Boise State University

Boise State University (BSU) is a public research university in Boise, Idaho, United States. Founded in 1932 by the Episcopal Church, it became an independent junior college in 1934 and has been awarding baccalaureate and master's degrees since 1965. It became a public institution in 1969. Boise State offers more than 100 graduate programs, including a variety of MBA programs and the MAcc program in the College of Business and Economics; master's and PhD programs in the Colleges of Engineering, Arts & Sciences, and Education; MPA program in the School of Public Service; and the MPH program in the College of Health Sciences. It is classified among "R2: Doctoral Universities – High research activity". In the 2024 fiscal year, Boise State reported total research awards exceeding $83 million and research expenditures over $70 million. The university's intercollegiate athletic teams, the Broncos, compete in NCAA Division I as a member of the Mountain West Conference. History The school became Idaho's third state university in 1974, after the University of Idaho (1889) and Idaho State University (1963). Boise State awards associate, bachelor's, master's, and doctoral degrees, and is accredited by the Northwest Commission on Colleges and Universities. As of 2010, it has over 75,000 living alumni. Campus The 285-acre (1.15 km2) campus is located near downtown Boise, on the south bank of the Boise River, opposite Julia Davis Park. With more than 170 buildings, the campus is at an elevation of 2,700 feet (825 m) above sea level, bounded by Capitol Boulevard on the west and Broadway Avenue to the east. Through the 1930s, the site was the city's airport. Albertsons Library The university library is named for grocery pioneer Joe Albertson. It houses more than 650,000 books, over 130,000 periodicals, 107 public terminals for student use, and access to over 300 online databases. Morrison Center The Velma V. Morrison Center for the Performing Arts has 2,000 seats in its primary performance hall, and hosts a wide variety of fine arts performances, including the Broadway in Boise series, concerts and other events. The venue opened its doors in April 1984. Computer Science Department The computer science department moved away from the main campus to a new building in downtown Boise. The CS department occupies 53,549 gross square feet, the full second and third floors of the building. The university's CS program is now located in the same building as Clearwater Analytics and within short walking distance of about 20 more of Boise's top technology companies. Micron Center for Materials Research The Micron Center for Materials Research was established with a $25 million gift from Micron Technology, which is headquartered in Boise. Completed in 2020, the building was designed by Hummel Architects and Anderson Mason Dale Architects, with Hoffman Construction as lead contractor. The building is designed with one research wing, home to sensitive equipment, and state of the art research laboratories, and a second wing, to hold classrooms, and office space. This latest donation by Micron marks a total of $40 million invested in materials science and engineering programs and associated research at BSU, resulting in a full complement of degrees in materials science and engineering including bachelor's, master's and doctoral programs. In 2025, researchers from Boise State's Nagarajan Lab received a five-year federal biochemistry grant, the first of its kind awarded in Idaho, to advance molecular research and interdisciplinary science education. Other campuses Extended Studies at Boise State offers regional programming at the College of Western Idaho in Nampa, Mountain Home Air Force Base, Gowen Field, Twin Falls, Lewiston, and Coeur d'Alene. BSU also offers 29 degrees and certificates fully online. Beginning in 2016, Boise State began partnering with the Harvard Business School to offer the Harvard Business School Online business fundamentals program to Idaho students and the business community. This collaboration is the only such Harvard collaboration with a public U.S. university. Academics and organization Boise State's more than 190 fields of study are organized into the following colleges and schools: College of Arts and Sciences College of Business and Economics College of Education College of Engineering Graduate College College of Health Sciences School of Public Service College of Innovation and Design The university also has an honors college. Within the College of Arts and Sciences is the School of the Environment, approved by the Idaho State Board of Education in 2022 and established in 2023. Boise State's fall enrollment in 2016 was 23,886 students, and approximately 76 percent of these students were Idaho residents. More than 90 percent of Boise State's first-year students come directly from high school. In the 2015–16 school year, Boise State awarded diplomas to 3,916 distinct graduates, including 18 doctorates, 10 education specialists, 670 master's and 2,998 bachelor's degrees. The university is classified among "R2: Doctoral Universities – High research spending and doctorate production". According to the National Science Foundation, the university received approximately $48 million in research and development funding in 2022, ranking it 217th in the nation for research revenue and expenditures at that time. Publishing In 1971, the university published the Western Writers Series, monographs focusing on authors of the American Frontier and American West. BSU ceased publishing new titles at the end of 2006. The university maintains an on-line library of publications and documents related to Idaho history through the Albertsons Library. The Center for Idaho History and Politics offers a nine-credit place-based field school called "Investigate Boise" which focuses on heritage, government, and urban affairs. Each series of classes results in a student written and faculty edited publication. For the 2024–2025 academic year, the middle 50% of enrolled students scored between 1050 and 1360 on the SAT (with a 50th percentile of 1210), between 530 and 680 on the SAT Evidence-Based Reading and Writing section (50th percentile: 610), and between 520 and 680 on the SAT Math section (50th percentile: 600). Athletics Boise State's athletic nickname is the Broncos, and the official mascot is Buster Bronco. Men's teams include football, basketball, cross country, track and field, golf, and tennis. Its women's teams include volleyball, basketball, cross country, swimming and diving, soccer, track and field, gymnastics, golf, softball and tennis. Most of these teams compete in the Mountain West Conference (MWC). Boise State College joined the NCAA in 1970 in the university division (Division I), except for football, which was in the college division (later Division II) for the first eight seasons. Big Sky Conference football moved up to the new Division I-AA (now FCS) in 1978, and the Broncos won the national championship two years later. BSU moved up to Division I-A (now FBS) in 1996 in the Big West Conference, joined the Western Athletic Conference (WAC) in 2001, the Mountain West Conference in 2011, and will join the Pac-12 Conference in 2026. The moves from the WAC and the Mountain West came after the conferences dropped sponsorship of football. Albertsons Stadium Albertsons Stadium is home to the Boise State football program. It hosted the NCAA Division I Track and Field Championships in 1994 and 1999, and has been the home to the Famous Idaho Potato Bowl since 1997. Boise State Football has a long history of success starting with the junior college days and the national championship team of 1958, coached by the father of Bronco football, Lyle Smith. Now named Lyle Smith Field in Albertsons Stadium, the synthetic turf field was standard green before 1986. "The Blue" was the idea of athletic director Gene Bleymaier and was the first non-green football field in the country. This field is also nicknamed "The Smurf Turf" due to its color. Through 2019, Boise State's home record was 189–39 (.829) in 34 seasons on The Blue, with fifteen conference championships. Ground was broken after the 1969 season, and it opened in September 1970 with a capacity of 14,500. Subsequent expansions were completed in 1975 and 1997, and current capacity sits at around 37,000. ExtraMile Arena Known as the "Boise State University Pavilion" until June 2004, and "Taco Bell Arena" between 2004 and 2019, ExtraMile Arena is home to BSU basketball, wrestling, women's gymnastics, community events, and several concerts each year. Opened in May 1982, the arena seats 12,380 on three levels. It has hosted rounds one and two of the NCAA basketball tournament on nine occasions from 1983 to 2018, and the third and fourth rounds of the NCAA women's tournament in 2002. The construction of the pavilion began in February 1980 on the site of the tennis courts and a portion of the BSU baseball field. The Bronco baseball team played their home games in 1980 at Borah Field (now Bill Wigle Field) at Borah High School, and the program was discontinued that May. The tennis courts were rebuilt immediately west of the arena, on the former baseball field (infield & right field). Student life Boise State's enrollment for the 2023–24 year was 26,727 students, with approximately 69 percent Idaho residents. Boise State University has the largest graduate enrollment in Idaho. More than 90 percent of Boise State's first-year students come directly from high school. Housing At Boise State "18% of the students live in college-owned, -operated or -affiliated housing and 82% of students live off campus." Social fraternities and sororities Boise State has seen an increase in its Greek community; as of fall of 2023, there are 8 Panhellenic sororities and 11 fraternities active on campus. In 2023, the fraternity Alpha Kappa Lambda was suspended for a period of four years due to hazing rituals and incidents of alcohol abuse. Rankings Notable alumni See also Idaho portal References Informational notes Citations External links Official website Boise State Athletics website