Education
Favorite Video For Scholarship
November 9, 2006 
So much for the old myth of “amateur student athletes.”
With our Broncos knocking at the door of a BCS Bowl berth we bristle at the chuckles about blue turf from our Big Ten relatives in the Midwest. We even started buying into the BSU hype of being an “urban university beyond the blue.”
Then along comes one of those radio interviews with the players and Kyle Wilson is asked, “What brought you out here all the way from New Jersey?”
It wasn’t the blue, it wasn’t a chance to get a good education in the field of computer science, electrical engineering or even business. It wasn’t the nice people in Boise, the nearby mountains, the great conservative nature of politics.
His response: “I sent them a tape and we did the deal.”
At least the dude is honest. Go Broncos!
To insure more advertising-free Boise Guardian news, please consider financial support.
Comments & Discussion
Comments are closed for this post.
Nov 9, 2006, 4:17 pm
I buy season tickets every year. Think they have a great program.
Would like to know just what the deal was?
Doesn’t really surpise me.
Nov 9, 2006, 4:31 pm
Maybe the blue, a good education in the field of “whatever”, the nice people of Boise, the nearby mountains, and great conservative nature of politics were what prompted him to send the tape. My thoughts are he had some athletic ability they wanted/needed….and in exchange he got a scholarship. Isn’t that how most scholarships are awarded. A student has some special interest (read ability) and a university engages a quid pro quo? Why should we expect BSU to be different?
Nov 9, 2006, 7:12 pm
Making a comment on this ,is,well, chancy… here goes. BSU does have a reputation as a football club, and what with blue turf and major campus buildings named after ” tacos” one wonders, what are the sports dept. top hot-dogs thinking of?
Academic excellence ? helping low-income students financially ? Funding scholarship programs for gifted yet struggling students? Housing and basic needs grants for struggling academics?
Somehow I don’t think so… really important things to a University come first.Whats that?
Why it’s a first rate football club,dummy!
Like the man said,” I sent them a tape and we did the deal.” Unfortunately, there’s nothing done about the deal many BSU students are getting: trying to get an education in a state that continues to make it more expensive.
Many students have to work minimum wage jobs to make ends meet and sacrifice continually just to have life’s basics. I think our University administrators need to rearrange the schools priorities so BSU can become, not a football club, but an institution producing top academic achievers for the Community and for our futures.
Nov 10, 2006, 8:21 am
My guess the “deal” is probably a standard scholarship package primarily funded by athletic boosters that have joined the BAA. It does not surpirse me that BSU can attract national talent for their team, many players come to Boise where they can get the playing time and excel. Many of these same players could land themseleves on a major team like Florida, Michigan, Notre Dame, etc. but those players might not really see any playing time until their Junior or Senior year, if that. Here they can start as freshman and get some attention. I don’t think anyone doubts that every team in college football would love to have Ian Johnson right now.
Nov 10, 2006, 9:26 am
So the football player wanted to play football and went to a school where he could play. So what? Boise State is a metropolitan research university of distinction.
Nov 10, 2006, 9:49 am
It’s great that Boise State has injected such financial horsepower into their football program. Although going beyond the blue might be a stretch for this non-traditional school, the results for the football program do indeed speak for themselves.
As everyone knows they have performed brilliantly and will probably go all the way. Now all the people who moved here from out of state can root for their newly adopted & beloved Broncos. The simple fact still remains in the grand scheme of the college; football should only be a part of the higher educational experience.
So this is the advice I give to the Bronco fans from out of state. If you want to send your kids to school in Idaho and get them a good, traditional education you need to send them north.