Days like Thursday are meant for The Statue, Lyle Smith, the legendary junior college coach who built the foundation of Boise State football starting in 1947.
Days like Thursday are meant for Gene Bleymaier, the former athletic director, the man with his name on the Boise State football complex, the visionary who turned blue turf into a program-changing marketing machine.
Days like Thursday are meant for Bob Kustra, the former university president, the BCS bully, the vocal campus leader who staunchly believed that Boise State football belonged in the big time.
Those days are long gone, but for all three men, their dreams are alive and well.
Because of what happened Thursday.
Mike Prater
Smith died in 2017 at the age of 101 – one year after Boise State unveiled his statue outside Albertsons Stadium.
Bleymaier, in a power play, was fired by Kustra in 2011.
Kustra, always bold and controversial, left Boise State in 2018 for a peaceful retirement.
Collectively, proudly, and with a purpose to make sure Boise State football always remains relevant, all three men paved the way for what happened Thursday: The Broncos officially accepted an invitation to join the Pac-12, effective July 1, 2026.
As the schedule sits today, they play their first game with a Pac-12 patch on Sept. 5, 2026. Against Oregon. Nonconference. Because college football is weird.
In this case, weird wouldn’t have happened without a long, hard path to get here.
“It’s always a great day to be a Bronco, but today is special and it’s a day we’ll look back on,’’ said current AD Jeramiah Dickey, the man who turned past dreams into reality by almost single-handedly brokering Boise State’s deal to join the Pac-12.
The naysayers who tossed a wet blanket on Thursday’s celebration love to remind people that the Pac-12 isn’t what it used to be – and they’re not wrong. Thursday’s celebration wasn’t a consensus in Boise. The skepticism over a deeply wounded conference is fair and legit.
The brand, the strength, the power of Boise State’s future home is grossly-watered down to two teams: Washington State and Oregon State. College football vagabonds, now with a few more friends.
San Diego State, Fresno State and Colorado State also join the Pac-12 in 2026. The league must add at least two more members before then to satisfy NCAA bylaws.
It’s fair to say that the 108-year-old Pac-12 is learning how to walk again. Thursday’s news was one small step in the right direction for Boise State and its athletic director, who doesn’t believe in being idle, who likes to play fast and aggressive, like a football coach on Saturdays.
Warts and all, this is a good move, for a few good reasons.
The Pac-12 has money – at least $65 million that’s targeted to help offset $111 million in exit fees and penalties that occurred with this four-team switch. Athletic departments will scramble. Courts might get involved. The financials are intimidating, but not a deal-breaker. Consider it an investment in the future.
Let’s focus on football: The new Pac-12 will have access to the CFP tournament and its millions in cash starting in 2026. No worries there. Unless things get really weird.
Here in Boise, the Broncos leave behind a Mountain West with too much dead weight. Too many empty stadiums. Too many athletic departments that don’t play fast and aggressive. In the Pac-12, Boise State surrounds itself with more “like-minded” programs. Stronger schedule. Better games. More interest. More passion. That’s the plan.
Here’s what gets football coach Spencer Danielson fired up, which doesn’t take much: New regional rivalries with Cougars and Beavers.
“I’ve been open about the fact that everyone’s like, ‘Who’s Boise State’s rivalry?’ We don’t really have one,” he said Thursday on our KTIK radio show before going into coachspeak about how every opponent is important.
He said the rebranded Pac-12 “is exciting to create, especially a West Coast conference that is going to be on the cutting edge for years to come “
To get there, the rebranded Pac-12 first must add the right “two, three or four’’ teams, as Dickey said. Think four time zones because TV executives like to build football conferences from coast to coast.
Ah yes, let’s not forget about the greedy TV executives who have changed college football, even ruined it to a certain degree. That’s how the Pac-12 became the Pac-2.
A critical media rights package is looming, and the financials will make or break the future of the Pac-12 brand. This is where athletic departments get a large chunk of their money. The Pac-12 will chase traditional TV. Big networks. Small networks. Streaming networks. Direct-to-consumer opportunities. So many media companies are begging for college football content. Deals won’t be worth billions, but the new Pac-12 has enough leverage to demand millions.
One potential downfall: More late-night kickoffs.
No doubt, the plan is far from perfect, but it’s a plan that’s necessary as aggressive Group of Five programs exhaust themselves to chase Power Four prestige.
“There’s always risk,’’ Dickey said. “There was too much reward for us not to take this risk.’’
Couldn’t agree more.
If it doesn’t work out, for whatever reason, Dickey could lose his job.
If it works out, as I believe it will, he joins the above list of visionary leaders who constantly pushed the dreams of Boise State football.
Mike Prater is the Bronco Nation News columnist who co-hosts Idaho Sports Talk (KTIK 95.3 FM on Monday-Friday from 3-6 p.m.) and the Boise State football postgame show (KBOI 670 AM). He is on Twitter @MikeFPrater and can be reached at mikefprater@gmail.com
