Boise St. burst onto the college football scene a few years ago with their high powered offense and annoying blue turf. They've beaten the likes of Oklahoma and Oregon and almost went undefeated last season. Now their athletic director has stepped down amid allegations of NCAA infractions and possible sanctions going forward. What went wrong?
Boise St. got caught in no man's land. They wanted to be a big time college football program, but didn't want the problems that come with that distinction. If you want to win lots of football games and compete at a high level you're going to have to get your hands dirty. Success comes with a price.
You have to recruit good players who aren't necessarily good people. You might have to slip a few hundreds in their pocket. You might have to send cheerleaders to their room in the middle of the night. You may have to change a few grades to keep them eligible. All these things are against the rules of course so you have to make sure you don't get caught.
Teams in the Pac 12, Big 12, and especially the SEC understand this unwritten rule of recruiting. It would be nice if standout players were devout Christians that dated their high school sweetheart and went to bed by 11:00, but that's a fairytale. In the real world winning programs do whatever it takes to gain an edge and stay on top. Boise St. seems unwilling to make that sacrifice. Back to mediocrity for the Broncos.
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