BOISE STATE RAISES TICKET PRICES 17%

While news has been funneling in from the Big Ten about ticket price drops, BCS buster Boise State will be raising season ticket prices by about 17 percent this season. Boise State athletic director Gene Bleymaier said in a press conference on Thursday, “as this economy turns as negatively as it has, it’s going to have a hand in everything that we do."With revenues down almost $500,000 for next year because of cuts by the university and endowment income, the adminstration has asked coaches to submit budgets for the 2010 fiscal year “with 3, 6, and 9 percent cuts.” Even with a new 10-year contact with Learfield Sports that will pay the school more than $2 million each year, the school is in dire straits.With smaller conferences like the Mountain West and the WAC struggling to reel in major television deals like the BCS conferences, its no surprise that conference commissioners are making such a huge push to be included into the BCS financial bonanza. While conferences like the Big Ten are enjoying new income streams from their own network, budget cuts, ticket price hikes, and the cost of scholarships are all becoming a huge strain on schools, even ones with successful football teams like Boise State.