its second over a club from the USL Championship level. They’ll look for more home comfort amidst the rowdiness this Saturday night when they host Fort Wayne FC. It’ll be 20 degrees warmer than last week—and 20 miles per hour calmer.
HAWKS HOPING TO MOVE OFF THE NUMBER ‘48’
The Boise Hawks have been off the radar locally—frankly, the early success of AC Boise at the other end of the Expo Idaho complex is a factor. But Tuesday night at Memorial Stadium, the Hawks opened their 39th season (it would be their 40th had COVID not wiped out the 2020 campaign) as they began a six-game series against the Ogden Raptors with a 9-4 victory. Brandon Nigh’s two-run homer in the bottom of the fourth gave the Hawks a 4-1 lead—then Ogden tied it 4-4 in the seventh. But Boise exploded with a five-run eighth, and that was that. The Hawks’ magic number last year was 48, for better or for worse. Boise finished with a 48-48 record, and with it came this as part of the reality of independent baseball in the Pioneer League: the Hawks went through a staggering 48 different pitchers in 2025.
THE FASTEST MAN IN THE BIG 12
Former Boise High star Mason Lawyer has indeed been crowned the “fastest man in the Big 12” after winning the 100-meter and 200-meter dash titles for Arizona at the conference championships in Tucson last weekend. Lawyer clocked times of 9.93 seconds in the 100 and a Big 12 record 20.02 seconds in the 200 while taking the meet’s High Point Award. Lawyer’s dad Kerry, a former Boise State track and football standout, is a proud papa.
ROBB’S WOBBLY ROAD
Payette auto racer Sting Ray Robb will start in the 31st and final position in Sunday’s Indianapolis 500, but at least he’s in the field at the Brickyard. Robb is driving the No. 77 Dallara-Chevrolet, which had a tough time in qualifying. According to IndyCar.com, Robb said “the car had the worst balance he’s experienced in qualifying trim at Indianapolis, calling the effort a disaster and admitting the team simply got it wrong.” Hope there’s not tension in the pits. Robb’s best finish among four Indy 500 starts was 16th in 2024.
This Day In Sports…brought to you by TURN RIGHT SERVICES…building trust, one project at a time!
May 20, 1976, 50 years ago today: A black-eye day for baseball, literally, as Boston pitcher Bill Lee is injured in a wild brawl during an 8-2 win over the Yankees in New York. It started when the Yankees’ Lou Piniella plowed into Red Sox catcher Carlton Fisk at home plate. The benches emptied, and the skirmishes were everywhere. Graig Nettles of the Yankees picked up Lee and slammed him shoulder-first into the ground. Lee chased Nettles around the field, and Nettles floored him with a punch in the eye. Lee would be out until July with torn shoulder ligaments.
(Tom Scott hosts the Scott Slant segment during the football season on KTVB’s Sunday Sports Extra and anchors four sports segments each weekday on 95.3 FM KTIK. He also served as color commentator on KTVB’s telecasts of Boise State football for 14 seasons.)
