The end of Paul J. Schneider's legendary Boise State broadcast career came swiftly in the form of a brief phone call from Bronco athletic director Gene Bleymaier last week.
"It was 25 seconds for 35 years," Schneider said.
Schneider will deliver the final broadcast of his 35-year run as the Voice of the Broncos on Friday afternoon when Boise State plays its Spring Game at Bronco Stadium.
Love him or hate him - and there are plenty of people in both categories - Schneider deserved a better fate. He deserved more than a cursory phone call to tell him the radio contract was going elsewhere and his services would no longer be needed.
He deserved a proper send-off, perhaps the farewell tour Citadel Broadcasting Company (KBOI) had planned for the 2008 season in its proposal to Boise State.
"I'm still a little bewildered by all of this," Schneider said.
More bewildered because it appears that he was a detriment to the Citadel bid.
Peak Broadcasting of Boise (KIDO) won the two-year contract by topping Citadel's bid 665 to 651.4, according to documents obtained by the Idaho Statesman. The agreement must be certified by the State Board of Education.
The proposals - one from Peak, one from Citadel and two from Impact Radio Group - were scored on seven categories, with the top vendor in each receiving up to 100 points.
In the "status and 'draw' of sports commentator" category, Peak scored a 98, the highest total in the category, despite not naming its announcing team. Citadel, which proposed retaining its team of Schneider and former Boise State player Jeff Caves for the 2008 season, earned 89 points.
How is that possible?
They weren't so bad that their "status and draw" would be less appealing than dead air.
The nine-point difference between Peak and Citadel in this one category accounts for nearly all the difference in the two bids.
Peak's impressive 39-page bid was much more comprehensive and professional than Citadel's 11-page offering, which lacked the specificity of Peak's bid.
"As close as the scoring appears to be - the money, the network, the promotional value - it's hard to understand how 35 years through good times and bad wouldn't mean more for KBOI and Paul J. than a new company with no play-by-play talent identified," said Sandy Gamblin, the market manager for Citadel.
The committee's obvious dissatisfaction with him came as a shock to Schneider, who has been calling Boise State football and men's basketball games since 1973.
"Apparently Gene thought it was time for a change, for whatever reason," Schneider said. "It came as a complete surprise to me, but it was apparently fairly common knowledge in other broadcast places."
During a March 7 meeting with representatives of Citadel that was part of the selection process, Bleymaier asked if they would consider bringing in a new broadcast team this season. The Citadel reps said they would, but would need "a classy way of handling hiring a new person now." According to the partial transcript of that 90-minute
meeting, the first four questions concerned Schneider's status with KBOI and the Bronco broadcast team.
Others said that Bleymaier was seeking a change to the broadcast team as early as March 2007. In a Thursday interview with the Statesman, Bleymaier dismissed a question about his thoughts on Schneider's abilities.
"This was a committee decision. It really doesn't matter what I think or not," he said.
Three other members on the five-person committee refused comment Thursday, referring all questions to Bleymaier.
There certainly is room to question Schneider's performance, from his botched call at the end of the Fiesta Bowl to routinely calling the action too quickly and then having to correct himself.
But his pro-Boise State style - and longevity - earned him plenty of fans as well. Any Boise State fan under the age of 40 is unlikely to remember anyone else calling a Bronco game.
They will have to get used to the idea. Quick.
Boise State's season opener with Idaho State and the debut of a new radio era in Bronco athletics arrives in 142 days.
Kevin Godwin, the senior vice president of Peak, said no decisions have been made about on-air talent, which he indicated in his bid would come from a national search. Bleymaier said he would have input on the next broadcast team.
"My understanding is we're going to work with Kevin and his team and interview finalists for the position together and discuss it and make the decision together," Bleymaier said.
Whoever it is can only hope for as long a run as Schneider had. And a better ending.
