For new athletic director Dickey, Boise State has always been the ‘barometer of success’
.jpg "Boise State hired Jeramiah Dickey as its new athletic director.")
New Boise State Athletic Director Jeramiah Dickey has spent the majority of his life getting a behind-the-scenes look at college athletics.
His grandfather was the team doctor at the University of Texas-El Paso in the late 1980s and early ‘90s, and Dickey said some of the memories he’s most fond of revolved around Miners football games.
After 20 years spent in various athletic departments, his first stop as an athletic director comes at a university that flies the same team colors he grew up wearing in his hometown of El Paso: orange and blue.
Dickey was announced as former Boise State AD Curt Apsey’s replacement on Saturday. He met with several athletes, coaches and staff members Monday morning before he was introduced to the Boise community.
“My 20 years of experience has led me to this moment,” Dickey told reporters during Monday’s press conference. “I’m writing an epic book. Every place has been a challenge. Every place has provided unbelievable opportunity and every place has been purposeful.”
Dickey got his first job in a college athletic department in 2003 as a marketing and promotions assistant at UTEP. He then spent three years as an assistant athletics director for development at Akron and worked for seven years at Houston as the Cougars’ deputy athletics director.
He spent the past four years at Baylor, serving as associate vice president for athletics since 2018. But throughout his career, Dickey said Boise State was always a “barometer for success.”
“Baylor was unbelievable to us, and I said it would take a special opportunity to pull me away, and that was this,” Dickey said. “There’s history here, from a football perspective alone. I’m so excited to get to work.”
Randy Hales — chair of Boise State’s AD search committee — said Monday that the group was looking for a candidate who embodied characteristics such as integrity, a blue-collar work ethic and putting athletes first. It wanted someone who was a visionary, had a background in revenue generation and was an inspirational leader.
“Besides having such an incredible track record of success, Jeramiah is someone who is very easy to like,” Hales said. “He’s a humble leader that always accepted unique challenges in his roles at UTEP, Akron, Houston and Baylor. None of those were easy.”
Boise State didn’t cut any corners when vetting Dickey. University President Marlene Tromp said Monday that in a single day, she spoke to 76 people about Dickey.
One of Tromp’s most trusted sources was former Boise State and Washington football coach Chris Petersen. He stepped down at Washington after the 2019 Las Vegas Bowl, but he has been a steadying influence for Tromp since she was hired in July 2019.
“Boise State has an amazing history, and one of the things that happens when you’ve been part of Boise State is you bleed blue forever,” Tromp told reporters. “Chris Petersen is someone I have been talking to since I stepped foot on this campus. He’s someone I’ll always be talking to.”
Dickey said Monday that as he understood it, there were several internal candidates for the job. Many current and former athletes threw their support behind associate athletic director Brad Larrondo.
Dickey said he isn’t concerned about having to build relationships in an unfamiliar department, though. Building relationships is what he’s done his whole career.
“I did not come to Boise State to put it in cruise control and rest on the successes of the past,” Dickey said. “We came here to be elite.”
Finding Harsin’s replacement
Dickey still has plenty of staff members to meet, but job No. 1 on his to-do list is to help Boise State hire a new football coach.
Former coach Bryan Harsin announced days after the Broncos’ loss to San Jose State in the Mountain West championship game that he was leaving for Auburn.
Dickey commended Boise State’s administration for waiting to hire the coach after the athletic director, because “that relationship is going to be instrumental in our success.”
Tromp said Dickey’s past experiences leading searches for new football coaches was one of the things that most excited her about his hire. Dickey helped hire Tom Herman and Major Applewhite at Houston, and he led the search that culminated in Dave Aranda being hired as Matt Rhule’s replacement at Baylor.
Dickey and Tromp declined to attach a specific timetable to hiring Harsin’s replacement, but they both promised to move swiftly and carefully.
“This is maybe the most important decision I’ll make as an athletic director, and I’m 48 hours in,” Dickey said. “I’m excited about that opportunity, and with our history and tradition, I’m excited for our next coach.”
Tromp said all she had to do was look on Twitter to see who the Boise community wants as the next football coach, referring to the outpouring of support for former Boise State players Kellen Moore and Andy Avalos.
Moore, currently the Dallas Cowboys offensive coordinator, signed a contract extension with the NFL team Saturday, officially taking his name out of the running.
Avalos, Oregon’s defensive coordinator, saw his 2020 season come to an end Saturday in a 34-17 loss to No. 10 Iowa State in the Fiesta Bowl. He coached at Boise State from 2012 to 2018 and was the Broncos’ defensive coordinator during his final three seasons.
Montana State head coach Jeff Choate — a former assistant coach at Boise State — is also getting plenty of support from former players.
‘Deep dive’ into the budget
Also high on Dickey’s list of priorities in his new role is closing the budget gap caused by COVID-19.
Boise State announced in August that it could face up to $20 million in losses because of COVID-19. In July, the baseball team and swim and dive programs were cut in a move that trimmed $2.2 million from the annual budget.
Dickey said he plans to take a “deep dive” into the department’s budget, facilities and fundraising efforts in the coming months, but he’s pretty comfortable raising money.
During the 2015-16 fiscal year, he helped Houston raise a program record $6.4 million. He was also instrumental in securing a 10-year, $15 million football stadium naming rights partnership with Texas Dow Employees Credit Union (TDECU), an agreement that ranked third nationally among all collegiate facilities for corporate naming agreements.
“I don’t know if there’s a quick fix to revenue generation, but I can assure you this, that’s a big part of who I am,” Dickey said. “We will strive for excellence in everything we do.”
One potential area of revenue generation Dickey mentioned Monday was the renovation to the east side of Albertsons Stadium, which were put on hold in July as the university was in the early stages of dealing with the budgetary crisis. The long-discussed upgrades were expected to include an exterior face-lift, expanded concourse, upgraded amenities, premium seating, an academic center and a dedicated home for BroncoLife — a program that helps student-athletes transition to college, be positive influences on campus and plan for their careers.
It would be the first significant upgrade to the stadium since a bleacher expansion in 2012 and the completion of the football team facility in 2013.
“Whatever we don’t have, we will go out and get, and that is going to be our approach,” Dickey said.
A conference move?
Another pressing issue Dickey will have to face early in his tenure is Boise State’s often-contentious relationship with the Mountain West.
In December, emails surfaced from Harsin to Boise State administrators urging the university to leave the conference. More emails, unearthed by BoiseDev, showed there were preliminary conversations between the school and the American Athletic Conference, which does not have members anywhere close to Boise.
Last January, Boise State filed a lawsuit against the conference, claiming breach of contract after its latest TV deal included plans to end the Broncos’ annual $1.8 million bonus, which was negotiated when the program decided to stay in the Mountain West in 2012.
Tromp didn’t say anything definitive Monday about a potential move, but she said the university is always open to opportunities to continue improving its brand.
“Boise State has always been a striving institution,” she said. “I love the way Jeramiah has talked about it continuing to be elite and strive for excellence. Right now, we are proud members of the Mountain West Conference, but we will always look to do what’s best for Boise State.”
This story was originally published January 4, 2021 at 3:41 PM.
