BOISE, Idaho — Boise State was once again the favorite to win the Mountain West in 2020.
They were not lacking talent with returning starting quarterback, Hank Bachmeier, and a defense that projected highly in the conference.
What could have been will have to wait.
“I know for all the players and the coaches that it is disappointing; you start to prepare yourself and you have a purpose even though it was always changing, it wasn’t set in stone,” said Boise State Head Football coach, Bryan Harsin.
While addressing the media, he said that even though the coaching staff knew this was always a possibility the news wasn't easy.
“At the end of the day, guys, the physical and mental health of our athletes, coaching staff and everyone associated with the athletic program, that’s where a lot of the vote came down too,” said Harsin.
The decision to forego a fall college football season won't just hurt Boise State fans, it's going to affect the local economy.
"It's pretty much a gut punch," said Executive Director of the Downtown Boise Association, Jennifer Hensley.
She says that Bronco Gamedays bring in a little over 15 million dollars to the Treasure Valley throughout the season.
"It maps out to be a little over 2 million dollars a game that downtown will lose," said Hensley.
A huge blow for downtown's already struggling businesses.
“A good chunk of that is spent downtown, at our hotels and bars and our restaurants and our retail offerings,” said Hensley.
A lot of businesses rely on the large crowds that fill downtown during football season.
Not having one will affect everyone, all the way down to not having people pay to park in our parking structures.
“15 percent of the game attendees are from out of town, and so that means those people are eating out, visiting shops, getting drinks, buying souvenirs and staying in our hotels," Hensley said. "There's no way to put it other than it's sad for our community."
She said that the best thing you can do is shop local and support your favorite businesses during these hard times.
