Boise State AD Dickey doing ‘due diligence’ on conferences, ‘hopeful’ to have fans back
.jpg "Boise State Athletic Director Jeramiah Dickey has spent the past several weeks meeting with the athletic department’s top donors.")
Conference realignment is a topic that’s going to heat up over the next several years, with TV contracts set to expire in the Big Ten (2023), Pac-12 (2024) and Big 12 (2025).
Moving to a new conference is already a regular topic of conversation at Boise State, but new Athletic Director Jeramiah Dickey said there’s still a lot of work to be done, and his focus right now is on putting the Broncos in the best position to succeed in their current league, the Mountain West.
“My job is to do our due diligence to make sure that we’re always doing what’s in the best interest of this institution,” Dickey told the Idaho Statesman. “When you look at conference realignment, it’s not just from a competitive standpoint, it’s travel, which impacts us from a budget standpoint and our student-athlete’s class schedule. It’s fans, it’s the support we have to send on the road. There are a lot of pieces to that conversation.”
The conversation has been ongoing.
Former football coach Bryan Harsin made it clear that he wanted out of the Mountain West in a series of emails sent last September to Boise State President Marlene Tromp and former AD Curt Apsey.
Dickey said he hasn’t been part of anything more than informal conversations about conference realignment since he was hired at Boise State in January. It is something he’s been part of in the past, though.
Dickey was at UTEP in 2006 when the Miners left the Western Athletic Conference for Conference USA. He was also at Houston in 2011 when the Cougars left Conference USA, expecting to join the Big East — only to see it split into schools that sponsored football and those that didn’t.
The schools with football formed the American Athletic Conference, which the Cougars have been a member of since 2014. The AAC has been mentioned as a potential landing spot for at least Boise State’s football team, although the closest current member to Boise is Tulsa.
It’s not clear whether the conference would take the Broncos’ other sports, but in the same email chain that Harsin used to suggest the school leave the Mountain West, Apsey said he was reaching out to the Big West, which possibly could serve as a home for the rest of the teams.
Dickey said that if there’s one thing he learned from his experiences at UTEP and Houston, it’s that it takes a collective effort to ensure that changing conferences is the right move.
“Those decisions are not made in a silo. There are a lot of people impacted,” he said. “Our job is to be prepared and control what we can. Everything else will happen one way or another.”
The Mountain West’s latest TV contract runs through 2026.
Dickey’s first two months at Boise State have been a whirlwind. As soon as he was hired, he was tasked with finding Boise State’s next football coach. The search culminated in the hiring of former BSU player and assistant Andy Avalos.
As stressful as his first couple of weeks were, Dickey said he’s thankful for the experience.
“That might be the most important hire of my career. There can’t be many AD’s who walk in the door making that kind of hire,” Dickey said. “But it was really beneficial because I got to know a lot of people in a short amount of time.”
He has spent the past several weeks meeting with many of Boise State’s top 50 donors, and he expects to extend that to the top 100 in March and April.
Dickey also said he plans to take a deep dive into the athletic department’s budget and facilities.
“I’m not concerned with what’s seen as realistic or comparing ourselves with what others have,” Dickey said. “I want us to have what we need to be successful. Ultimately, we’re going to set the bar for ourselves, and we have the brand and the work ethic to be elite.”
Will there be fans in Albertsons Stadium?
Dickey said he’s “hopeful” there will be fans in the stands for the spring game, which is tentatively scheduled for April 10, and during the 2021 football season this fall.
He said the university’s approach is to plan to have a full stadium, and then adjust depending on how COVID-19 cases are trending locally and nationally.
“I wish I could read the tea leaves and guarantee it,” he said. “You’re seeing things open up more, but the thing we always have to remember is the health and safety of our athletes and fans is the priority.”
Fans weren’t allowed to attend the season opener last fall against Utah State, but Boise State did receive permission from Central District Health to admit about 1,100 fans to home games against Colorado State and BYU.
Boise State’s men’s and women’s basketball teams also opened the season without fans, but both programs began admitting up to 900 to games in February. The Broncos’ gymnastics and volleyball teams are allowing family members of athletes and coaches at competitions.
In search of revenue
During his introductory press conference, Dickey mentioned the planned renovations to the east side of Albertsons Stadium as a potential revenue source in the future. The renovations were put on hold last July because of COVID-19’s effect on the budget.
He isn’t going to stop there, though. Dickey said during his initial review of the department and its budget that he noticed untapped potential when it comes to selling premium seating in Albertsons Stadium and ExtraMile Arena.
Albertsons Stadium can hold 36,387 fans.
In 2008, the Stueckle Sky Center opened in the stadium, offering 48 loge boxes, 832 club seats and 39 sky suites. Boise State also offers club seating at the 50-yard line on the west side of the stadium with theater-style seats, personalized plaques and radiant heaters.
During the 2019 fiscal year, Boise State generated $5.6 million in ticket sales and $5.8 million in contributions from individual donors and corporate sponsors, according to the annual revenue report the athletic department is required to submit to the NCAA.
ExtraMile Arena can host 12,644 fans for basketball games, and premium seating consists of the first five rows of the four midcourt sections, and courtside and baseline seats.
The men’s basketball team brought in $1.2 million in ticket sales in 2019 and a little less than $1.1 million in contributions.
No update on Florida State game
Dickey didn’t have an update on rescheduling the second half of Boise State’s home-and-home series with Florida State.
After overcoming a hurricane, which forced a late change of venue, and falling behind early in the game, the Broncos opened the 2019 season with a win over the Seminoles in Tallahassee.
They were scheduled to host Florida State last September in what was supposed to be the second game of the season for Boise State, but it was one of many contests around the country to be scrapped because of COVID-19. Boise State also lost a home game against Georgia Southern and a road game at Marshall, which has been rescheduled to 2027.
The series against Georgia Southern has also been rescheduled. The Broncos will travel to Statesboro, Georgia, in 2024 as planned, and the Eagles will come to Boise in 2028.
Dickey said rescheduling the Florida State game has come up around the office, but scheduling is complicated, and he plans to take a deep dive into the Broncos’ future opponents this spring.
He also said he sees tremendous value in continuing regional rivalries against BYU and the many Pac-12 programs that are in close proximity to Idaho.
“I may be speaking from a fan’s perspective, but I think that’s what can get lost with conference realignment, how it impacts fans and alumni,” Dickey said. “I think that’s what separates college athletics from professional sports.”
Oregon State (2022 and 2023), Oregon (2025 and 2026) and Washington State (2032 and 2033) have already committed to play the Broncos in upcoming seasons.
Boise State’s 2021 schedule
Sept. 4: at UCF
Sept. 11: vs. UTEP
Sept. 18: vs. Oklahoma State
Sept. 25: at Utah State
Oct. 2: vs. Nevada
Oct. 9: at BYU
Oct. 16: vs Air Force
Oct. 23: Bye
Oct. 30: at Colorado State
Nov. 6: at Fresno State
Nov. 13: vs. Wyoming
Nov. 20: vs. New Mexico
Nov. 27: at San Diego State
