Boise wouldn’t be accepted in either conference because they only have a what....30 thousand seat stadium? There is a reason the Pac Ten took Utah and not Boise. Utah has 45k and will expand. Boise doesn’t even sell out the stadium they have now. TCU is a TINY school with a small stadium in a market where they are invisible..though they ARE right in the middle of Texas talent. TCU has a better shot than Boise.
If Boise was ever going to get in a bigtime conference it was the Pac Ten....and they picked Utah.
In theory you are right, they would get a few players that are better, but they haven’t done the things necessary to GET in that conference, and if they went 7-5 the first couple of years...which is likely if they had gotten in for next year since Kellen Moore leaves....that momentum could be gone quickly.
Arkansas and South Carolina joined the SEC years and years ago and neither of them have even an SEC title, and South Carolina has never even been to the Championship game. And they have larger stadiums and better recruiting areas if you consider Arkansas is close to Texas and S.Car is close to Georgia.
This is purely hypothetical not based on if they should, would or could actually join one of those conferences. The facts are they would gain a whole lot in the transaction. Money, recruiting viability, In TCU’s case, which is much more likely, if they joined the Big XII, they probably become the 3rd choice of everyone in the recruiting area behind Texas and OU. right now I doubt they are anywhere close to that.
I just don’t buy the argument that either program would be static were they to join a major conference. They are very efficient and successful now with less than an ideal situation. Of course with Boise and TCU both in the same conference next year the Mountain West probably deserves an AQ as much as the ACC or Big East.