Boise State University is riding high on a victory over Big 12 football powerhouse the University of Oklahoma in last week’s Fiesta Bowl. Now, according to an AP report in Idaho Business News, Boise State officials are hoping a “bowl bounce” will help their campus gain more national recognition — and more students and private donations. (Link via University Business.)
If the increases in enrollment and donations following Cinderella runs by the George Mason and Gonzaga basketball teams can predict Boise State’s “Bowl Bounce,†the commuter school in Idaho’s capital city should expect the glass slipper to fit for months to come.
University President Bob Kustra thinks so. Thanks to the Fiesta Bowl victory, “It’s going to be easier to recruit topflight faculty, easier to recruit students and easier to raise money,†Kustra said. “It’s in a sense a coincidence because we’ve been preparing a comprehensive campaign for a year now.â€
The school’s marketing slogan, “Beyond the Blue,†refers to the academics behind the signature blue Astroturf at Bronco stadium. A one-time junior college, Boise State already was slowly blooming into a research university as the Boise metropolitan area attracted technology firms and thousands of urban transplants throughout the 1990s.
Kustra hopes the bowl victory will accelerate that transformation, mirroring the experience of George Mason University in Fairfax, Va., in the nine months since it captivated basketball fans on a run to last year’s NCAA Final Four as a No. 11 seed.
Ah, big-time intercollegiate athletics.
Andy writes! 