Boise State Fires Athletic Director Amidst NCAA Investigation

Gene Bleymaier has been fired as the athletic director of Boise State. He had been at Boise State for the past 30 years and is the person responsible not only for the blue turf that the team plays their home football games on, but also helped create the atmosphere to foster that team to national prominence.

After announcing the firing University president Bob Kustra said, "After a careful management review and discussions about the future of the program, I determined that new leadership will be needed as we commit ourselves to the highest level of attention and enforcement of the NCAA standards, and also continue to move Boise State athletics to the next level of success."

Under review are violations that the football team may have committed between 2005 and 2008. The firing is likely an appeal to the NCAA with the University hoping that Bleymaier's firing in addition to self-imposed penalties will comprise a satisfactory punishment.

Further violations have turned up in other areas including men's and women's tennis, as well as track and field. Overall 22 infractions and a lack of institutional controls were found at Boise State.

The violations specific to the football program included coaches arranging cheap transportation, meals and housing for incoming players during summer workouts. A total of 63 players benefited from these arrangements.

Bleymaier began his run as athletic director at Boise in 1982 before the players who received benefits had been born. He helped the school transition to Division I-A in football and pushed for stadium expansions. He says that he stands behind the way the school handled the infractions and the internal investigation that the university performed