Whatever those fan numbers are, Boise State's football revenues are still well below average for FBS schools: http://www.forbes.com/sites/aliciajessop/2013/08/31/the-economics-of-college-football-a-look-at-the-top-25-teams-revenues-and-expenses/, and Idaho isn't exactly a state that conferences are clamouring to add to their TV footprint.
Now, there's absolutely no doubt that if they were added to a Power 5 conference and got the subsequent TV money boost, that they would be generating as much/more as some of the bottom end teams on that list, but I don't think there's any way that they increase the value of say, the Big 12's TV deal by enough to make it worthwhile to the existing members to cut another team into the pie. The Big 12 is probably their best bet (from a money perspective) simply because there's a chance that if they added them and another team, bringing back the conference title game would expand the pie enough to justify their inclusion.
9/5/2014 9:19 AM (edited)