BSU shows innovative approach to raising cash

Things could be riskier for fans who want "stock" in the Broncos. Their investment's value could rise and fall based on the mind-numbing vagaries of the BCS.

Instead, Boise State University's athletic shares don't have an actual value that can fall, or rise. The $100 shares are basically tax-deductible donations - no more and no less - with the money going toward athletic facilities.

We don't have a problem with this plan, unveiled last week. And frankly, we don't understand the fuss. If supporters want to buy in, fine. If skeptics think this is a white elephant, no one's forcing them to buy.

The recession is forcing public entities to look for any novel approach that could help finance projects. BSU's athletic department is no exception.

BSU's football team may be wildly popular with local fans, but the program cannot go dollar-for-dollar with more established and better-funded traditional football powers. And sports such as football and basketball are college sports' so-called "revenue" events, generating ticket sales and concessions that help keep the rest of the athletic department afloat.

The BSU "shares" would finance a to-do list skewed somewhat toward revenue programs: priorities include Bronco Stadium expansion and new basketball locker rooms. But we also recognize that football ticket sales generate money, so we're not going to quibble with the priority list.

Nor are we going to quarrel with the premise. It would be easy to dismiss the idea as gimmickry; even Milford Terrell, the State Board of Education member and diehard BSU supporter, labels the shares as a "warm fuzzy" that ultimately carry no meaning. But he also thinks the shares are an innovative idea.

And at this point, innovation is a good thing. If the Boise State University Inc. model works, can it be applied elsewhere?

Higher education has a long list of worthy causes. What about a scholarship program for high school grads who want to be the first in their family to attend college? Or a fund to expand nursing programs and recruit hard-to-find nursing faculty? Or a fund for the University of Idaho's Boise law school offerings?

Yes, the latter is a straight line in search of a lawyer joke. But the funding needs facing higher education are serious and reach far beyond the athletic field. There's no guarantee that a donor-driven stock plan will meet its goals - but in this case, there isn't any harm in rooting for an underdog.

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