| Boise State Broncos | |
|---|---|
 | |
| University | Boise State University |
| Conference | Mountain West (primary) Pac-12 (starting July 1, 2026) Big 12 (beach volleyball) |
| NCAA | Division I (FBS) |
| Athletic director | Jeramiah Dickey |
| Location | Boise, Idaho |
| Varsity teams | 18 (7 men's and 11 women's) |
| Football stadium | Albertsons Stadium |
| Basketball arena | ExtraMile Arena |
| Other venues | Appleton Tennis Center Boas Tennis/Soccer Complex Bronco Gym Donna Larsen Park |
| Mascot | Buster Bronco |
| Nickname | Broncos |
| Colors | Blue and orange[1] |
| Website | broncosports |
 | |
TheBoise State Broncos are theintercollegiate athletic teams that representBoise State University, located inBoise, Idaho. The Broncos compete at theNational Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA)Division I level as a member of theMountain West Conference (MW). The Broncos have a successful athletic program overall, winning theWAC commissioner's cup for the2005–06 and2009–10 years. On September 12, 2024, Boise State announced it will be leaving the Mountain West and joining thePac-12 on July 1, 2026.[2]
Boise State's best-known program isfootball, which attained a perfect 13–0 record in2006, capped by an overtime win in theFiesta Bowl over theOklahoma Sooners. They finished the season as the only major undefeated college football team. BSU's football team has won the Fiesta Bowl two more times, following the2009 and2014 seasons. The school'sAlbertsons Stadium introduced its famous blueartificial turf (nowFieldTurf) forty years ago in1986.
Other notable programs at BSU include the nationally ranked women's gymnastics team, the men's and women's basketball team, and thetennis teams which have consistently had nationally ranked players.
Boise State University sponsors teams in seven men's and eleven women's NCAA sanctioned sports, primarily competing in the Mountain West Conference, with the beach volleyball program competing in theBig 12 Conference.[3]
| Men's sports | Women's sports |
|---|---|
| Basketball | Basketball |
| Cross country | Beach volleyball |
| Football | Cross country |
| Golf | Golf |
| Tennis | Gymnastics |
| Track & Field† | Soccer |
| Softball | |
| Tennis | |
| Track & Field† | |
| Volleyball | |
| † – Track and field includes both indoor and outdoor | |
Thefootball competes in theFootball Bowl Subdivision (FBS) ofDivision I as a member of theMountain West Conference. The head coach is currentlySpencer Danielson, and the team plays their home games atAlbertsons Stadium.
Thebasketball program competes in the NCAA Division 1 as a member of the Mountain West Conference. They are led by coachLeon Rice, and play their home games atExtraMile Arena.
The 2009 women'ssoccer team participated in the first round of theNCAA Women's Soccer Championship tournament. Boise State was eliminated in the first round, losing to hostUCLA 7–1 on Friday, November 13.[4]
Boise State playedintercollegiate baseball through the 1980 season. Their first season in theBig Sky Conference was 1971, with all eight teams split into two divisions and a best-of-three series between the division winners to determine the conference title. The Broncos and fellow newcomerNorthern Arizona joinedIdaho State andWeber State in the Southern Division.[5][6]Montana State dropped the sport after the season andMontana in 1972, so Boise State was moved to the Northern Division for 1973 withIdaho andGonzaga.[7]
After the season, athletic directorLyle Smith stepped down as head baseball coach, succeeded by Ross Vaughn, an assistant coach atWashington State inPullman pursuing a doctorate inbiomechanics.[8][9][10]
Following the 1974 season, the Big Sky discontinued its sponsorship of baseball (and four other sports);[11][12] Southern Division champion Idaho State dropped their program a few weeks later,[13] and three-time conference champion Weber State soon followed. The three Northern Division teams joined the newly formedNorthern Pacific Conference (NorPac) for the 1975 season and competed againstPortland State,Portland,Seattle U., andPuget Sound (and later,Eastern Washington).[14][15][16] Due to budget constraints, both BSU and Idaho discontinued baseball following the 1980 season.[17][18] Head coach Vaughn stayed with the university another three decades as akinesiology professor and an associate dean.[8][9][10]
Boise State played on campus through the 1979 season, until displaced due to construction of theBSU Pavilion (nowExtraMile Arena). The final infield is now occupied by the tennis courts; home plate was at (43°36′11″N116°12′02″W / 43.60317°N 116.20043°W /43.60317; -116.20043), center field was to the northeast, and the first base line was aligned with the sidewalk along the southern wall of ExtraMile Arena. For their last season in 1980, the Broncos played home games at Borah Field (now Bill Wigle Field) atBorah High School.[19][20]
With the elimination of wrestling in 2017, the baseball program returned in 2019 for the 2020 season; a coaching search began in September 2017,[21] andGary Van Tol was hired as head coachin November.[22] However, that season was canceled after theCOVID-19 pandemic was declared leading to baseball's second elimination when the athletic department's budget was reduced by $3 million.[23] Most of the remaining players moved to other Bronco programs or transferred toPac-12 Conference schools.[24]
In 1999, as an assistant coach for the Broncos, Greg Randall helped guide Kirk White to the 165-pound national title. In his 14 seasons as head coach, Gregg Randall's teams have finished in the top-three at the conference tournament 10 times. In 1988, BSU wrestling joined thePac-10 Conference.[25] Randall has led the Broncos to the top of the Pac-12 Conference four times, to go along with seven top-25 finishes at the NCAA Championships including a 9th-place finish at the 2010–11 NCAA Championships. In 2006 Randall guided his first individual NCAA Champion as a head coach with Ben Cherrington capturing the national title in the 157-pound weight class. Cherrington was the second wrestler Randall has helped to a first-place finish at the NCAA tournament. Cherrington completed his season undefeated at 20–0 and won the 157-pound title at the NCAA National Championships. Cherrington's NCAA victory marked the second time in Boise State history a Bronco has own an individual national collegiate wrestling title.[26] Boise State Wrestling competes at home in the Bronco's Gym or theExtraMile Arena, both located on campus. After the 2016 season, Randall was replaced by former CSU Bakersfield wrestler and coach Mike Mendoza after a 9-26-1 record over the previous three seasons.
In April 2017, after a 2–9 season and an 11-35-1 record over four years, Boise State announced they would eliminate their wrestling program. The school also cited a desire to closer align itself with the Mountain West (which does not sponsor wrestling), a $350,000 loss during the 2016–17 season, and a plan to resurrect the school's baseball program.[27]
Boise State has won one NCAA team national championship.[29]
Boise Junior College won oneNJCAA team national championship.[30][circular reference]
| Name | Years served |
|---|---|
| Jeramiah Dickey | 2021–present |
| Curt Apsey | 2015–2021 |
| Mark Coyle | 2012–2015 |
| Curt Apsey(interim) | 2011 |
| Gene Bleymaier | 1982–2011 |
| Mike Mullally | 1981–1982 |
| Lyle Smith | 1968–1981 |
| Name | Sport | Year # |
|---|---|---|
| Spencer Danielson | Football | 1st |
| Leon Rice | Men's Basketball | 14th |
| Gordy Presnell | Women's Basketball | 18th |
| Jim Thomas | Women's Soccer | 10th |
| Shawn Garus | Women's Volleyball | 14th[31] |
| Kristian Widen | Men's Tennis | 3rd[32] |
| Tina Bird | Gymnastics | 14th*[33] |
| Justin Shults | Softball | 2nd[34] |
| Doc Haskell | Esports |
* Co-head coach from 2010 - 2020
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