Boise State alum Karl Benson to honor those who paved the way for baseball to return
Former commissioner of the Western Athletic, Mid-American and Sun Belt conferences, Karl Benson played baseball at Boise State in 1974 and 1975 and began his coaching career in the Broncos’ dugout.
The Broncos didn’t field a baseball team when they were in the WAC, but Benson and former Boise State President Bob Kustra often would talk about its return. Benson even joked that if the Broncos did bring it back, he would return to Boise as a volunteer coach.
“Bob and I didn’t always agree on matters, but one thing we did agree on was that baseball is a great game and there’s no reason Boise State couldn’t bring it back,” Benson said Tuesday by phone. “It wasn’t a popular decision. Dropping wrestling and adding baseball was very controversial. … Had it not been for President Kustra, I don’t think it would have happened the way it did.”
Boise State disbanded its baseball program in 1980, but the Broncos made their return to the diamond last weekend at Texas. Benson said he has contacted Boise State coach Gary Van Tol to offer his services, but he’ll settle for being the keynote speaker Thursday at a banquet celebrating the relaunch of the program and honoring its history.
Benson is also one of more than 30 former Boise State players and coaches expected to be in attendance at Memorial Stadium on Friday (6:30 p.m.) as the Broncos (0-3) begin a four-game homestand against Northern Colorado.
“Twenty-five years after I left Boise State as a player, I was fortunate enough to return as the WAC commissioner and watch the university and the athletic department grow and establish itself,” said Benson, who retired as Sun Belt commissioner in 2019 and lives in Denver. “It’s going to be an honor to be back there again, and it’s going to be fun reconnecting with old teammates and acquaintances..”
Benson said he was regularly asked during his career about the ingredients of a successful athletic department, and he always answered the same: Leadership, the likes of which he said was shown by Kustra and former Boise State Athletic Director Gene Bleymaier. They’ll play heavily into his keynote address.
“What (Bleymaier) did in his time and the longevity that he had and that continuity coupled with Bob Kustra’s leadership is what made Boise State what it is today,” Benson said.
Kustra, who was once the lieutenant governor of Illinois, was Boise State’s president from 2003 to 2018. Reviving the baseball program was one of his final acts in office.
“It took courage to make that decision and to face the criticism,” Benson said. “His love and passion for the game is what drove that decision.”
Bleymaier was Boise State’s athletic director from 1982 to 2011. The Broncos’ athletic department won 102 conference championships and underwent a $125 million facilities expansion during his time in office. But Bleymaier may be best known as the mastermind behind the blue turf in Albertsons Stadium.
On Feb. 6, he was announced as one of five members of Boise State’s 2020 Hall of Fame class.
“I was thrilled to see he was selected for the Hall of Fame,” Benson said.
Benson said he’s looking forward to catching up with former teammates, such as his first roommate at Boise State, former Centennial High baseball coach Roger Wolf, and the Broncos’ former head coach, Ross Vaughn. More than anything, he said he’s proud to once against represent Boise State.
When people ask Benson about his favorite memory from his career, the answer is always the same: Standing on the sideline at University of Phoenix Stadium in Glendale, Arizona, on Jan. 1, 2007, watching Boise State burst onto the national scene with a Fiesta Bowl win against Oklahoma in one of the most memorable games in college football history.
“I was so proud to be on that sideline, not only as the WAC commissioner, but as a Boise State alum,” Benson said. “That kind of brought it full circle.”
This story was originally published February 27, 2020 at 8:55 AM.
