The Role of Football and Stadia Construction in Institutional Ascension: A Case Study of the Transition of Boise Junior College into Boise State University

Abstract

The present case study offers a descriptive history on the construction and renovation of Boise State University’s football athletic grounds and stadia from 1932 through 1975 to better understand their contribution in the institutional history of the school. In particular, the current study uniquely shows the role football and stadia played within the ascension of the institution from a private junior college to large public state university. Boise State is one among several institutions that transitioned from junior college to state college and then university status. To realize the goals of the current study, information was sought on important stakeholders and groups, environmental or contextual factors, and decisions that influenced the construction of various football grounds and/or stadia at Boise State. Next, the present work examined how football and competition grounds or stadia at Boise State impacted the perception of the institution and facilitated its transition from junior college to major university status. Overall, the current essay legitimizes previous assumptions offered by other institutional histories that football and its stadia helped to ensure school survival. Moreover, football and stadia could serve as a strategic asset within an institution’s ascension from institute, normal college, community college, junior college, and state college to university status