The Boise State Broncos football program represents
Boise State University
Boise State University (BSU) is a public research university in Boise, Idaho. Founded in 1932 by the Episcopal Church, it became an independent junior college in 1934 and has been awarding baccalaureate and master's degrees It became a publ ...
in
college football
College football (french: Football universitaire) refers to gridiron football played by teams of student athletes. It was through college football play that American football rules first gained popularity in the United States.
Unlike most ...
and competes in the
NCAA Division I
NCAA Division I (D-I) is the highest level of College athletics, intercollegiate athletics sanctioned by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) in the United States, which accepts players globally. D-I schools include the major ...
Football Bowl Subdivision
The NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS), formerly known as Division I-A, is the highest level of college football in the United States. The FBS consists of the largest schools in the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA). As ...
(FBS) as a member of the
Mountain West Conference
The Mountain West Conference (MW) is one of the collegiate athletic conferences affiliated with the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) (formerly I-A). The MW officially began operations o ...
. The Broncos play their home games on campus at
Albertsons Stadium
Albertsons Stadium is an outdoor athletic stadium in the western United States, located on the campus of Boise State University in Boise, Idaho. It is the home field of the Boise State Broncos of the Mountain West Conference. Known as Bronco Sta ...
in
Boise, Idaho
Boise (, , ) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Idaho and is the county seat of Ada County. On the Boise River in southwestern Idaho, it is east of the Oregon border and north of the Nevada border. The downtown are ...
, and their head coach is
Andy Avalos. The program is 13–7 in bowl games since 1999, including a 3–0 record in the
Fiesta Bowl
The Fiesta Bowl is an American college football bowl game played annually in the Phoenix metropolitan area. From its beginning in 1971 until 2006, the game was hosted at the Sun Devil Stadium in Tempe, Arizona. Since 2007, the game has been playe ...
. As of the end of the 2022 season, the Broncos' all-time winning percentage of .729 is the highest in all of collegiate football.
History
Early history (1933–1975)
Originally a
junior college
A junior college (sometimes referred to colloquially as a juco, JuCo or JC) is a post-secondary educational institution offering vocational training designed to prepare students for either skilled trades and technical occupations and workers in su ...
, Boise State first fielded a football team in 1933 under head coach
Dusty Kline
Morris William "Dusty" Kline (January 18, 1898 – September 12, 1966) was an American football player and coach. He served as the first head football coach at Boise Junior College—now Boise State University—coaching one season in 1933 and com ...
.
That team compiled a record of 1–2–1 ().
Kline was succeeded by
Max Eiden
Max Albert Eiden (December 31, 1910 – August 22, 1954) was an American football player and coach of football and basketball. He served as the second head football coach at Boise Junior College—now known as Boise State University—coaching fou ...
.
Under Eiden, the Broncos posted a record of 11–17–1 () from 1934 to 1937.
Eiden was succeeded by
Harry Jacoby
Harry Joseph Jacoby (September 2, 1910 – November 9, 1993) was an American football and basketball coach and athletics administrator. He served as the third head football coach at Boise Junior College—now Boise State University—coaching in ...
, who coached the team from 1938 to the middle of the 1941 season before being called into
Army
An army (from Old French ''armee'', itself derived from the Latin verb ''armāre'', meaning "to arm", and related to the Latin noun ''arma'', meaning "arms" or "weapons"), ground force or land force is a fighting force that fights primarily on ...
service. The remainder of the 1941 season was coached by
George "Stub" Allison, who posted a record of 2–1 ().
The Broncos did not compete in intramural football from 1942 to 1945 due to having a reduced male student population during
World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
.
Following the war, Jacoby would return to coach the Broncos for one more season in 1946, posting a final record of 14–15–2 (). After a year as an assistant,
Lyle Smith
Lyle Hilton Smith (March 17, 1916 – July 26, 2017) was an American football and basketball player, coach, and college athletics administrator.
He served as the head football coach at Boise Junior College—now Boise State University&mdas ...
was promoted to head football coach of Boise Junior College in 1947. Smith saw incredible success as head coach, winning his first 31 games in a row as head coach. In 1950, the team moved into a new
10,000-seat stadium. With the outbreak of the
Korean War
, date = {{Ubl, 25 June 1950 – 27 July 1953 (''de facto'')({{Age in years, months, weeks and days, month1=6, day1=25, year1=1950, month2=7, day2=27, year2=1953), 25 June 1950 – present (''de jure'')({{Age in years, months, weeks a ...
, Smith, still undefeated as a head coach, was recalled to the
Navy
A navy, naval force, or maritime force is the branch of a nation's armed forces principally designated for naval warfare, naval and amphibious warfare; namely, lake-borne, riverine, littoral zone, littoral, or ocean-borne combat operations and ...
and was only able to coach in the first three games of the 1950 season.
George Blankley assumed the head coaching duties for the remainder of 1950 and the entire 1951 season in Smith's absence and compiled a 16–2 () record. Smith returned as head coach in 1952 and stretched his winning streak all the way to 37 games before suffering his first defeat. In 1954, Smith was a leading candidate for the vacant job at his alma mater Idaho, but withdrew his name from consideration, content at Boise. Boise won thirteen conference titles in football under Smith and the
NJCAA National Football Championship
National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA) national football champions:
Champions
Single Division (1956–2021)
For the 2021 season, the NJCAA announced the creation of Division I and Division III, along with implementing a Divisi ...
in 1958.
Smith's final record is 150–25–6 ().
Coach Smith never had a losing season as the head coach. Boise State's football program moved up to four-year status in 1968 under new head coach
Tony Knap
Anthony Joseph Knap (December 8, 1914 – September 24, 2011) was an American football coach. He was the head coach at Utah State University (1963–1966), Boise State University (1968–1975), and the University of Nevada, Las Vegas (1976–19 ...
and competed as an
NAIA independent for two seasons.
The Broncos were accepted into the
NCAA
The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, Canada, and Puerto Rico. It also organizes the athletic programs of colleges an ...
in October 1969,
and a month later into the
Big Sky Conference
The Big Sky Conference (BSC) is a collegiate athletic conference affiliated with the NCAA's Division I with football competing in the Football Championship Subdivision. Member institutions are located in the western United States in the eigh ...
, effective the following July.
The Broncos began NCAA competition in
1970
Events
January
* January 1 – Unix time epoch reached at 00:00:00 UTC.
* January 5 – The 7.1 Tonghai earthquake shakes Tonghai County, Yunnan province, China, with a maximum Mercalli intensity scale, Mercalli intensity of X (''Extrem ...
in
Division II (''"College Division"'' prior to 1973) in a brand new
Bronco Stadium
Albertsons Stadium is an outdoor athletic stadium in the western United States, located on the campus of Boise State University in Boise, Idaho. It is the home field of the Boise State Broncos of the Mountain West Conference. Known as Bronco S ...
. Knap and the Broncos won three consecutive Big Sky titles from
1973
Events January
* January 1 - The United Kingdom, the Republic of Ireland and Denmark enter the European Economic Community, which later becomes the European Union.
* January 15 – Vietnam War: Citing progress in peace negotiations, U.S. ...
to
1975
It was also declared the ''International Women's Year'' by the United Nations and the European Architectural Heritage Year by the Council of Europe.
Events
January
* January 1 - Watergate scandal (United States): John N. Mitchell, H. R. ...
and compiled a record of 71–19–1.
Jim Criner era (1976–1982)
Knap was succeeded by
Jim Criner
Jim Criner (born March 30, 1940) is a former American football player and coach. He was the head coach at Boise State University from 1976 to 1982 and at Iowa State University from 1983 to 1986, compiling a career record of as a college footbal ...
in
1976
Events January
* January 3 – The International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights enters into force.
* January 5 – The Pol Pot regime proclaims a new constitution for Democratic Kampuchea.
* January 11 – The 1976 Phila ...
, a defensive assistant the previous season under
Dick Vermeil
Richard Albert Vermeil (; born October 30, 1936) is a former American football coach who served as a head coach in the National Football League (NFL) for 15 seasons. He was the head coach of the Philadelphia Eagles for seven seasons, the St. Lou ...
at
UCLA
The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a public land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California. UCLA's academic roots were established in 1881 as a teachers college then known as the southern branch of the California St ...
, the
Rose Bowl champions. BSU won the Big Sky again in
1977
Events January
* January 8 – Three bombs explode in Moscow within 37 minutes, killing seven. The bombings are attributed to an Armenian separatist group.
* January 10 – Mount Nyiragongo erupts in eastern Zaire (now the Democratic R ...
, and in
1978
Events January
* January 1 – Air India Flight 855, a Boeing 747 passenger jet, crashes off the coast of Bombay, killing 213.
* January 5 – Bülent Ecevit, of Republican People's Party, CHP, forms the new government of Turkey (42nd go ...
, the Broncos and the Big Sky moved up to the new
Division I-AA
The NCAA Division I Football Championship Subdivision (FCS), formerly known as Division I-AA, is the second-highest level of college football in the United States, after the Football Bowl Subdivision. Sponsored by the National Collegiate Athletic ...
''(renamed
FCS in 2006)''. A scouting violation late that season at NAU resulted in probation and compromised an excellent 10–1 season in
1979
Events
January
* January 1
** United Nations Secretary-General Kurt Waldheim heralds the start of the ''International Year of the Child''. Many musicians donate to the ''Music for UNICEF Concert'' fund, among them ABBA, who write the song ...
, undefeated in conference at 7–0;
the Broncos were ineligible for the Big Sky title and I-AA playoffs.
Off probation in
1980
Events January
* January 4 – U.S. President Jimmy Carter proclaims a grain embargo against the USSR with the support of the European Commission.
* January 6 – Global Positioning System time epoch begins at 00:00 UTC.
* January 9 – ...
, BSU won its first national title, taking the
I-AA national championship over defending champion
Eastern Kentucky
Eastern may refer to:
Transportation
*China Eastern Airlines, a current Chinese airline based in Shanghai
* Eastern Air, former name of Zambia Skyways
* Eastern Air Lines, a defunct American airline that operated from 1926 to 1991
* Eastern Air ...
in
Sacramento
)
, image_map = Sacramento County California Incorporated and Unincorporated areas Sacramento Highlighted.svg
, mapsize = 250x200px
, map_caption = Location within Sacramento ...
. A runner-up to
Idaho State
, mottoeng = "The truth will set you free"
, established =
, former_names = Academy of Idaho(1901–1915)Idaho Technical Institute(1915–1927)University of Idaho—Southern Branch(1927–1947)Idaho State ...
in the Big Sky in
1981
Events January
* January 1
** Greece enters the European Economic Community, predecessor of the European Union.
** Palau becomes a self-governing territory.
* January 10 – Salvadoran Civil War: The FMLN launches its first major offensiv ...
, BSU hosted Eastern Kentucky in the I-AA semifinals, but lost, 17–23. Criner departed after the
1982
Events January
* January 1 – In Malaysia and Singapore, clocks are adjusted to the same time zone, UTC+8 (GMT+8.00).
* January 13 – Air Florida Flight 90 crashes shortly after takeoff into the 14th Street bridges, 14th Street Bridge in ...
season to accept the head football coach position at
Iowa State; his overall record at BSU was .
Lyle Setencich era (1983–1986)
Lyle Setencich
Lyle Setencich (born June 4, 1945) is a former American football player and coach. He was the head coach at Boise State University from 1983 to 1986 and at California Polytechnic State University from 1987 to 1993, compiling a career college footb ...
was promoted from defensive coordinator to
head coach
A head coach, senior coach or manager is a professional at training and developing athletes. They typically hold a more public profile and are paid more than other coaches. In some sports, the head coach is instead called the "manager", as in assoc ...
of Boise State following Criner's departure. Under Setencich, Boise State posted a 24–20 record in four seasons.
Setencich's final season in
1986
The year 1986 was designated as the International Year of Peace by the United Nations.
Events January
* January 1
** Aruba gains increased autonomy from the Netherlands by separating from the Netherlands Antilles.
**Spain and Portugal ente ...
, the first season of blue turf, saw the first losing campaign (5–6) for the Broncos football program in four decades, winning just one road game and losing the final two home games. He lost all four rivalry games against Idaho and resigned following the season.
Skip Hall era (1987–1992)
Skip Hall
Merle "Skip" Hall (born February 18, 1944) is a former American football coach. He served as the head football coach at Boise State University for six seasons, from 1987 to 1992, compiling a record of 42–28. He replaced Lyle Setencich follow ...
, previously an assistant coach under
Don James at
Washington
Washington commonly refers to:
* Washington (state), United States
* Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States
** A metonym for the federal government of the United States
** Washington metropolitan area, the metropolitan area centered o ...
, was hired after Setencich's resignation.
In Hall's second season in
1988
File:1988 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The oil platform Piper Alpha explodes and collapses in the North Sea, killing 165 workers; The USS Vincennes (CG-49) mistakenly shoots down Iran Air Flight 655; Australia celebrates its Australian ...
, the Broncos returned to the
Division I-AA playoffs, their first appearance since 1981. Hall's best season was in
1990
File:1990 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The 1990 FIFA World Cup is played in Italy; The Human Genome Project is launched; Voyager I takes the famous Pale Blue Dot image- speaking on the fragility of Humankind, humanity on Earth, Astroph ...
, when Boise State advanced to the
national semifinals, falling in a high scoring game against Big Sky rival
Nevada
Nevada ( ; ) is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, Western region of the United States. It is bordered by Oregon to the northwest, Idaho to the northeast, California to the west, Arizona to the southeast, and Utah to the east. N ...
, the conference champion whom the Broncos had defeated a month earlier in Boise. Hall lost all six against Idaho; he resigned after six seasons, with a record.
Pokey Allen era (1993–1996)
The Broncos turned to
Portland State
Portland State University (PSU) is a public research university in Portland, Oregon. It was founded in 1946 as a post-secondary educational institution for World War II veterans. It evolved into a four-year college over the following two decades ...
head coach
Pokey Allen
Ernest Duncan "Pokey" Allen Jr. (January 23, 1943 – December 30, 1996) was a gridiron football player and coach in the United States and Canada. He played college football for the Utah Utes before going on to play professionally for the BC Lio ...
to lead the Boise State football team after Hall resigned. In Allen's second season, the Broncos returned to the
championship game
In sport, a championship is a Competition#Sports, competition in which the aim is to decide which individual or team is the champion.
Championship systems
Various forms of competition can be referred to by the term championship.
Title match sy ...
in
1994
File:1994 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The 1994 Winter Olympics are held in Lillehammer, Norway; The Kaiser Permanente building after the 1994 Northridge earthquake; A model of the MS Estonia, which Sinking of the MS Estonia, sank in ...
. After 26 years in the Big Sky, BSU joined the
Big West Conference
The Big West Conference (BWC) is an American collegiate athletic conference whose member institutions participate in the National Collegiate Athletic Association's Division I. The conference was originally formed on July 1, 1969, as the Pacific ...
in
1996
File:1996 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: A Centennial Olympic Park bombing, bomb explodes at Centennial Olympic Park in Atlanta, set off by a radical Anti-abortion violence, anti-abortionist; The center fuel tank explodes on TWA Flight 8 ...
and moved up to Division I-A (now FBS). The Broncos had an interim head coach for part of 1996 as Allen battled cancer.
Allen died due to the cancer in December 1996.
Houston Nutt era (1997)
Head coach
Houston Nutt
Houston Dale Nutt Jr. (born October 14, 1957) is a former American football player and coach. He currently works for CBS Sports as a college football studio analyst. Previously, he served as the head football coach at Murray State University (19 ...
made the step up to NCAA Division I-A the next year when Boise State hired him away from
Murray State
Murray State University (MSU) is a public university in Murray, Kentucky. In addition to the main campus in Calloway County in southwestern Kentucky, Murray State operates extended campuses offering upper level and graduate courses in Paducah, ...
to take over the program. Two years after making the Division I-AA finals in
1994
File:1994 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The 1994 Winter Olympics are held in Lillehammer, Norway; The Kaiser Permanente building after the 1994 Northridge earthquake; A model of the MS Estonia, which Sinking of the MS Estonia, sank in ...
, Boise State's first year in Division I-A had been difficult and was looking for a recruiter and motivator to jump start their program following Allen's death. Nutt's team posted a 5–6 record in
1997
File:1997 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The movie set of ''Titanic'', the highest-grossing movie in history at the time; ''Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone'', is published; Comet Hale-Bopp passes by Earth and becomes one of t ...
, playing at the Division I-A level with its Division I-AA players. Nutt's team beat
rival
A rivalry is the state of two people or groups engaging in a lasting competitive relationship. Rivalry is the "against each other" spirit between two competing sides. The relationship itself may also be called "a rivalry", and each participant o ...
Idaho
Idaho ( ) is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the Western United States. To the north, it shares a small portion of the Canada–United States border with the province of British Columbia. It borders the states of Montana and Wyom ...
on the road in overtime for the first BSU win in
Moscow
Moscow ( , US chiefly ; rus, links=no, Москва, r=Moskva, p=mɐskˈva, a=Москва.ogg) is the capital and largest city of Russia. The city stands on the Moskva River in Central Russia, with a population estimated at 13.0 million ...
since
1981
Events January
* January 1
** Greece enters the European Economic Community, predecessor of the European Union.
** Palau becomes a self-governing territory.
* January 10 – Salvadoran Civil War: The FMLN launches its first major offensiv ...
. Additionally, Boise State almost pulled off an upset against
Wisconsin
Wisconsin () is a state in the upper Midwestern United States. Wisconsin is the 25th-largest state by total area and the 20th-most populous. It is bordered by Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake M ...
of the
Big Ten
The Big Ten Conference (stylized B1G, formerly the Western Conference and the Big Nine Conference) is the oldest Division I collegiate athletic conference in the United States. Founded as the Intercollegiate Conference of Faculty Representati ...
. Nutt resigned as head coach after just one season to accept the head football coach position at
Arkansas
Arkansas ( ) is a landlocked state in the South Central United States. It is bordered by Missouri to the north, Tennessee and Mississippi to the east, Louisiana to the south, and Texas and Oklahoma to the west. Its name is from the Osage ...
.
Dirk Koetter era (1998–2000)
In three seasons under head coach
Dirk Koetter
Dirk Jeffrey Koetter ( ; born February 5, 1959) is an American football coach who is currently serving as the interim offensive coordinator at Boise State University. He was the head coach of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers of the National Football Lea ...
, who previously served as
Oregon
Oregon () is a U.S. state, state in the Pacific Northwest region of the Western United States. The Columbia River delineates much of Oregon's northern boundary with Washington (state), Washington, while the Snake River delineates much of it ...
's offensive coordinator, the Broncos were 26–10, won two Big West championships and moved to the
Western Athletic Conference
The Western Athletic Conference (WAC) is an NCAA Division I conference. The WAC covers a broad expanse of the western United States with member institutions located in Arizona, California, New Mexico, Utah, Washington (state), Washington, and Texa ...
effective in
2001
The September 11 attacks against the United States by Al-Qaeda, which Casualties of the September 11 attacks, killed 2,977 people and instigated the global war on terror, were a defining event of 2001. The United States led a Participants in ...
. In his three winning seasons at Boise State, Koetter won ten or more games twice, with two bowl wins. Koetter departed the Broncos after the
2000
File:2000 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Protests against Bush v. Gore after the 2000 United States presidential election; Heads of state meet for the Millennium Summit; The International Space Station in its infant form as seen from ...
season for
Arizona State
Arizona State University (Arizona State or ASU) is a public research university in the Phoenix metropolitan area. Founded in 1885 by the 13th Arizona Territorial Legislature, ASU is one of the largest public universities by enrollment in the ...
in the Pac-10.
Dan Hawkins era (2001–2005)
Dan Hawkins
Danny Clarence Hawkins (born November 10, 1960) is an American football coach at UC Davis. A former player and sportscaster, he served as the head football coach at Willamette University (1993–1997), Boise State University (2001–2005), and ...
was promoted from offensive coordinator to head coach on December 2, 2000. In
2004
2004 was designated as an International Year of Rice by the United Nations, and the International Year to Commemorate the Struggle Against Slavery and its Abolition (by UNESCO).
Events January
* January 3 – Flash Airlines Flight 6 ...
, Hawkins was honored with his second
Western Athletic Conference
The Western Athletic Conference (WAC) is an NCAA Division I conference. The WAC covers a broad expanse of the western United States with member institutions located in Arizona, California, New Mexico, Utah, Washington (state), Washington, and Texa ...
(WAC) Coach of the Year title in three years. Through the
2005
File:2005 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: Hurricane Katrina in the Gulf of Mexico; the Funeral of Pope John Paul II is held in Vatican City; "Me at the zoo", the first video ever to be uploaded to YouTube; Eris was discovered in ...
season, he compiled a 53–11 record as Boise State's head coach, including a 37–3 record in WAC competition with four straight WAC titles. Only
Walter Camp
Walter Chauncey Camp (April 7, 1859 – March 14, 1925) was an American football player, coach, and sports writer known as the "Father of American Football". Among a long list of inventions, he created the sport's line of scrimmage and the system ...
,
George Washington Woodruff
George Washington Woodruff (February 22, 1864 – March 24, 1934) was an American football player, rower, coach, teacher, lawyer and politician. He served as the head football coach at the University of Pennsylvania (1892–1901), the University ...
and
Bob Pruett
Robert Lewis Pruett (born June 20, 1943) is a former American football player and coach. He served as the head football coach Marshall University for nine seasons, from 1996 to 2004. During his tenure at Marshall, the Marshall Thundering Herd f ...
had more total wins in their first five years of head coaching. He holds a 31–game WAC winning streak, the longest in conference history. One of his first hires at Boise State was
Chris Petersen
Christopher Scott Petersen (born October 13, 1964) is a former American football coach who was most recently the head coach at the University of Washington. Previously the head coach for eight seasons at Boise State University, Petersen guided ...
as his offensive coordinator; Petersen was a quarterback at
UC Davis
The University of California, Davis (UC Davis, UCD, or Davis) is a public land-grant research university near Davis, California. Named a Public Ivy, it is the northernmost of the ten campuses of the University of California system. The institut ...
while Hawkins was an assistant coach, and was the wide receivers coach at
Oregon
Oregon () is a U.S. state, state in the Pacific Northwest region of the Western United States. The Columbia River delineates much of Oregon's northern boundary with Washington (state), Washington, while the Snake River delineates much of it ...
under head coach
Mike Bellotti
Robert Michael Bellotti (born December 21, 1950) is an American college football analyst for ESPN and ABC Sports, ABC. He was with the Oregon Ducks football, University of Oregon's football program for over 20 years serving as offensive coordin ...
. After five seasons at the helm of the Broncos football program, Hawkins left for
Colorado
Colorado (, other variants) is a state in the Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It encompasses most of the Southern Rocky Mountains, as well as the northeastern portion of the Colorado Plateau and the western edge of t ...
of the
Big 12 Conference
The Big 12 Conference is a college athletic conference headquartered in Irving, Texas, USA. It consists of ten full-member universities. It is a member of Division I of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) for all sports. Its ...
. He had three top 25 finishes, won ten or more games three times, and won two bowl games.
Chris Petersen era (2006–2013)
![Chris Petersen 9 25 2010](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/2a/Chris_Petersen_9_25_2010.png)
Following Hawkins' departure, offensive coordinator
Chris Petersen
Christopher Scott Petersen (born October 13, 1964) is a former American football coach who was most recently the head coach at the University of Washington. Previously the head coach for eight seasons at Boise State University, Petersen guided ...
was promoted to head coach. At Boise State, Petersen won two
Paul "Bear" Bryant National Coach of the Year Awards, voted on by the National Sportscasters and Sportswriters Association. He is the first coach to receive this award twice, which debuted in 1986 (it has since been awarded twice to
Nick Saban
Nicholas Lou Saban Jr. (; born October 31, 1951) is an American football coach who has been the head football coach at the University of Alabama since 2007. Saban previously served as head coach of the National Football League's Miami Dolphins ...
and three times to
Dabo Swinney
William Christopher "Dabo" Swinney (; born November 20, 1969) is an American football coach, currently serving as the head coach at Clemson University. Swinney took over midway through the 2008 season, following the resignation of Tommy Bowden. S ...
). Under Petersen, Boise State recorded two
undefeated seasons, three undefeated regular seasons, and reached the
Bowl Championship Series
The Bowl Championship Series (BCS) was a selection system that created four or five bowl game match-ups involving eight or ten of the top ranked teams in the NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) of American college football, including ...
twice. The
2006
File:2006 Events Collage V1.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2006 Winter Olympics open in Turin; Twitter is founded and launched by Jack Dorsey; The Nintendo Wii is released; Montenegro 2006 Montenegrin independence referendum, votes to declare ...
season was capped with a memorable upset of
Oklahoma
Oklahoma (; Choctaw language, Choctaw: ; chr, ᎣᎧᎳᎰᎹ, ''Okalahoma'' ) is a U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States, bordered by Texas on the south and west, Kansas on the nor ...
in the
Fiesta Bowl
The Fiesta Bowl is an American college football bowl game played annually in the Phoenix metropolitan area. From its beginning in 1971 until 2006, the game was hosted at the Sun Devil Stadium in Tempe, Arizona. Since 2007, the game has been playe ...
, while the
2009
File:2009 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: The vertical stabilizer of Air France Flight 447 is pulled out from the Atlantic Ocean; Barack Obama becomes the first African American to become President of the United States; 2009 Iran ...
team defeated
TCU in the
Fiesta Bowl
The Fiesta Bowl is an American college football bowl game played annually in the Phoenix metropolitan area. From its beginning in 1971 until 2006, the game was hosted at the Sun Devil Stadium in Tempe, Arizona. Since 2007, the game has been playe ...
to finish at 14–0 and were fourth in
both major polls. They were just the second team ever to go 14–0 in the history of major college football. Petersen brought Boise State football its highest ranking during the
2010
File:2010 Events Collage New.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2010 Chile earthquake was one of the strongest recorded in history; The Eruption of Eyjafjallajökull in Iceland disrupts air travel in Europe; A scene from the opening ceremony of ...
season. The team rose to second in the
Associated Press poll
The Associated Press poll (AP poll) provides weekly rankings of the top 25 NCAA teams in one of three Division I college sports: football, men's basketball and women's basketball. The rankings are compiled by polling 62 sportswriters and broadca ...
during weeks 7, 8, and 9, and No. 2 in the
Coaches' Poll, as well as earning the No. 3 slot in the first
BCS ranking. After 2010, Boise State joined the
Mountain West Conference
The Mountain West Conference (MW) is one of the collegiate athletic conferences affiliated with the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) (formerly I-A). The MW officially began operations o ...
.
In May 2011, Boise State Athletics was cited by the NCAA for "lack of institutional control," for one major violation in women's tennis and several minor violations in four sports, including football. While the football program's violations were minor (student athletes provided fellow recruits with meals and beds while visiting campus), the football program suffered serious penalties nonetheless. The Boise State football program was given three years' probation, lost three scholarships a year, and had its number of Fall practices reduced. As a result of the NCAA violations,
Gene Bleymaier, the athletic director who brought blue turf to Boise State in 1986 and promoted Petersen 20 years later, was asked to resign, and ultimately fired when he refused. Despite President
Bob Kustra
Robert Walter Kustra (born March 21, 1943) is an American politician and academic administrator who served as the Lieutenant Governor of Illinois from 1991 to 1998 and the President of Boise State University from 2003 to 2018.
Education
Kust ...
's firing of Bleymaier, boosters continued to support him. Just two years later, the new football facility was named in his honor.
Between 2008 and 2011, the Broncos went 50–3 to become the first FBS team to win 50 games over a four-year span. With the 50–3 record, quarterback
Kellen Moore
Kellen Christopher Moore (born July 5, 1988) is an American football coach and former quarterback who is the offensive coordinator for the Dallas Cowboys of the National Football League (NFL). He previously played six seasons in the NFL for the ...
became the winningest quarterback in FBS history, passing former
Texas
Texas (, ; Spanish language, Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2 ...
quarterback
Colt McCoy
Daniel "Colt" McCoy (born September 5, 1986) is an American football quarterback for the Arizona Cardinals of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Texas Longhorns football, Texas, where he won several awards and honor ...
(45 wins). On December 7, 2011, it was announced that the Broncos would join the
Big East Conference
The Big East Conference is a collegiate athletic conference that competes in NCAA Division I in ten men's sports and twelve women's sports. Headquartered in New York City, the eleven full-member schools are primarily located in Northeast and M ...
as football-only members in July 2013, in a division with
Memphis
Memphis most commonly refers to:
* Memphis, Egypt, a former capital of ancient Egypt
* Memphis, Tennessee, a major American city
Memphis may also refer to:
Places United States
* Memphis, Alabama
* Memphis, Florida
* Memphis, Indiana
* Memp ...
,
SMU,
Houston
Houston (; ) is the most populous city in Texas, the most populous city in the Southern United States, the fourth-most populous city in the United States, and the sixth-most populous city in North America, with a population of 2,304,580 in ...
,
San Diego State
San Diego State University (SDSU) is a public research university in San Diego, California. Founded in 1897 as San Diego Normal School, it is the third-oldest university and southernmost in the 23-member California State University (CSU) system ...
, and
Temple
A temple (from the Latin ) is a building reserved for spiritual rituals and activities such as prayer and sacrifice. Religions which erect temples include Christianity (whose temples are typically called churches), Hinduism (whose temples ...
. However, the following year Boise State announced they had decided to stay in the Mountain West Conference, leaving the Big East without ever playing a game in the conference. Petersen accepted the head coaching position at the
University of Washington
The University of Washington (UW, simply Washington, or informally U-Dub) is a public research university in Seattle, Washington.
Founded in 1861, Washington is one of the oldest universities on the West Coast; it was established in Seattle a ...
of the
Pac-12 Conference
The Pac-12 Conference is a collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference, that operates in the Western United States, participating in 24 sports at the NCAA Division I level. Its College football, football teams compete in the NCAA D ...
on December 6, 2013. The vacancy was created when the Huskies'
Steve Sarkisian
Stephen Sarkisian (born March 8, 1974)Stephens, Ken. – "QB GENEALOGY – Steve Sarkisian is latest in long line of talented BYU quarterbacks". –
FUN FACT, Sarkisian’s father is actually Texas Tech Head Coach, Joey McGuire.
''Dallas Mo ...
left to take the head coaching position at
USC
USC most often refers to:
* University of South Carolina, a public research university
** University of South Carolina System, the main university and its satellite campuses
**South Carolina Gamecocks, the school athletic program
* University of ...
. Petersen finished his eight seasons as head coach of Boise State with a record of , with three top 10 finishes, seven seasons with ten or more wins, six top 25 finishes, two Fiesta Bowl titles, five bowl wins, and five conference titles. He was at BSU for a total of 13 years, the first five as offensive coordinator under Hawkins. Assistant head coach
Bob Gregory was named interim head coach for Boise State's bowl game.
Bryan Harsin era (2014–2020)
On December 11, 2013,
Arkansas State
Arkansas ( ) is a landlocked state in the South Central United States. It is bordered by Missouri to the north, Tennessee and Mississippi to the east, Louisiana to the south, and Texas and Oklahoma to the west. Its name is from the Osage l ...
head coach
Bryan Harsin
Bryan Dale Harsin (born November 1, 1976) is an American football coach and former player who was most recently the head coach at Auburn University. Prior to leading the Auburn Tigers, he coached the Boise State University Broncos from the 2014 ...
returned to his alma mater as Petersen's replacement.
Harsin had been an assistant for the Broncos under Petersen and was co-offensive coordinator at Texas under
Mack Brown
William Mack Brown (born August 27, 1951) is an American college football coach. He is currently in his second stint as the head football coach for the University of North Carolina, where he first coached from 1988 until departing in 1997, whe ...
.
In his first season in
2014
File:2014 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Stocking up supplies and personal protective equipment (PPE) for the Western African Ebola virus epidemic; Citizens examining the ruins after the Chibok schoolgirls kidnapping; Bundles of wat ...
, they went 10–2 in the regular season and won the
Mountain West Championship Game, defeating
Fresno State
California State University, Fresno (Fresno State) is a public university in Fresno, California. It is one of 23 campuses in the California State University system. The university had a fall 2020 enrollment of 25,341 students. It offers bachelo ...
28–14. This was Boise State's first outright Mountain West Conference championship. The Broncos faced the
Arizona Wildcats
The Arizona Wildcats are the sport, athletic teams that represent the University of Arizona, located in Tucson, Arizona, Tucson. The Wildcats compete at the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) NCAA Division I, Division I (NCAA Divis ...
in the
Fiesta Bowl
The Fiesta Bowl is an American college football bowl game played annually in the Phoenix metropolitan area. From its beginning in 1971 until 2006, the game was hosted at the Sun Devil Stadium in Tempe, Arizona. Since 2007, the game has been playe ...
and won 38–30 for a 12–2 record and were ranked 15th in
both major polls. Boise State shared the Mountain division title in 2016, going 10–3 with wins over
Washington State
Washington (), officially the State of Washington, is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the Western United States. Named for George Washington—the first U.S. president—the state was formed from the western part of the Washington ...
and
Oregon State
Oregon State University (OSU) is a public land-grant, research university in Corvallis, Oregon. OSU offers more than 200 undergraduate-degree programs along with a variety of graduate and doctoral degrees. It has the 10th largest engineering col ...
. BSU was 11–3 in
2017
File:2017 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: The War Against ISIS at the Battle of Mosul (2016-2017); aftermath of the Manchester Arena bombing; The Solar eclipse of August 21, 2017 ("Great American Eclipse"); North Korea tests a ser ...
and won their second Mountain west conference championship under Harsin with a 17–14 win over
Fresno State
California State University, Fresno (Fresno State) is a public university in Fresno, California. It is one of 23 campuses in the California State University system. The university had a fall 2020 enrollment of 25,341 students. It offers bachelo ...
in the
Mountain West Championship Game. Boise State capped the season with a
Las Vegas Bowl
The Las Vegas Bowl is an NCAA Division I FBS annual post-season college football bowl game held in the Las Vegas area. First played in 1992, the bowl was originally held at the 40,000-seat Sam Boyd Stadium in Whitney, Nevada before moving to the ...
win over
Oregon
Oregon () is a U.S. state, state in the Pacific Northwest region of the Western United States. The Columbia River delineates much of Oregon's northern boundary with Washington (state), Washington, while the Snake River delineates much of it ...
and climbed to 22nd in
both final polls. In
2018
File:2018 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2018 Winter Olympics opening ceremony in PyeongChang, South Korea; Protests erupt following the Assassination of Jamal Khashoggi; March for Our Lives protests take place across the United ...
, Boise State was 10–3 overall; they won the Mountain Division championship and beat three teams that won ten or more games (
Troy
Troy ( el, Τροία and Latin: Troia, Hittite language, Hittite: 𒋫𒊒𒄿𒊭 ''Truwiša'') or Ilion ( el, Ίλιον and Latin: Ilium, Hittite language, Hittite: 𒃾𒇻𒊭 ''Wiluša'') was an ancient city located at Hisarlik in prese ...
,
Utah State
Utah State University (USU or Utah State) is a public land-grant research university in Logan, Utah. It is accredited by the Northwest Commission on Colleges and Universities. With nearly 20,000 students living on or near campus, USU is Utah's ...
, and
Fresno State
California State University, Fresno (Fresno State) is a public university in Fresno, California. It is one of 23 campuses in the California State University system. The university had a fall 2020 enrollment of 25,341 students. It offers bachelo ...
) and were ranked in
both final polls. In 2019 Boise State went 12–2 won the opener at Florida State went 8–0 in the Mountain West conference play for the first time in the regular season, won the Mountain Division and won the conference championship 31–10 vs Hawaii and finished ranked in both final polls. Under Harsin, Boise State is through 2020, with at least nine wins per year, a 3–2 record in bowl games, won three conference titles, five division titles, and have been in the AP final poll four times. On December 22, 2020, Harsin resigned to become the head coach at
Auburn
Auburn may refer to:
Places Australia
* Auburn, New South Wales
* City of Auburn, the local government area
*Electoral district of Auburn
*Auburn, Queensland, a locality in the Western Downs Region
*Auburn, South Australia
*Auburn, Tasmania
*Aub ...
. He finished at Boise State with a seven-year record of 69–19.
Andy Avalos era (2021–present)
On January 8, 2021, Boise State hired
Oregon
Oregon () is a U.S. state, state in the Pacific Northwest region of the Western United States. The Columbia River delineates much of Oregon's northern boundary with Washington (state), Washington, while the Snake River delineates much of it ...
defensive coordinator
Andy Avalos as their new head coach. Avalos, a former player and assistant coach for the Broncos, signed a five-year contract worth $7.75 million.
Head coaches
Head coaching records since Boise State became a four-year school in 1968.
^ ''Mason was the interim head coach for the first 10 games of the 1996 season while head coach Pokey Allen battled cancer''.
* ''Gregory was the interim head coach after Petersen took the job at Washington''.
! ''Ties eliminated after the addition of overtime in 1996—Big Sky began overtime for conference games in 1980''
* NAIA (1968–69), NCAA Division II (1970–77), Division I-AA (1978–95), Division I-A/FBS (1996–present)
Championships
National championships
Boise State Claims two national titles in the
Junior College Division and at the
NCAA Division I FCS
The NCAA Division I Football Championship Subdivision (FCS), formerly known as Division I-AA, is the second-highest level of college football in the United States, after the Football Bowl Subdivision. Sponsored by the National Collegiate Athletic ...
.
Conference championships
§ – Conference co–champions
* The
1979 team went 7–0 and 10–1 overall, but they were on probation, thus they were not officially awarded a conference title.
Division titles
– Division co–champions, did not play in MW Championship Game.
*
Season still in progress, division title already clinched.
Mountain West Championship Game
Postseason results
Division I-A/FBS bowl game appearances
The Broncos have appeared in 20 official bowl games with a record of 13–7, including two wins in
BCS bowl games and one win in a
New Year's Six
The New Year's Six, sometimes abbreviated as NY6, is an unofficial but commonly used term used to describe the following NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) bowl games: the Rose Bowl, Sugar Bowl, Orange Bowl, Cotton Bowl, Peach Bowl ...
bowl. Their appearance in the
2018 First Responder Bowl was ruled a no contest after being canceled due to inclement weather. On December 5th, 2021, Boise State received a bid to play
Central Michigan
Central Michigan, also called Mid Michigan, is a region in the Lower Peninsula of the U.S. state of Michigan. As its name implies, it is the middle area of the Lower Peninsula. Lower Michigan is said to resemble a mitten, and Mid Michigan cor ...
in the
Arizona Bowl
The Arizona Bowl is a postseason college football bowl game certified by the NCAA that began play in the 2015 season. The game is held at Arizona Stadium in Tucson, and starting in 2020 has tie-ins with the Mountain West Conference and Mid-Amer ...
. However, On December 27, 2022,
Barstool Sports
Barstool Sports is an American blog website and digital media company headquartered in New York City that produces content on sports and pop culture. Founded by David Portnoy in 2003 in Milton, Massachusetts, the company's two primary owners are ...
(the title sponsor of the bowl) founder
David Portnoy
David Portnoy (born March 22, 1977) is an American internet celebrity, blogger, and founder of the sports and pop culture blog Barstool Sports.
Early life
Portnoy grew up in Swampscott, Massachusetts. He is Jewish and had a Bar Mitzvah. ...
announced the withdrawal of the Broncos from the bowl due to COVID-19 issues within the program. Through the 2019 season, Boise State is tied with Wisconsin with 18 straight bowl games which is the 4th longest active bowl streak in the country behind Georgia, Oklahoma and LSU.
Division I-AA Playoffs results
The Broncos were members of Division I-AA for eighteen seasons, from its inception in 1978 through 1995. They appeared in the I-AA playoffs five times with a record of 8–4, and were I-AA national champions in 1980.
Division II Playoffs results
The Broncos appeared in the Division II playoffs three times, with an overall record of 1–3; all three losses were to the eventual national champions.
In
1977
Events January
* January 8 – Three bombs explode in Moscow within 37 minutes, killing seven. The bombings are attributed to an Armenian separatist group.
* January 10 – Mount Nyiragongo erupts in eastern Zaire (now the Democratic R ...
, Boise State (9–2) was undefeated in the Big Sky (6–0) and won another title. Due their regular season not ending until November 26 at
Idaho
Idaho ( ) is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the Western United States. To the north, it shares a small portion of the Canada–United States border with the province of British Columbia. It borders the states of Montana and Wyom ...
, the same day as the first round of the
Division II playoffs, BSU was replaced by runner-up
Northern Arizona
Northern Arizona is an unofficial, colloquially-defined region of the U.S. state of Arizona. Generally consisting of Apache, Coconino, Mohave, Navajo, and Gila counties, the region is geographically dominated by the Colorado Plateau, the sout ...
, who lost 35–0 at home.
College Division Postseason results
The Broncos had one appearance in the NCAA College Division postseason, with a victory in the West regional final in the
Camellia Bowl
Camellia Bowl can refer to one of three college football bowl games:
* Camellia Bowl (1948)
The Camellia Bowl was a post-season major college football bowl game played at McNaspy Stadium in Lafayette, Louisiana, on December 30, 1948, between t ...
in
1971 *
The year 1971 had three partial solar eclipses ( February 25, July 22 and August 20) and two total lunar eclipses (February 10, and August 6).
The world population increased by 2.1% this year, the highest increase in history.
Events
Ja ...
.
No semifinals or finals were played in the College Division from 1964 through 1972, a poll followed the four quarterfinals.
Top 25 Finishes
Albertsons Stadium
![Bronco Stadium September 25 2010](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/56/Bronco_Stadium_September_25_2010.JPG)
Since 1970, Boise State has played its home games in Albertsons Stadium (known as Bronco Stadium from 1970 to May 2014), which enjoys a reputation as one of the most difficult places in the country for opposing teams to play. The stadium is well known for its blue artificial surface, which was first installed in 1986 making it the first college stadium field to be any color other than traditional green, as well as the only college to have a non-green field for 22 years (1986–2008). "The Blue," as it is called by fans, is one of the most distinguishing and enduring symbols of Boise State football. Boise State holds a trademark on any non-green field, not just blue. Therefore, anyone (high school, college, or otherwise) must apply for a license from Boise State before installing a football field any color other than green. Boise State is one of 7 college football programs in the United States to have a non-green playing surface. Other schools with non-green fields are as follows: (FBS) Eastern Michigan University (Gray), Coastal Carolina University (Teal), (FCS) Eastern Washington University (Red), the University of Central Arkansas (Grey and Purple), (Division II) the University of New Haven (Blue), (NAIA) Lindenwood University (Red and Grey). Hosei University in Tokyo, Japan also has a blue football field. Boise State recently approved the proposal for a blue field at
Luther College (Division III). As of December 7, 2019, the Broncos are 128–9 () at home since the
1999
File:1999 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The funeral procession of King Hussein of Jordan in Amman; the 1999 İzmit earthquake kills over 17,000 people in Turkey; the Columbine High School massacre, one of the first major school shootin ...
season. The Broncos won 47 straight home conference games from 1999 to 2011 and were undefeated at home in conference play during their 10 years in the Western Athletic Conference, WAC (40–0). The Broncos are 122–7 () in regular season home games since 1999, and had a winning streak of 65 regular season games from 2001 to 2011. Their current home winning streak stands at 0.
Blue uniform ban
In 2011, citing a "competitive advantage," the Mountain West Conference banned Boise State from wearing their all-blue uniforms for home conference games as a condition of joining the conference. When questioned about the ban, Mountain West Commissioner Craig Thompson confirmed that either the jerseys or pants could be blue, provided that the other be white or orange. After Boise State decided to not join the Big East Conference and remain in the Mountain West the uniform restrictions were lifted beginning in the 2013 season. The NCAA considered a rule that would have required a team's uniform, either jersey or pants, to contrast the playing surface. The rule would have banned Boise State's all blue uniforms at home and most other teams from wearing all green uniforms as well. The NCAA eventually decided against instituting the rule.
Hosei Tomahawks
In 2012, Boise State granted special permission and an international trademark to Hosei University in Tokyo, Japan for use of the blue field turf for their football field, Tomahawks Field.
Rivalries
Fresno State
BSU has had a rivalry with Fresno State Bulldogs football, Fresno State University since joining the WAC. The series is 17–7 all time in favor of Boise State. In 2001, the series became a WAC match-up, christened with Boise State's upset over No. 8 Fresno State 35–30. In 2005, the series became the Battle for the Milk Can, and No. 20 Fresno State ended Boise State's 31-game winning streak against WAC opponents with their 27–7 victory. After being played as a non-conference game in 2011, the series continued as a conference game in 2012. The winner of the game receives the Milk Can (college football), Milk Can. Although Fresno State has five all-time wins over Boise State, only two wins have come since they have played each other every year since 2001. In the 2014 season, Boise State played Fresno State twice, winning both times, the second one coming in the Mountain West Championship, which Boise State won for the first time. Fresno State was looking to repeat as champions. They met twice in 2017 in back-to-back weeks as they ended the regular season with a game in Fresno, which Fresno won, before meeting the next week in the Mountain West Championship in Boise, which Boise won. In 2018, Boise State upset No. 16 Fresno State 24–17 to end Fresno's seven game winning streak. Three weeks later, the Bulldogs avenged their regular season loss by defeating Boise State 19–16 in overtime in a snow covered 2018 Mountain West Conference Football Championship Game, Mountain West Championship Game.
The rivalry is no longer an annual affair following the 2010–13 Mountain West Conference realignment, expansion of the MW to 12 football members in 2013. At that time, Boise State and Fresno State were placed in separate football divisions (respectively, Mountain and West). As part of the new scheduling arrangement, all cross-divisional games rotate in a four-year cycle, with two years of play followed by two years off. This in turn means that the game was not played in 2015 or 2016.
Idaho
Boise State had a 40-year Boise State–Idaho rivalry, in-state rivalry with the Idaho Vandals football, University of Idaho, which began with a Bronco victory in the first meeting in 1971. They met every year through
2010
File:2010 Events Collage New.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2010 Chile earthquake was one of the strongest recorded in history; The Eruption of Eyjafjallajökull in Iceland disrupts air travel in Europe; A scene from the opening ceremony of ...
, and with the exception of four years (
2001
The September 11 attacks against the United States by Al-Qaeda, which Casualties of the September 11 attacks, killed 2,977 people and instigated the global war on terror, were a defining event of 2001. The United States led a Participants in ...
–
2004
2004 was designated as an International Year of Rice by the United Nations, and the International Year to Commemorate the Struggle Against Slavery and its Abolition (by UNESCO).
Events January
* January 3 – Flash Airlines Flight 6 ...
), the matchup was a conference game. The rivalry was dominated by streaks as Idaho won 12 straight years from 1982 Idaho Vandals football team, 1982 to 1993, while Boise State won the most recent 12 games between
1999
File:1999 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The funeral procession of King Hussein of Jordan in Amman; the 1999 İzmit earthquake kills over 17,000 people in Turkey; the Columbine High School massacre, one of the first major school shootin ...
and
2010
File:2010 Events Collage New.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2010 Chile earthquake was one of the strongest recorded in history; The Eruption of Eyjafjallajökull in Iceland disrupts air travel in Europe; A scene from the opening ceremony of ...
, mostly by large margins. BSU leads the rivalry with a series record of 22–17–1 (.563).
After Boise State's move to the
Mountain West Conference
The Mountain West Conference (MW) is one of the collegiate athletic conferences affiliated with the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) (formerly I-A). The MW officially began operations o ...
in 2011, Boise State has refused to play Idaho home and home in football. As a response, Idaho has refused to play Boise State at ExtraMile Arena for men's basketball. As of 2021, no future games for football or men's basketball have been scheduled; with Idaho having returned to FCS football in 2018, the football rivalry is unlikely to resume in the foreseeable future.
Nevada
Boise State has a long-standing rivalry with Nevada Wolf Pack football, Nevada. Boise State leads the series 30–13. Boise State and Nevada have been conference rivals in the
Big Sky Conference
The Big Sky Conference (BSC) is a collegiate athletic conference affiliated with the NCAA's Division I with football competing in the Football Championship Subdivision. Member institutions are located in the western United States in the eigh ...
, the
Big West Conference
The Big West Conference (BWC) is an American collegiate athletic conference whose member institutions participate in the National Collegiate Athletic Association's Division I. The conference was originally formed on July 1, 1969, as the Pacific ...
, the WAC, and the Mountain West. However, the series is no longer an annual affair after the 2013 expansion, as Nevada was placed in the opposite division from Boise State. They play each other only twice every four years. The last game was in 2018 with the next game coming in 2021.
The series was played as a non-conference game in 2011 as the teams met in Boise during Nevada's last year in the WAC. Nevada split the WAC championship with Boise State in 2005 as both teams finished 7–1 in conference play. Boise State beat Nevada in the last game of the season in 2006, giving Boise State a berth into their first BCS bowl. In 2007, in one of the highest scoring games in NCAA Division I football history, Boise State defeated Nevada 69–67 in four overtimes. Recently, the conference championship has been decided by the Wolf Pack and Broncos' late-season games. In 2010, Nevada defeated No. 3 Boise State 34–31 in overtime, ending the Broncos' BCS National Championship hopes. The rivalry between the two schools felt as if it had been rekindled after Nevada's win, since Boise State had won the past 10 games dating back to 1998. Boise State and Nevada have played one time in the postseason in the 1990 I-AA semifinal. Nevada won the game in triple overtime 59–52, and would go on to lose in the final.
All-time record vs. Mountain West teams
Future scheduled non-conference games
Announced schedules as of July 11, 2022.
Notable honors
College Football Hall of Famers
Players
*Randy Trautman – DT, 1978–81
Pro Football Hall of Famers
Players
*Dave Wilcox – LB 1960–62 inducted 2000
Individual awards
AP All-Americans
*Avery Williams (running back), Avery Williams, 2020 First-Team All-Purpose/Return Specialist
*Darian Thompson, 2015 3rd team S
*Jay Ajayi, 2014 3rd team RB
(2nd team on USA Today)
*Titus Young, 2010 3rd team WR
*
Kellen Moore
Kellen Christopher Moore (born July 5, 1988) is an American football coach and former quarterback who is the offensive coordinator for the Dallas Cowboys of the National Football League (NFL). He previously played six seasons in the NFL for the ...
, 2009 3rd team QB & 2010 3rd team QB
*Ryan Clady, 2007 Consensus All-American LT
[Ryan Clady]
*Ian Johnson (American football), Ian Johnson, 2006 3rd team RB (1st team on SI, 2nd team on Sporting News)
*Markus Koch, 1985 1st team DE & 1983 1st team DT
*John Rade, 1982 1st team DE & 1981 2nd team LB
*Randy Trautman, 1981 & 1980 1st team DT
*Rick Woods, 1981 2nd team SS
*Cedric Minter, 1980 2nd team & 1978 3rd team RB
*Nate Potter, 2011 Consensus All-American LT
Notable players
*Dave Wilcox – LB, BSU 1960–62 (Boise Junior College)
*Jerry Inman – DL, BSU 1962–63 (Boise Junior College)
*Eric Guthrie – QB, BSU 1968–71
*Jim McMillan (Canadian football), Jim McMillian – QB, BSU 1972–1974
*Roland Woolsey, Roland "Rollie" Woolsey – DB, BSU 1972–74
*David Hughes (American football), David Hughes – FB, BSU 1977–80
*Cedric Minter – RB, BSU 1977–80
*Rick Woods – S/PR, BSU 1978–81
*John Rade – LB, BSU 1979–82
*Randy Trautman – DT, BSU 1980–81
*Michel Bourgeau – DT, BSU 1980–83
*Markus Koch – DE, BSU 1982–85
*Jon Francis – RB, BSU 1982–85
*Chuck Compton – DB, BSU 1984–86
*Terry Heffner-WR, BSU 1986-90
*Bart Hull – RB, BSU 1988–90
*Frank Robinson – CB, BSU 1988–91
*Scott Monk – LB, BSU 1989–95
*Kimo Von Oelhoffen – DT, BSU 1992–93
*Bryan Johnson (fullback), Bryan Johnson – FB, BSU 1996–99
*
Bryan Harsin
Bryan Dale Harsin (born November 1, 1976) is an American football coach and former player who was most recently the head coach at Auburn University. Prior to leading the Auburn Tigers, he coached the Boise State University Broncos from the 2014 ...
QB, BSU 1995–99
*Shaunard Harts – S, BSU 1997–2000
*Bart Hendricks – QB, BSU 1997–2000
*Brock Forsey – RB, BSU 1998–2002, NFL 2003–05, (2003) 6th Round, 206th Pick Overall to Chicago Bears. Chicago Bears (2003), Miami Dolphins (2004), Washington Redskins (2005)
*Jeb Putzier – TE, BSU 1998–2001, NFL 2003–07, (2002) 6th Round, 191st Pick Overall to Denver Broncos. Denver Broncos (2003–05, 2008), Houston Texans (2006–07), Seattle Seahawks (2008), United Football League (2009–2012), UFL 2010, Hartford Colonials (2010), Omaha Nighthawks (2010)
*Ryan Dinwiddie – QB, BSU 2000–03
*Tim Gilligan – WR, BSU 2000–03
*Chris Carr (American football), Chris Carr – CB, BSU 2001–04, (2005) UDFA, NFL 2005–13, Oakland Raiders (2005–07), Tennessee Titans (2008), Baltimore Ravens (2009–11), Minnesota Vikings (2012), San Diego Chargers (2012), New Orleans Saints (2013)
*Daryn Colledge – OG, BSU 2001–05, NFL 2006–14, (2006) 2nd Round, 47th Pick Overall, Green Bay Packers (2006–14), Arizona Cardinals (2011–13), Miami Dolphins (2014)
*Alex Guerrero (football), Alex Guerrero – DL, BSU 2002–05
*Gerald Alexander – S, BSU 2003–06, NFL 2007–11, (2007) 2nd Round, 61st Pick Overall, Detroit Lions (2007–08), Jacksonville Jaguars (2009–10), Miami Dolphins (2011), New York Jets (2011)
*Jared Zabransky – QB, BSU 2003–06, NFL 2007–08, CFL 2009–10, (2007) UDFA, Houston Texans (2007), Pittsburgh Steelers (2008), Edmonton Eskimos (2009–10)
*Derek Schouman – TE, 7th round, pick 222, BSU 2003–06, NFL 2007–10, Buffalo Bills (2007–09), St. Louis Rams (2010)
*Ryan Clady – RT/LT, 1st round, pick 12, BSU 2004–07, NFL 2008–16, Denver Broncos (2008–15), New York Jets (2016)
*Vinny Perretta – WR, BSU 2005–08
*Kyle Brotzman – K, BSU 2007–10
*Ryan Winterswyk – DE/TE, BSU 2007–10
*Titus Young – WR, 2nd round, pick 44, BSU 2007–2010, Detroit Lions 2011–2012, St. Louis Rams 2012
*Austin Pettis- WR, 3rd round, pick 78, BSU 2007–2010, St. Louis Rams 2011–2014, San Diego Chargers 2015
*Ricky Tjong-A-Tjoe – DT, BSU 2009–13
*Matt Paradis – Center, BSU 2009–13, 6th round, pick 207, Denver Broncos 2014–2018 Super Bowl Champion (50), Carolina Panthers 2019–present
*Tyler Shoemaker – WR/TE, BSU 2009–12, NFL 2012–13, CFL 2014–16, (2012) UDFA, Tampa Bay Buccaneers (2012), Kansas City Chiefs (2013), Ottawa Redblacks (2014–15)
*Doug Martin (running back), Doug Martin – RB, 1st round, pick 31, BSU 2007–2011, Tampa Bay Buccaneers 2012–2017, Oakland Raiders 2018
*Shea McClellin – LB, 1st round, pick 19, BSU 2008–2011, Chicago Bears 2012–2015, New England Patriots 2016–2017
*
Kellen Moore
Kellen Christopher Moore (born July 5, 1988) is an American football coach and former quarterback who is the offensive coordinator for the Dallas Cowboys of the National Football League (NFL). He previously played six seasons in the NFL for the ...
– QB, BSU 2008–11, NFL 2012–2016, Dallas Cowboys offensive coordinator (2019–present)
*DeMarcus Lawrence – All-Pro Defensive End for the Dallas Cowboys, BSU (2012–13), 2nd round, pick 34
*Tyrone Crawford – DL, Dallas Cowboys, BSU (2010–11), 3rd round, pick 81.
*Leighton Vander Esch – 1st round, pick 19 All-Pro Linebacker for the Dallas Cowboys, BSU (2014–17)
*Orlando Scandrick – CB, 5th round, pick 143 Dallas Cowboys (2008–2017), Washington Redskins (2018), Kansas City Chiefs (2018), Philadelphia Eagles (2019), BSU (2005–07)
*Jay Ajayi – RB, BSU (2011–2014) 5th round, pick 149 Miami Dolphins (2015–2017), Philadelphia Eagles (2017–2019)
*Tyler Rausa – K, BSU (2013–2016) Columbus Lions (2018), Massachusetts Pirates (2019), DC Defenders (2020)
*Jeremy McNichols – RB, BSU (2014–2016) 5th round, pick 162 Tampa Bay Buccaneers (2017), San Francisco 49ers (2017), Indianapolis Colts (2018), Denver Broncos (2018), Tennessee Titans (2018), Chicago Bears (2019), Jacksonville Jaguars (2019), Tennessee Titans (2020–present)
*Brett Rypien – QB, BSU (2015–2018), UDFA, Denver Broncos (2019–Present)
*Cedrick Wilson Jr. – WR, BSU (2016–2017), 6th round, 208th pick Dallas Cowboys (2018–present)
*Alexander Mattison – RB, 3rd round, pick 102 BSU (2016–2018), Minnesota Vikings, (2019–present)
*Ezra Cleveland – OT, BSU (2016–2019), 2nd Round, Pick 58 Minnesota Vikings (2020–present)
*John Hightower (American football), John Hightower – WR, BSU (2018–2019), 5th round, Pick 168 Philadelphia Eagles (2020–present)
*Curtis Weaver – OLB, BSU (2016–2019), 5th round, Pick 164 Miami Dolphins (2020), Cleveland Browns (2020–2022), Seattle Sea Dragons (2023–present)
*John Bates (American football), John Bates – TE, BSU (2016–2020), 4th round, pick 124 Washington Football Team (2021–present)
*Avery Williams (running back), Avery Williams – CB, BSU (2016–2020), 5th round, pick 183 Atlanta Falcons (2021–present)
*Khalil Shakir- WR, BSU (2018–2021), 5th round, Pick 148 Buffalo Bills (2022–present)
See also
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References
External links
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