BOISE, Idaho — After twice serving as the interim leader, Spencer Danielson now officially takes the reins of the Boise State football program. Director of Athletics Jeramiah Dickey on Sunday named Danielson as the Broncos' head coach.
Danielson became the first interim head coach in FBS history to win a conference championship game Saturday, leading Boise State to a 44-20 win over UNLV in the Mountain West title game. Following the dismissal of Andy Avalos, Danielson and the Broncos won three consecutive contests.
He becomes the 12th head coach in Boise State's history as a four-year institution. Danielson has been part of the Bronco program for seven years, serving as the defensive coordinator the past three season following two campaigns as co-defensive coordinator.
Danielson's journey in the City of Trees started back in 2017, when he started his tenure at Boise State as a graduate assistant. One year later, he was promoted to a full-time assistant coach.
Current and former Boise State players lobbied for Danielson to get the full-time gig as the Broncos continued to go on a late-season surge. Following Saturday's win at Allegiant Stadium, Danielson told KTVB Sports Director Jay Tust, "this is my dream job … point blank. End of story."
Under the up-and-coming Danielson, Boise State ranked in the top three of the Mountain West in scoring defense each of his three years as defensive coordinator. Last season, the Broncos ranked sixth nationally in defense and 15th in scoring defense.
Boise State clinched its 26th consecutive winning season with the victory over the Rebels, the nation's longest active streak. At one point in the season, the Broncos had a 0.1% chance of winning the Mountain West title, especially after its first 4-5 start since 1997.
In the past three games under Danielson, Boise State offensive coordinator Bush Hamdan's group averaged 38.7 points and more than 460 yards of total offense. The Broncos captured their fifth Mountain West championship Saturday in Las Vegas, the most of any team in the league.
"I am excited to announce Spencer Danielson as the next head coach of Boise State football. I value process over results. As exciting as it was to win the last three games and reclaim the conference championship, from the standpoint of hiring a head coach, it was more exciting to me to hear Spencer's vision for the future and how he is going to approach the job full time," Dickey said. "I am grateful for the work of our search committee to ensure we made the best decision for our student-athletes and Bronco Nation. I am extremely confident Spencer is an elite leader, a man of great substance and a rising star in the coaching profession who will lead Boise State football to great heights."
Boise State is set to face UCLA in the 2023 Starco Brands LA Bowl Hosted By Gronk at SoFi Stadium on Saturday, Dec. 16. The contest kicks off at 5:30 p.m. MT (4:30 p.m. PT) on ABC.
The LA Bowl holds the first pick of Mountain West teams and unsurprisingly elected to bring the Broncos to The Golden State. During Sunday's bowl game press conference, UCLA head coach Chip Kelly said Boise State "should hire" Danielson, just an hour before Dickey did.
Danielson spent four years at his alma mater, Azusa Pacific, prior to Boise State. He served as the program's linebackers coach in his final three seasons and was the recruiting coordinator in 2016.
As a student-athlete at Azusa Pacific, Danielson posted 190 tackles and five interceptions from 2009 to 2012. He earned both his bachelor's (2012) and master's (2013) degrees in business administration from Azusa Pacific.
"I am so delighted to welcome Spencer Danielson as our next head football coach. From the first time I met him, I saw his powerful positive spirit and love for our student-athletes — something that all of Bronco Nation has now seen. This makes him an ideal leader and role model for our players, both on and off the field," said Dr. Marlene Tromp, Boise State president. "Bronco football is a point of pride for our entire community, and Coach Danielson has the character and passion to impact the young men on our team and lead our program forward to great heights."
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