State Board approves Bleymaier name on new football facility.
The Boise State athletic department presented its annual financial report to the State Board of Education on Thursday and attributed a decline in football ticket revenue to a drop in away game sales.
Boise State also received a go-ahead from the State Board to use ?The Gene Bleymaier Football Complex?? as the name for its $22 million facility that is scheduled to have construction completed by July.
The Broncos presented financial documents that projected $34.95 million in operating expenditures for the 2012-13 season, down from the $38.28 million it had in 2011-12, to the board in Boise.
The department also projects $34 million in operating revenue, down 12 percent from 2011-12, though higher than any other prior year. The school is projecting a deficit of $970,000 for the 2012-13 season.
?You look at that $34 million budget and see what we do, while others have budgets much larger, and it?s a mark of pride,? Boise State President Bob Kustra said. ?But it?s not enough, and we?ll continue to try and raise money for our programs.?
Boise State?s football team, despite a record home attendance of 212,425 in six games, reported a decrease of nearly $500,000 (6.6 percent) in ticket revenue. The main reason for the decrease was lower sales for away games, and no neutral-site game like Georgia (2011) or Virginia Tech (2010), which provided a marquee game and more available tickets for Bronco fans than a true road game, such as 2012?s opener at Michigan State.
The men?s basketball team is estimated to see a 33-percent decrease in ticket revenue (about $200,000), according to the material presented to the board.
The Broncos dramatically lowered ticket prices this season. Plus, the report was created earlier in the season, before the Broncos? attendance surge.
The men?s basketball team has drawn an average of 5,708 fans for home games, up from 4,367 last season and 4,594 in 2010-11.
The final revenue number will likely end up closer to 2012 than currently projected.
?I?m not too concerned about that,? Kustra said. ?We expect some fluctuations, and I think with remaining in the Mountain West, fans are happy with that. We?ll continue to fill up Bronco Stadium and the basketball team is starting to bring out fans that might not have been to games in years.?
The board unanimously approved a proposal to name Boise State?s new football facility after Bleymaier, its former athletic director. Bleymaier was fired by Kustra in August 2011 after NCAA infractions were discovered, including lack of institutional control.
He spent 31 years at Boise State ? the final 29 as athletic director ? and helped shepherd the Broncos? rise in intercollegiate athletics, particularly football.
Kustra said there was no awkwardness with the naming decision, even though Bleymaier is now the athletic director at San Jose State, which joins the Mountain West in July.
When the Williams and Caven families, longtime Boise State boosters, made a $5 million donation to help begin funding for the project in November 2010, they stipulated it be named after Bleymaier.
?Universities have always honored the requests of donors who contribute generously, and this particular arrangement was worked out long before the NCAA issues arose,? Kustra said. ?I don?t think it?s odd at all. We?re honoring a donor?s wish and honoring Gene, who built this program for many years.?
Kustra said he expects Bleymaier to attend an opening ceremony, likely in August. The football complex behind the north end zone of Bronco Stadium will include 68,000 square feet of office and training space.
?Danell and I want to thank Larry and Marianne Williams, and Jerry and Muriel Caven for this meaningful recognition,? Bleymaier said in a statement with his wife.
?We are honored.?
Bleymaier was not available for comment Thursday.
Even though the original gift agreement was signed more than two years ago, the official motion to approve the naming rights didn?t come until Thursday because the construction is approaching completion.
?We had no qualms about the naming ? we brought it before the board, and if there was an issue, we wouldn?t have signed the gift,? Kustra said. ?We said we would honor it, and that?s what we intend to do.?
Dave Southorn: 377-6420, Twitter: @IDS_southorn
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