Offseason football plan approved; Boise State hoops players undergo COVID-19 testing
The NCAA Division I Council met virtually on Wednesday and approved a schedule for summer activities and preseason football practice, beginning on July 13.
Assuming a team’s first regular-season game is on Sept. 5, schools may begin conducting up to eight hours a week of weight training, conditioning and film study July 13-23.
Programs that open the season on Aug. 29 may begin workouts a week earlier. Idaho State is scheduled to be in action that weekend at New Mexico. Several Mountain West teams are also expecting to play in “week zero.” Nevada hosts UC Davis, UNLV hosts Cal and Hawaii travels to Arizona.
From July 24 to Aug. 6, teams can hold up to 20 hours a week of organized team activities, such as walk-throughs and position-specific meetings.
The offseason schedule does not make any adjustment to the usual 29-day preseason practice period, which, for Boise State, will begin on Aug. 7. The Broncos are slated to open the season Sept. 5 at home against Georgia Southern.
The Football Oversight Committee proposed the offseason model last Thursday. Some Boise State football and soccer players began returning to campus the first week of June, and those who tested negative for the coronavirus were eligible to begin voluntary workouts June 15.
Bringing athletes back came with risk, though, and on June 8, Boise State confirmed “multiple” athletes tested positive for COVID-19. The school hasn’t released results of coronavirus tests since then, and the football team has not announced its plan for offseason workouts.
Broncos begin testing basketball players
On Wednesday, a spokesperson for the Boise State men’s basketball team confirmed that the school began testing players for the coronavirus this week with the hope of getting them into the Broncos’ facilities in the coming days.
In May, Boise State men’s basketball coach Leon Rice expressed interest in getting six of his players, who were already in Boise, into the facilities as soon as possible.
On Wednesday, the Division I Council also approved a schedule for summer activities in men’s and women’s basketball.
The council adopted the same schedule for both sports, which extends the current voluntary workout period through July 19. During that time, athletes may take part in physical activities and up to eight hours of virtual nonphysical activities per week.
Required summer activities may begin on July 20 and can last up to eight weeks or until the first day of classes or Sept. 15, whichever comes first. Virtual and in-person activities may not exceed a combined eight hours per week.
Two with Idaho ties make HOF ballot
Former Boise State assistant football coach Ashley Ambrose was one of 99 non-FBS players on the divisional ballot for the 2021 College Football Hall of Fame class, which was announced Tuesday.
As a cornerback at Mississippi Valley State in 1991, Ambrose was a first-team All-America selection and the South West Athletic Conference defensive back and return specialist of the year. He ended his college career with 17 interceptions and seven special teams touchdowns (four punt returns, three kickoff).
He went on to enjoy a 13-year career in the NFL, where, in 1996, he was named the AFC Defensive Back of the Year after racking up eight interceptions as a member of the Bengals.
Ambrose spent two seasons (2016-17) on Boise State coach Bryan Harsin’s staff as a defensive backs coach. He left following the 2017 season and spent 2018 as Colorado’s cornerbacks coach. It was his second stint with the Buffaloes. He spent the 2014 season coaching defensive backs at the University of Idaho.
Former Idaho State punter Case deBruijn also made the division ballot. He led the nation in yards per punt in 1980-81, and he was the national runner-up in 1978-79. He also hit a 33-yard field goal in overtime to lift the Bengals to a 33-30 win in the 1981 Division I-AA (now FCS) national championship game.
The 2021 College Football Hall of Fame class will be announced early next year.
This story was originally published June 18, 2020 at 1:07 PM.
