Former Boise State, Idaho high school basketball coaching great Bus Connor dies
Former Boise State basketball coach Bus Connor died over the weekend at the age of 93, Boise State Athletics spokesperson Jordan Beasley confirmed to the Idaho Statesman on Monday morning.
Connor served as the basketball program’s second-ever head coach, from 1973 to 1980, and helped guide the Broncos to their first-ever NCAA Tournament appearance, which came in 1976, when the field was a mere 32 teams.
He went 92-107 across his seven-and-a-half seasons leading the program, according to previous Statesman reporting. His Broncos finished tied for the Big Sky regular-season crown in 1976 before going on to win the program’s first conference title that same year, earning the NCAA bid.
“What he did here was awesome. Just a great ball coach and great guy,” Boise State coach Leon Rice told the Idaho Statesman on Monday. “The time I got with him, I was always really impressed. I think he loved this place, his family loved this place .... sad day for the Broncos.”
Connor began his coaching career at Rigby High in the 1950s, and in addition to serving as an assistant coach for the Boise State football and basketball teams, he also had stops at College of Idaho, the University of Idaho, and Treasure Valley Community College.
“He’s one of the best offensive minds around,” Marty Holly, former College of Idaho athletic director and head basketball coach, said of Connor in a 1993 Statesman article.
Connor ended his coaching career in 2008 after a three-year stint at Nampa High School.
“Without a doubt, there’s no other high school coach, regardless of age, that has as much energy and passion for basketball like my dad,” Connor’s son, Tommy, told the Statesman in 2006, when his then-72-year-old father accepted the Nampa position.
The 1976 Boise State season goes down as one of the most impactful in the school’s history, with the team achieving big milestones for the first time since transitioning to a four-year institution in 1968.
The Broncos tied for the top spot in the Big Sky alongside Idaho State and Weber State. It was Weber State that won the tiebreaker, forcing BSU into a game with the Bengals. The Broncos beat ISU 93-81, and then prevailed 77-70 in double overtime over the Wildcats — on their home floor — to earn the conference championship.
Another of Connor’s sons, Steve, was a sophomore on that 1976 team and would go on to score 1,927 points for the Broncos. He was the program’s all-time leading scorer for over a decade and now sits fourth on the list.
That team met Jerry Tarkanian’s UNLV Rebels in the first round of the NCAA Tournament’s West Region and got beat 103-78. That UNLV team lost only one game all season before losing in the next round of the NCAA tourney.
Boise State finished 18-11 that season.
“It’s been a great thing for him to have (coaching) in his life,” Tommy told the Statesman in 2006. “He’s extremely committed to the kids he coaches. I think they’re very lucky to have somebody like him who is trying to create a better program and a better team.”
This story was originally published February 2, 2026 at 11:38 AM.
