Tramel: Boise State’s blue turf genius idea for Broncos’ brand

Turf a genius idea for building brand

BOISE, Idaho — Gene Bleymaier goes into the Boise State Athletics Hall of Fame in October, and frankly, it’s about danged time.

Bleymaier, then the Bronco athletic director, had one of the greatest ideas in the history of marketing. In 1986, with Boise State football in need of a new artificial turf, Bleymaier’s mind melded necessity and opportunity.

Why not have the manufacturers make the field blue?

“It was genius,” said current Boise State athletic director Jeramiah Dickey.

Love the blue turf or hate the blue turf — and there are legions of football fans on each side — no one can deny that Bleymaier’s instincts were correct.

The Boise State brand has soared because of the blue turf.

OSU makes its first football venture into Idaho, playing the Broncos at 8 p.m. Saturday in Albertsons Stadium, and the Mountain West Conference school is known coast to coast for a variety of

OTTO KITSINGER/AP FILE Love the blue turf or hate the blue turf — and there are legions of football fans on each side — the blue turf has elevated the Boise State brand.