BOISE, Idaho — Wednesday Weekly…August 7, 2024.
Those who wondered if Marlene Tromp would be into athletics when she was hired as Boise State president just over five years ago can (in my opinion) put it to rest. Just like we suspected, there was a lot going on behind the scenes as the athletic director’s post at the University of Houston was sitting there. Well, Jeramiah Dickey is not taking the job, having agreed to a reported three-year contract extension with the Broncos that takes him through 2029. ESPN’s Pete Thamel was first to break the news yesterday. Talk about roster retention in the new college sports world—how about AD retention?
Stability in athletic departments these days, especially at the Group of 5 level, is rare. But Boise State has it with Dickey staying. The opening at Houston forced the Broncos’ hand, and the school stepped up with what’s reported to be a significant raise. Dickey’s tweets since the Houston job came up have been all about Boise State, and his talk wasn’t cheap. Think about the improvements in Albertsons Stadium alone since 2021: the south end zone video board, LED lights, streamlined gameday presentation—and increased attendance to show for it. Elsewhere, there are now lights at the Dona Larsen Park softball facility and the Boas soccer fields. And there have been solid coaching hires, not the least of which is Spencer Danielson.
WHEN DICKEY FIRST ARRIVED…
Let’s go back to January of 2021 and check out the first impressions of Dickey when he was hired at Boise State from Baylor. The AD seat had been empty for 2½ months since the departure of Curt Apsey, and things were rather unsettled. Kudos for Dickey came from all corners, including Carolina Panthers coach Matt Rhule, Houston men’s basketball coach Kelvin Sampson, and Baylor’s three major head coaches: Dave Aranda in football, Scott Drew in men’s basketball and Kim Mulkey in women’s hoops. Sticking out on his resume was the seven-year streak of fundraising records set at the University of Houston under his guidance. Man was that a good omen. Dickey has led Boise State out of the COVID abyss and into an era that brims with optimism, and he’s found dollars where there didn’t use to be dollars.
BRONCOS BUBBLING UNDER
The preseason Coaches Poll is out, and it’s devoid of any Group of 5 school. USA Today’s Eddie Timanis has Boise State as one of the five biggest snubs (along with fellow G5 team Memphis). Writes Timanus, “The Broncos could be in the best-of-the-rest mix by season’s end. The defending Mountain West champs closed strong in 2023 and have a legit superstar in the person of RB Ashton Jeanty, who rushed for 1,347 yards and added 569 receiving yards last year. The offense got further boosted with the addition of QB Malachi Nelson from USC, a rare elite recruit to play on the team's distinguished blue turf. The defense boasts standout DL Ahmed Hassanein and LB Andrew Simpson and should again be stingy.” Timanus is obviously in the “Malachi Nelson difference-maker” camp. Um, what if the QB is Maddux Madsen?
CAPTAIN UNDERDOG
What a journey it’s been for Alexander Teubner at Boise State, and it is not over. In 2021, Teubner was a nondescript undersized walk-on safety from Seaside, OR. But he had an opportunity to prove he was a gamer when he was thrown into the fire at No. 10 BYU midseason, forcing one fumble on special teams and recovering another after he was pressed into duty in place of the ejected JL Skinner. With Skinner off to the NFL last year, the “now-scholarshipped” Teubner became a starter, and he took a lot of heat for the Broncos’ secondary meltdown against Washington and Michael Penix Jr. Then he ended up leading Boise State in tackles and being named Defensive MVP of the Mountain West championship game. Now, as voted by his teammates, Teubner is a 2024 captain. It’s very cool.
A HEALTHY SKINNER GETS A SHOT
One of the biggest local stories out of NFL training camps is Skinner. The former Boise State safety is turning heads in Denver after getting into only two games last year, with nine snaps on special teams and one on defense. Skinner, as you recall, tore a pectoral muscle while prepping for the 2023 NFL Draft and slipped all the way to the sixth round, where he was taken by the Broncos. That put him behind the eight-ball. “It builds a fire in somebody when they are not able to play,” Skinner told The Denver Post. “It was a learning experience.” Now it’s go time, as Denver lost veteran Justin Simmons to free agency and just yesterday cut the talented but injury-plagued Caden Sterns. According to most Broncos observers, the release of Sterns bodes well for Skinner. “You can tell he is much more confident,” fellow safety P.J. Locke said.
BRETT RYPIEN’S SITCOM SONG
The NFL Hall of Fame Game in Canton, OH, last Thursday was generally meaningless, with both teams holding out their starters. But Brett Rypien may have gained the upper hand in his quest to be Chicago’s backup quarterback in the 21-17 storm-shortened win over the Houston Texans. Rypien was excellent, going 11-for-16 for 166 yards and three touchdowns. He played like the veteran he is—believe it or not, Rypien’s going into his seventh NFL season. And some Bears fans even made a music video about him to the tune of the TV show “Friends.” Instead of “I’ll be there for you,” it was “Brett Rypien came through.” Punctuated with “Da Bears! Da Bears!”
VANDALS HAVE BUILT SOME NATIONAL EQUITY
The FCS Preseason Top 25 from Stats Perform is out, and the Big Sky has four of the top eight. Montana and Montana State are Nos. 3 and 4, respectively, and Idaho and Sacramento State are Nos. 7 and 8, respectively. That tells you how solid the Vandals’ reputation is after two playoff seasons under Jason Eck—even with quarterback Gevani McCoy having bolted to Oregon State, among other transfer portal departures. No. 1 is Eck’s old school, South Dakota State, which won its second straight FCS national championship in January in a rout of the Grizzlies. College of Idaho is in the midst of fall camp, too. The Yotes hold their Purple & Gold game for fans Saturday afternoon at Simplot Stadium—then two weeks after that, it’s the season opener against Lincoln University.
OLYMPIC OUTCOMES
The Olympics are over for Alyssa Mendoza, Matteo Jorgenson and Marisa Howard. Mendoza, the Caldwell boxer, lost her round of 16 bout last Friday. Jorgenson, the Boise cyclist, was oh so close to the podium, as he was part of a seven-man chase going for the bronze medal in the road race last Saturday. Jorgenson ended up finishing ninth. And Howard, the former Boise State star, was seventh in her heat Sunday in the 3,000-meter steeplechase and did not advance to the final. But Great Britain’s Lizzie Bird, who like Howard is coached by Boise State’s Pat McCurry, did make the final Tuesday, finishing seventh, the best-ever finish by a British woman. Bird set a new British record in the event, running a 9:04.35.
BASKETBALL’S LATE-SUMMER BREAK
Lest we forget Boise State men’s hoops, last Friday was the final day of summer practice. The Broncos will have a couple of weeks off now before school starts—then they’ll officially reconvene in late September for the start of preseason drills. Tyson Degenhart, who is a senior (believe it or not), said the summer has been all about developing chemistry with more new faces in the program than usual. The Broncos have done Boise things, like floating the river. “It’s a team that really enjoys being around each other,” Degenhart said. “There’s still a lot of work ahead.” Everybody wants to know about 7-foot Arizona transfer Dylan Anderson. “Trending,” observed Degenhart. And he pointed to Indiana Wesleyan transfer Javan Buchanan, the NAIA All-American, as a guy who got high marks all the way through the summer.
WANTED: PLAYOFF BERTH
The Boise Hawks have their sights set on playing beyond the September 8 regular-season finale. So far, so good, as the Hawks lead the Pioneer League’s second half standings with a 16-3 record, having won 13 of their last 14 games. Last night the Hawks began their final series before their annual Western Idaho Fair road trip with a rare Pioneer League shutout—6-0 over the Billings Mustangs. Starter Mike Peterson threw the first six innings and won his league-leading ninth game of the year. And hey, let’s not forget that Boise just won the season series with Idaho Falls 10-6 after taking five of six games in the stand that ended last Sunday. The Hawks thus earned the Traffic Cone Trophy as the champion of the Highway Series.
BIG SAVE FOR THE STEELIES DEFENSE
An Idaho Steelheads priority for the upcoming season was keeping the ECHL Defenseman of the Year in the house. Goal accomplished. The Steelheads have re-signed Patrick Kudla to a third season in Boise (seventh overall as a professional). The 28-year-old Kudla played 60 games sandwiched around a couple of AHL call-ups last season and was the fourth-leading scorer among ECHL defensemen (third in assists). Kudla has 110 points in 119 career games as a Steelhead.
This Day In Sports…brought to you by BACON BOISE…fresh breakfast and brunch every day!
August 7, 2016: Jim Furyk becomes the first golfer ever to shoot a 58 on the PGA Tour, carding the 12-under masterpiece in the final round of the Travelers Championship. The 46-year-old Furyk caught fire with an eagle on the third hole before wrapping seven straight birdies around the turn. He was one of six players who held the previous record at 59. Ironically, the winner of the Travelers that day was Russell Knox, who shot a record 59 in the second round of the 2013 Albertsons Boise Open.
(Tom Scott hosts the Scott Slant segment during the football season on KTVB’s Sunday Sports Extra and anchors four sports segments each weekday on 95.3 FM KTIK. He also served as color commentator on KTVB’s telecasts of Boise State football for 14 seasons.)