Twenty-three years into his job, and Boise State Athletic Director Gene Bleymaier is known for one trivial decision about AstroTurf.

Boise State’s famous blue turf, installed in 1986 and the only one of its kind in America, has helped the No. 19 Broncos win 21 straight football games at home – 16 overall – and has brought the small school into the national spotlight.

The idea to install blue turf came to Bleymaier when he was faced with the expensive task of replacing the existing green turf. With replacement costs around $750,000, Bleymaier wanted people across the nation to notice BSU’s investment.

‘We had to replace the green turf,’ Bleymaier said. ‘It’s not grass, and people know it’s not grass. So it doesn’t have to be green. We just went with the team colors – blue and orange.’

After discussing the proposal with the president of Boise State and a few other BSU officials (and making sure the cost for the blue turf was the same as its green counterpart), Bleymaier went ahead with his proposal. Throughout the entire process, the staff at BSU made sure to keep details about the unique turf quiet.

‘The public reaction would have been negative, so it wouldn’t have materialized,’ Bleymaier said. ‘We kept it very close in.’

Now, though, Boise State fans associate closely with the blue turf. Their enthusiasm for BSU, coupled with the special playing surface, has made Bronco Stadium a tough place to play for visiting teams.

The Broncos have used the momentum gained at home to win 16 straight games, including road wins over Brigham Young, Fresno State and Texas Christian. It is the longest active winning streak in college football.

‘The blue turf is different,’ said Gary Crowton, BYU head coach. ‘It was hard to pick up their team colors because it was blue-on-blue.

‘The stadium is very loud because the people in there are excited. We practiced indoors one day with crowd noise playing. If we played them every year, I would have our scout team practice all in green since our turf’s green.’

The added advantage of blue turf to BSU is a main reason Bleymaier decided to install it.

‘When you’re at Nebraska and you see that red or Tennessee and see that orange, it can be intimidating,’ Bleymaier said. ‘It’s our way of letting you know you’re not at home anymore.’

And while visiting teams have trouble with the different turf and crowd noise, Boise thrives on them.

‘To us, (the turf’s) not that big a deal,’ Boise State head coach Dan Hawkins said. ‘The biggest charge for us is the excitement in the stadium. It’s very loud, and there’s a lot of electricity. It makes it difficult for other teams because of the noise factor.’

While there’s no denying BSU is a difficult place to play, many visiting coaches try to downplay the blue turf’s effect.

BSU’s foes in the Western Athletic Conference are less rattled playing at Boise, having played there since the Broncos joined the WAC in 2001.

‘I didn’t mention it the whole week (we practiced), maybe because the end zones on our turf are blue,’ said Phil Bennett, Southern Methodist head coach. ‘I kidded that maybe we should’ve practiced in the end zones that week.’

Even if opposing teams eventually get used to the turf’s blue hue, BSU has no intention of changing its color. The school gets many visitors each year interested in seeing the only blue turf in America.

Boise State has also used the turf as a way to coax recruits to play there. The Boise area has gotten substantially more attention since the installation of its unique football field, Bleymaier said.

But after winning the WAC in 2002 and 2003, the Broncos are bringing attention to Boise for a whole different reason. With an easy schedule remaining, BSU looks to go undefeated and earn a berth to a prominent bowl.

Boise State can thank Bleymaier and the blue turf – at least in part.

‘They’re a team that thinks they can win at home, and they have,’ Bennett said. ‘It’s the reason they have the longest win streak. I’ve coached all over the country and been in some loud stadiums. Those 30,000 people there raise a lot of cane. They have great support, and Dan and his staff have put together a group of guys that play hard every down. They don’t think they can lose there.’

For a span that covered three seasons, the Army football team didn’t win a game. On Saturday against Cincinnati, the Black Knights broke their 19-game skid in convincing fashion, 48-29.

Army hadn’t won since Nov. 16, 2002, when it defeated Tulane, 14-10. It was the Black Knights’ first home win since Oct. 27, 2001, also against Tulane. Central Florida now has the longest active losing streak in the nation with nine consecutive losses.

‘It was a nice one,’ said Bobby Ross, Army head coach. ‘We’re pleased to get it. We had one night to enjoy it, and now it’s back to get another one. It was a nice thing, and we certainly got a monkey off of our back. Things just fell into place for us.

‘Here at West Point, everyone is very strict and there’s lots of regimentation. It was great for everyone to let their sleeves down. Winning football games in a place like this is important. It’s very special here, because it gives them something positive to see.’

Head coach Bill Callahan’s honeymoon at Nebraska, if there ever was one, is over.

The Huskers suffered their worst loss in school history, 70-10, on Saturday against Texas Tech. Nebraska, the second-place team in the Big 12 North, gave up 523 total yards to the potent Red Raiders offense.

Callahan insists Saturday’s game was an aberration, and the Huskers will return to form against Baylor this week.

‘As disheartening as the loss was on Saturday, there’s still a lot of football left for this team,’ Callahan said. ‘One game does not define us, and it will not define our season. I firmly believe that you learn more about yourself in defeat than in victory.’

Published on October 13, 2004 at 12:00 pm