’Think unrealistically’: Dickey relishes in ‘creative’ plans for Boise State athletics
Unrealistic expectations.
Boise State athletic director Jeramiah Dickey isn’t sure when he picked up one of his favorite catchphrases, but he called it a perfect summation of his job description.
“I think it fits here, and quite honestly, it’s fit at every school I’ve worked for in my career,” Dickey told the Idaho Statesman. “I don’t know how else to operate. When you’re unrealistic, it means you’re being creative.”
Dickey and his staff rolled out their “Playbook for Success” last week, laying the groundwork for a reimagined athletics village on campus. The project also includes upgrades to Albertsons Stadium and ExtraMile Arena, and the construction of a soccer stadium and a 5,000-seat arena, among other projects. It could carry a price tag of more than $200 million.
The plan is ambitious, to say the least. Fans can be slow to trust, even if they’re excited by the gleaming renderings of buildings that don’t yet exist. They’ve been burned in the past by grandiose plans that never came to fruition, including renovations to the east side of Albertsons Stadium, dating to at least 2016.
But Dickey said he isn’t swayed by people he refers to as energy vampires — those who spend too much time questioning a vision instead of figuring out how to make it a reality. He said he isn’t worried about how realistic the plan is to the outside world, mostly because he’s heard it all before.
The University of Houston either completed or began construction on more than $100 million worth of facility projects and upgrades during Dickey’s time as deputy athletics director there. He also helped raise more than $200 million at Baylor University.
People claimed the vision wasn’t possible at both schools, Dickey said.
“You don’t know what’s possible until you try,” he said. “You don’t know what to try until you think unrealistically.”
What’s next?
What’s next for Boise State is an arduous approval process, which will include getting the go-ahead from the Idaho State Board of Education and committees at the university level, as well as obtaining permits from the city of Boise.
What’s next for Dickey and his staff is getting out in front of donors to figure out funding.
“It’s going to take a lot of work, but I’m really proud of my team and the work we’ve done in the past year,” Dickey said. “We’ve barely scratched the surface through some very difficult times, but we’ve found success, and I’m very excited about what this next year is going to look like.”
Dickey said the work has already begun. There has been the creation of major gift and ticket sales teams in the athletic department. A new business development and revenue innovation unit — which also is designed to help athletes maximize name, image and likeness deals — also is part of what he referred to as the foundation of the plan.
.jpg "Jeramiah Dickey Introductory Press Conference 010421 (2).jpg")
Another element Dickey described as crucial was the launch of Boise State’s Horsepower Drive, which set a goal of reaching 10,000 Bronco Athletic Association members by 2025. The BAA had 4,200 members at the time of the launch, in November 2021; it added more than 400 members by the end of the year.
“We need to attract more Broncos,” Dickey said. “Bronco Nation is strong and we’re extremely grateful for them, but we have to grow and we will never settle.”
Raising the funds needed to make Boise State’s vision of an athletic village a reality will be no small task. But if there’s one thing Dickey has proved since he was hired in January 2021, it’s that he knows how to raise money.
The Lyle Smith Society — inclusion into which requires a minimum pledge of $25,000 over five years — added its 100th member in December 2021. By the end of last year, the group secured pledges of more than $10 million over the next five years.
Boise State secured its first $1 million gift from a member of the Lyle Smith Society in July 2021, and the athletic department received its largest one-time facilities gift in history last month when the Idaho Falls wellness company Melaleuca donated $4.5 million to fund the purchase and installation of a new video board in Albertsons Stadium.
What’s the goal?
The end goal for all of Boise State’s planned upgrades may well be to make the university more attractive to Power Five athletic conferences for the next realignment shuffle, but Dickey isn’t ready to admit it.
“I can’t speak to what other conferences are looking for,” he said. “We’re going to control what we can. I want an elite athletic department, and I want us to represent this state at the highest level. That means 18 sports and 350-plus athletes.”
In the short term, Dickey said his goal is simple: to improve the student-athlete experience at Boise State, which he described as not up to par in some areas.
Specifically, Dickey said the installation of lights for the softball and soccer teams, and the eventual construction of a soccer stadium on campus, can help ease many of the scheduling issues facing both teams.
“The experience we’re providing is not enough, not just for fans but for athletes,” Dickey said. “Playing soccer at 2 p.m. on a weekday impacts the team from academic, fan experience and recruiting standpoints. They deserve better.”
It’s impossible for anyone but Dickey and his inner circle to know the long-term goal of the “Playbook for Success.” But upgraded facilities and revenue growth from programs other than football would make Boise State more attractive to student-athletes and other conferences.
It worked for Houston, which announced in September 2021 that it was taking the facilities Dickey helped build to the Big 12 from the American Athletic Conference. It also worked for the University of Central Florida, which unveiled its vision for a $50 million upgrade to its football facilities about a month before announcing it also was leaving the AAC for the Big 12.
Dickey isn’t claiming to have an inside track on the next spot that opens in a Power Five league, but he said he has heard from colleagues around the country since Boise State announced its vision.
“I’ve had a handful of calls from people in the industry who recognize what we’re trying to accomplish,” he said. “But the number of calls I’ve had with excited supporters and donors is what really has me pumped.”
This story was originally published April 14, 2022 at 5:00 AM.
