Posted by Jerry Hinnen

As reported by CBSSports.com's Brett McMurphy Wednesday, Big East officials have pushed west to Boise State and Air Force in an effort to find the new members that would keep their endangered football league afloat.

Boise president Bob Kustra has now released a statement confirming those meetings and that Big East commissioner John Marinatto had offered a "presentation" on "what role Boise State could potentially play" in the league's expansion efforts. (In plain speak: Marinatto asked them to come aboard.)

Here's Kustra's statement in full:

“We had an informative meeting today with officials from the Big East Conference. Commissioner John Marinatto made a presentation regarding possible ideas for conference expansion and what role Boise State could potentially play in those plans. We appreciate the outreach on the part of the Big East Conference and will continue our due diligence in this matter.

“As we have indicated consistently, we will take our time in evaluating conference affiliation options and we will make an informed decision representing the best interests of the university. Boise State is a quality institution with an elite football program and a significant national brand identity. As a result, we are an extremely valuable partner when it comes to conference affiliation."

Where the Big East is concerned, we doubt anyone would argue with that last assumption.