Even with the uncertainties that the Boise State Broncos have felt early in the season, the football team has continued to put up impressive fan attendance numbers.
Boise State football had its first sellout of the season against UT-Martin on Sept. 17.
With a capacity of 36,387 at Albertsons Stadium, a total of 36,396 fans were in attendance, going over capacity by nine people.
Boise State beat out all other Mountain West Conference teams in fan attendance with an average attendance total of 32,070 (88.8% of Albertsons Stadium’s max capacity) in 2019, according to the NCAA.
“Boise games are bigger than I expected,” said freshman business major and Broncos fan Carter Braun. “I know they are no (Southeastern Conference) school, so I didn’t expect the whole town to be shut down but a lot of people still go to the games.”
When combining all Mountain West conference average home game attendance, the total comes out to 22,846, according to the NCAA. This is a significant decrease from Boise State’s total.
A lot of the success from fan engagement could be linked to Boise State football’s title as being the largest sports program in the state of Idaho.
“We’re the front porch of this state,” said Athletic Director Jeremiah Dickey during a recent interview with Nevada Sports Net. “When I first got here, I was very vocal about being the front porch of the institution, and it didn’t take me long to realize I was probably selling ourselves short. We are the Dallas Cowboys of Idaho. We are the professional team. A lot of people, whether they went to Boise State or not, have very much embraced the Blue and what we represent and who we are.”
In the team’s most recent game against Fresno State University on Oct. 8, the attendance record was broken with 37,663 fans.
The Broncos are viewed as one of the many teams looking to join a different conference like the Pac-12 with Fresno State University and San Diego State University as their main competitors from the Mountain West conference, according to Sports Illustrated.
With Fresno averaging 31,552 and San Diego, 29,896 fans per home game, according to the NCAA, Boise State has a slight edge over both schools.
“It would be cool to see the bigger programs come into Boise,” said 47-year Boise resident Jason Jungling. “It would be like Garth Brooks coming to play on the blue. A highly anticipated match-up, but can the Broncos continue and be a Cinderella story of a small junior college to now play with the likes of those in the Power Five.”
On average Boise fills the stadium to 88.8% capacity which is a higher percentage than seven Pac-12 teams, according to Pacific Takes.
Claire Keener | The Arbiter
