I’m wrapping up a conversation with Boise State coach Leon Rice at Mountain West media day. This seems like a good time to tell him about The Athletic’s expanded mid-major basketball coverage this season.



“Well, you won’t be talking to me then,” Rice says as he smiles and walks away. “Because we’re not a mid-major.”



That might come as news to most people. Boise State, tucked away far from the spotlight in western Idaho, has never won an NCAA Tournament game. The Broncos have good fan support but play in a conference whose TV contract is dwarfed by larger leagues. Revenue for Boise State men’s basketball tracks similarly to schools such as Santa Clara and Fordham.



If the Broncos aren’t a mid-major, then who the heck is?



That’s the inexhaustible and unanswerable question for a sport that’s seemingly always seeking to delineate its 353 Division I teams. (Goodbye to Savannah State...