September 18, 2014 Vol. 27 Issue 10

I n d e p e n d e n t S t u d e n t V o I c e o f B o I S e S t a t e S I n c e 1 9 3 3

HOMECOMING

09/18/2014, Page 2

off your drink and food order!

500 W. Idaho St.Expires July 31, 2015

after 6pmGET 20%

SHOW YOUR STUDENT ID

© 2014 Aramark. All rights reserved.

Only $5 at Grille Works in the ILC!

ON ABUDGETDEAL WITH IT

SAVE MONEY

WITH STUDENT DEALS

CHECKthis space weekly

for local deals

© 2014 Aramark. All rights reserved.

CARAMEL SWIRL BROWNIE

$1.49DEAL

ooey, gooey goodness!

Grab yours in the SUB and ILC food courts!

STUDENT DEALS

ISSUEIN THIS

Sudoku

Distributed Mondays & Thurs-days during the academic school year. The Arbiter is the

official independent student newspaper of Boise State University and a designated public forum, where student editors make all content deci-sions and bear responsibil-ity for those decisions. The Arbiter’s budget consists of fees paid by the student body and advertising sales. The first copy is free. Additional cop-ies can be purchased for $1 apiece at The Arbiter offices.

arbiteronline.com1910 university dr Boise, Id 83725

phone: 208.426.6300 fax: 888.388.7554

Contact Us

EDITOR-IN-CHIEFEmily Pehrson

editor@ arbiteronline.com

MANAGING EDITORKatie Meikle

managingeditor@ arbiteronline.com

NEWS EDITORAlx Stickel

news@ arbiteronline.com

ASSISTANT NEWS EDITOREryn-Shay Johnson

& Sean Buncenews@

arbiteronline.com

SPORTS EDITORNate Lowery

sports@arbiteronline.com

ASSISTANT SPORTS EDITORBrandon Walton

sports@arbiteronline.com

CULTURE EDITORJustin Kirkham

arts@ arbiteronline.com

ASSISTANT CULTURE EDITORPatty Bowen

arts@ arbiteronline.com

PHOTO EDITORTyler Paget

photo@ arbiteronline.com

COPY EDITORSBrenna BrumfieldBriana Cornwall

design managerJovi Ramirez

GRAPHIC DESIGNERSChristian Spencer

Ted AtwellJared Lewis

BUSINESS MANAGERMacArthur Minor

business@ arbiteronline.com

NL News Director Farzan Faramarzi

15

7

11

homecoming games spell success for broncos

How to tailgate like an all-star

Safety first at homecoming 2014

Front Page Photo Credits:Leslie Boston Hyde, Devin Farrell, and Kaylee Hinkle

NEWS

09/18/2014Pg 4

Homecoming costs raise concerns about spendingSean BunceAsst. News Editor

Over the course of Home-coming Week, a number of events and activities take place which aim to bring students and alumni together as a com-munity.

The total cost for Home-coming events this year is over $21,000 dollars.

One event however, the Splatter Party (which is like a Cirque du Soleil-style dance party, as described on the event homepage), costs much more than any other Home-coming event at $17,000 dol-lars. These costs include added security, marketing costs, space reservations and pay-ment to Uprising Paint Fight (the company producing the event).

The costs are split between several campus organizations. Some Homecoming costs for events are earmarked at the be-ginning of the year. Not every-one feels the spending of this amount of money is justified.

For Bryan Vlok, president of Associated Students of Boi-se State University, it’s more about long-term goals.

“If we can get our students to invest in Homecoming now

in their time at Boise State, when they graduate they’re going to have an investment,” Vlok said.

He believes Homecoming needs to be more about the students, something he’s advo-cated for the last year.

“In the past I think we’ve done a great job at facilitating the different populations (on campus),” Vlok said.

While smaller events are taking place throughout the week aimed towards alumni and new students, Vlok be-lieves the Splatter Party will act as an end of the week hurrah, which will bring a larger crowd together. He expects more than maximum occupancy to turn out for the event.

“We will see Friday if the community comes together or not,” Vlok said. “If we have 1,000 people inside and 500 waiting, then I’ll know we did something right.”

Mary Pritchard, a psychol-ogy professor at Boise State, offered a social psychological perspective to Homecoming. She said all humans are born with a fundamental desire to belong. This is why she be-lieves many freshmen and new students join student clubs and organizations.

“I love the idea of trying to build a sense of community, for new students especially. It’s the perfect time to be doing that,” she said. “Could that be done with an event that’s not so costly? I think so.”

Pritchard feels these sort of events are necessary for stu-dents’ overall health, stating that people who don’t have a lot of social support tend to get more colds, they don’t live as long and they’re not as happy.

“Anyone who is new to campus is really going to ben-efit from having an event at the beginning of the semester because they’re trying to find themselves or trying to fit in,” she said. “Fun and games are a great way to build community, but I don’t think they’re ap-pealing across all age groups.”

Paivi Pittman, a custodian at the Recreation Center, voiced her opinion after overhearing the topic.

“It’s not going to be that memorable for as much mon-ey as they’re going to spend,” she said. “You could build a sense of community by al-lowing three more people to go to school here. To me, that’s more people’s lives you’ll change than with a party no one’s going to remember.”

TRIVIA NIGHT $200

HOMECOMING KICKOFF $1,000RELAY $750FLOAT DECORATING $1,375

SPLATTER PARTY $17,000

PARADE $1,350

christian spencer/the arBiter

09/18/2014, Page 5

DIV: 9

SIZE: 6 COL X 9.65”

DATE: 9-18-14

THURSDAY

08-00099

CONTENT CHECKED BY DESIGNER

DESIGN APPROVED

FINAL APPROVAL

COPY EDITOR

ROP DIRECTOR

PRODUCTION DIRECTOR

ADSEND TIME

PLACED IN DOCUSHARE

MKTS: BSU

Brand selection varies by store. Call 1-800-345-5273

for a store near you.

Demand trucker, $21.00.Passive zip hoodie, $69.50.

Passive tee, $21.00.

Highside cap, $28.00.Sparse tee, $21.00.

Check out these other great brands:

NEWS

09/18/2014Pg 6

Homecoming Week celebrates alumniEryn-Shay JohnsonAsst. News Editor

During Boise State’s Home-coming Week, several alumni will be honored for their in-volvement in the community and continued support of their alma mater.

The seventh annual Distin-guished Alumni Awards Gala will be held on Sept. 19 in the Stueckle Sky Center.

According to Casandra Sipes, director of alumni in-volvement, the alumni are nominated and then selected by a nomination committee.

“The goal is to have them come back to campus and talk about their success and

how Boise State helped them achieve that success,” Sipes said.

This year there will be four distinguished alumni awards and two services awards.

“(A distinguished alumnus) is someone who has been suc-cessful, either in (his or her) personal or professional con-tributions, and brings honor and glory to Boise State,” Sipes said. “It’s really someone who has gone out and made a dif-ference in the world, made a difference in their profession, and then they also still stay en-gaged. We’re proud to call them alumni.”

Jim Barker, David M. Coo-per, Wendy Hartman and

Michael Monteferrante will receive the Distinguished Alumni Award. Jess Byrne and Jeffrey Stoppenhagen will re-ceive the Distinguished Alum-ni Service Award. Jon Uda will receive the Distinguished Uni-versity Service award.

This year there will be a also be a memorial tribute dedi-cated to Dennis Ward. Ward passed away in February ear-lier this year. Ward was a cheer-leader, Homecoming king and president of the Intercollegiate Knights organization. Ward also founded alumni chap-ters in Twin Falls and Puget Sound. He was awarded the Distinguished Alumni Award in 2008.

According to his memorial bio produced by Boise State Alumni Association, “Dennis understood what it meant to be a ‘Bronco for Life.’”

In addition to the awards gala, Homecoming brings events to campus to unite former and current students. Among these, an open bar-becue will be hosted at the construction site of the new Alumni and Friends Center. The barbecue will be open to the public.

The barbecue will be held Sept. 20 4 p.m. to 7 p.m.; at 6 p.m. a ground breaking cere-mony for the new building will be held.

“We’re working a lot more

closely (with current stu-dents and younger alumni) than we have in the past,” Sipes said. “So for example

the Homecoming barbecue we try to incorporate —we’re targeting younger alumni to come out and participate.”

Dennis ward was a bronco for life.

alu

mn

i ass

oci

atio

n/t

he

arB

iter

09/18/2014 Pg 7

NEWS

Homecoming events require campus safetyAlx StickelNews Editor

This week’s Splatter Party, Homecoming Parade and football game are anticipat-ed to draw crowds, which means event attendees need to be aware of their person-al safety and the safety of others.

Students need to know that the Splatter Party, held Sept. 19, does not allow bags or reentry into the are-na. Students will be waved with a metal detector wand as they enter the Intramural Field. Overly-intoxicated students will not be allowed to attend the event.

Additional security has been provided for the Splat-ter Party, and medics will be on site as well. With the event happening in the dark, Jo Ann Gilpin, secu-rity operations manager for Campus Security and Police Services, said they want to make sure everyone is safe.

For the Sept. 20 Home-coming Parade, students need to be aware that at 3:30 p.m., streets connect-ing to the parade route will be barricaded until the completion of the parade. At 3:45 p.m. Boise Police Department will close Capi-tol and Broadway streets.

At 4 p.m. the parade will begin. The parade will start near the Brady Garage, wind through University Drive and return down Belmont Street.

According to Erin Mahn, campus programs coordina-tor for the Student Involve-ment and Leadership Cen-ter, it will last about 30-45 minutes.

Mahn said the parade is

on a strict timeline to en-sure traffic is not held up too long and will return to running smoothly.

Mahn encourages parade patrons to stand on the sidelines and cheer for the floats. Mahn said students and other attendees need to stay out of the street, and not run up to the floats for candy. Float riders will toss candy.

Mahn said she looks for-ward to the parade coming together for Homecoming Day.

“It should just be a blue and orange day,” Mahn said.

After the parade, the stu-dent tailgate will kick off

at 5:30 p.m. at the student entrance of the stadium. Gilpin said students need to remember the 10-10 zone is in effect, and to use opaque cups.

Game attendees will need to pass through the metal detectors again. Gilpin recommends people bring clear bags and get to the gates early to help the lines move faster. The student gate opens at 6:20 p.m. and kickoff is at 8:30.

Gilpin also recommends students have a “wingman” so students can keep each other safe during the event.

“Just be safe and use your head,” Gilpin said.

2013 Bronco olympic champions walk in the homecoming parade.

The parade route loops around campus.

erin

ma

hn

/sil

k

09/18/2014, Page 8

HOMECOMINGTARGETS RESIDENTS OVER COMMUTERS

Justin KirkhamCulture Editor

The flags dotting walkways and buildings on campus this week mean more to some stu-dents than others. For those in the know, posters and pro-motional banners highlight Homecoming Week, the upcoming game, and its em-phasis on community. But for others, they are just deco-rations that don’t mean much in the grand scheme of their day-to-day endeavors.

Junior sociology major Collin Blair is considering attending the game on Satur-day. He plans to buy a t-shirt and participate in some of the closer, more convenient Homecoming Week activi-ties and games but doesn’t feel obligated to delve into everything possible.

“It’s fun and exciting and supposed to get people in-volved,” Blair said. “But there are also those that aren’t quite as excited as oth-ers. The activities tend to

cater to the already involved students.”

Homecoming activities focus on students that are already pumped and hyped for the upcoming game and football season, as well as welcoming freshmen to campus and fostering a sense of community within those living on campus.

Based on data gathered in 2013 by US News, Boise State had over 20,000 stu-dents enrolled, with 94 per-cent of those students living off campus. Students that commute for classes, park in one of the general lots or Brady Garage and spend most of their time on cam-pus in class rarely venture past the Quad or Communi-cation Building.

These students are often

left out of Homecoming’s community focus.

Senior history major Deb Jackson doesn’t see much appeal in the upcoming Homecoming events.

“I didn’t know it was Homecoming Week un-til I saw the flags around the Business Building and thought, ‘Oh, OK.’”

Jackson participated in Homecoming activities as a freshman living on campus and because the events were at her fingertips. She now lives off campus and commutes to school mainly for classes and work engagements.

Most of the Homecoming events and advertisements are centered at the SUB, far out of these students’ paths. The advertising of these events is based around

on-campus housing and the SUB, making it that much more difficult for commuting students to stay in the loop.

“Some events should be hosted closer to the ILC,” Jackson said. “Events are centralized by location, not by population.”

A strengthened focus, at least on advertising, in this more trafficked area would certainly help reign in inter-ested students. But it is dif-ficult to get students excited about a community that they don’t necessarily want to be a part of in the first place.

“Homecoming becomes a bro-fest of bro-ness and football and flags,” said Jack-son. “It isn’t necessarily a bad thing. It’s just very nar-row-minded in its approach.”

Homecoming events may

aim to foster a sense of com-munity and involvement within student attendees, but it ultimately does an excellent job of excluding those without a particular set of interests or campus placement.

“College is about getting in-volved in one way or another,” Blair said, after suggesting that Homecoming planners poll a variety of students about their interests in activities.

By expanding the targeted audience for Homecom-ing, those putting activities together could easily reign in multitudes of partici-pants. But in the end, it comes down to the fact that Homecoming festivities are focused toward individuals that already know they want to be involved.

WHAT ARE YOUR THOUGHTS ON HOMECOMING

OPINION9

09/18/2014

“It’s great because there is a lot of spirit

going around campus.”

-sophomore graphic design major

Sarah Holleron

“It’s awesome be-cause the student population comes

together and reflects on Boise State’s past and what the future is

going to hold.”-junior communica-

tion major Tyler Rausa

“A week long of celebrating Boise

State.”-sophomore construction

management major Kaylee Beck

“Homecoming is a great way for the

community and the campus to bond

together.” -sophomore special

education major Maria Guare

“It means absolutely nothing to

me.” -senior construction management major

Geoff Decker

christian spencer/the arBiter

Culture

09/18/2014Pg 10

Stay on track to graduate with flexible, fully online courses designed to fit your needs and schedule.

Take The

Classroom

With You!

Get started today at ecampus.boisestate.edu

SuB sidewalk decoratedPatty BowenAsst. Culture Editor

Students who are wonder-ing why the grass outside the Student Union Building pa-tio is starting to turn a faint yellow need not look further than the chalk art adorning the neighboring sidewalk.

This year, Boise State start-ed its first Sidewalk Chalk Competition. Sprinklers near the SUB have been shut off to preserve the drawings that students and communi-ty members created over the 8 hours they were allotted on Tuesday, Sept. 16. The com-petition had very few restric-tions, allowing participants to draw whatever they want-ed with the 48 chalk colors provided. The competition was judged on several cat-egories including creativity, Bronco spirit and originality.

“Students don’t have to be experts in art to play with chalk, so it was a way to get students involved that are artists, but also students that want to come by and have fun for 15 minutes,”

said Melinda Jean Stafford, managing and programming coordinator for the Game Center. “This is something I think could be a fun tradi-tion every year.”

The competition offers a great platform for group or individual involvement in Homecoming, and allows students to get what they want out of the experience.

For Allyson Tuft, junior at Vallivue High School, the event was just a fun way to show off her art and get her name out there.

“I really like to draw and have people enjoy my art,” Tuft said. “I plan on doing something with art in the fu-ture. Something that makes me happy.”

Tuft heard about the com-petition through her cousin who goes to Boise State and decided to participate de-spite not being a student at Boise State.

Right next to Tuft’s draw-ing of Groot from comic book and movie franchise “Guardians of the Galaxy,” Zach Woolsey, senior il-

lustration major worked his artistic magic making a “comic book-style Bronco.” In comparison with the oth-er competition participants, Woolsey has quite a bit of ex-perience drawing with side-walk chalk.

“I have a two-year-old and a five-year-old, and so I draw all the time for my kids in my driveway with pictures of Batman and Star Wars,” Woolsey said.

The work that both Wool-sey and Tuft put in will, in their eyes, pay off later on by giving them something to put into a portfolio and by helping them get name rec-ognition.

“I always try to enter as many things as I can. It’s a good opportunity to put on resumes and show people a portfolio of work,” Woolsey said. “I think [the chalk com-petition] is a good way to reach out to others, like me who are older…who may not participate in the other activities. It gives me some-thing I feel like I can do.”

Participants illustrate cement with chalk.

lesl

ie B

ost

on

hyd

e/th

e a

rBit

er

Culture

09/18/2014 Pg 11

Like us on Facebook!

NORCO BuildingSuite 116 (1529 Belmont)

Phone: 208-426-1527Email: deanofstudents@boisestate.edu

How to make your tailgate worthy of HomecomingKelsey JacobsStaff Writer

Tailgating is more than an open trunk with a plate of snacks. A successful tailgat-ing event can go in multiple directions, depending on how well its participants prepare and put their plans into mo-tion. With the Homecoming Game coming up on Satur-day, an excellent tailgate will be essential.

A good tailgate isn’t just a pre-meal before the game. The food, engaging activities and spirited fans are all part of what makes tailgating an incredible experience.

FoodStay away from that veg-

etable plate. It’s football time and celery sticks aren’t going to cut it. To properly prepare for the cheering, yelling and, to be honest, a lot of standing, tailgaters must fuel their bod-ies with the best kind of food there is: tailgate food.

There’s nothing quite like eating a meaty deli-cious hamburger while decked out in game day gear. That’s a good start, but there are hours of game day events for which you’ll need additional fuel.

Guacamole, a perfect dip and a delightful compliment

to a tortilla chip, is a fantastic source of energy and is great for the beating hearts of Bron-co tailgaters. Let’s not forget the wings. Wings are a tailgate necessity. They may be messy, but that’s just an excuse to buy lots of Bronco-themed napkins. Awesome wings equal an incredible tailgate. To finish things off, a brownie or cookie is a nice sweet treat that tailgaters can easily eat on their way into the stadium or in line to get tickets.Activities

Tailgating is full of festivi-ties and games. A common tailgating game is Ladder Golf. According to the of-

ficial rules on laddergolf.com, “Ladder Golf is played with two or more players or teams. Each player has three golf ball bolas. A bola is two golf balls attached by a ny-lon rope. The object of the game is to wrap your bolas around the steps of the ladder. The ladder consists of three steps, a top, middle and a bottom step.”

Junior graphic design major Andie Kelly is an artist and a huge Bronco fan. She painted her own beer pong table, spending 10 hours to deck it out in Boise State decora-tions. Kelly uses her table for tailgating.

“My favorite season of the year is tailgating season,” Kel-ly said. “I love eating yummy food with great company and bonding over the greatest sport while rooting for the best team.”People

This may be the most im-portant component to tailgat-ing. There can be delicious food and the best games, but a successful tailgate would be nothing without spirited sports fans.

Senior Spanish major Taryn Golling has been tail-gating with her family since 2009.

“My favorite part of tailgat-

ing is meeting and interacting with all the other fans that walk by our tailgate or when newbies join us,” Golling said.

ESSENTIALS

• Barbecuedish• Fillingsides• Quickdesserts• Engaginggames• Closefriends

andfamily• Broncogear

Culture

09/18/2014Pg 12

Student football fans go all out with in-depth costumesJustin KirkhamCulture Editor

Amidst an array of splat-tered blue faces, orange wigs, and Bronco-themed body suits stand a few further costumed football fans. With a closer look, attendees can uncover a pair of Elvis onlookers, Bronco storm troopers, and this year, a princess.

Senior chemistry major Linda Connor creates and wears a costume to every game each season. This year, she is taking on the appearance of royalty in her princess costume. In

past years, she has dressed as a fairy, an old Chicago mobster, a flapper and a geisha. Connor has been dressing up since the 2010 football season.

Connor was a member of the color guard in high school, and tried out for the Boise State team her freshman and sophomore years.

When she didn’t get in, Connor opted to dress up for each football game.

“If they didn’t want to let me have fun with them, I was going to have fun by myself,” Connor said.

For Connor, dressing

up is her personal way of getting into the action and showing off her spirit. She doesn’t think more ex-travagant costumes make someone a bigger Bronco fan than those that pre-fer to attend in their daily clothing.

“Ultimately you need to go out there and have fun,” Connor said. “Just scream louder and enjoy the time while you have it.”

For those interested in going all out and finding their own costume for the season, Connor suggested having a plan for a cos-tume before shopping.

“If you don’t know ex-actly what you want to be, costs can add up fast,” Connor said.

She continued to warn against using logos and branding when com-ing up with a costume or putting together a name for the character one is portraying.

Though Connor hasn’t had any problems with po-tential trademark or copy-right infringement it in the past, she still believes it is something to be wary of.

Those simply interested in decking themselves out in Bronco gear can still

participate in the fun and festivities. Connor has noticed several fans plas-tering themselves with blue and orange in light of each game day.

“There’s always the blue and orange wigs and the body painters,” Connor explained. “But that also depends on how cold it is.”

Connor has noticed an increase in girls wearing Bronco tees with black leggings and baseball caps. The garb of attend-ees tends to transform as the weather changes. Bare chests and flimsy layers become less popular as

the temperature drops, encouraging fans to find new ways to show off their spirit and enthusiasm at games.

Corral president Caleb Cook explained that the most important thing for fans to remember when preparing for the game is the designated color scheme, “this game being orange for the student sec-tion.”

For more information on what color to wear and other great football insights pick up a copy of the Blue & Orange on stands.

Football attendees dress up to show spirit.

lin

da

o’c

on

no

r/th

e a

rBit

er

09/18/2014 Pg 13

Sports & rec

These positions will be short-term.

MAXIMUS is an equal opportunity employer. All offers of employment will be contingent upon a satisfactory drug test and background check.

www.maximus.com/careers

NOW HIRING Customer Service Representatives

• 5:00 a.m. to 11:00 p.m. Monday through Sunday

• No sales or outbound calls

• $11.17/hour with benefits

• Located on the beautiful HP Campus – great for an active lifestyle

APPLY NOW!In Person 11331 West Chinden Blvd. Building 8 (on the HP campus) 10:00 a.m. – 3:00 p.m (Mon – Fri)

Online Visit maximus.com/careers and click on “Current Opportunities” today!

Become a Crisis Phone Responder Orientation sessions in September

Training begins October 4, 2014

Volunteer application or additional info visitwww.idahosuicideprevention.org or call Nina Leary at 208-258-6992 A Program of Mountain States Group, Inc

Toilet Bowl participants flush with prideBrandon WaltonAsst. Sports & Rec Editor

With Homecoming Week in full effect, Boise State students were given the rare chance to have their own shining moment on The

Blue with the annual Toilet Bowl.

The Toilet Bowl is an intramural flag football tournament that has made its mark on Homecoming Week.

On Monday, Sigma Fly

won the championship over Ms. Mogoo.

“It’s a lot of fun and it’s re-ally cool and great being out there,” sophomore construc-tion management major Jake Farris said. “We as students don’t get many opportunity

to do things like this.”A team can have up to

20 players, but must have at least four men and four women.

The event consists of a 16-team single elimination tournament with games go-ing all day.

“I like being outside and doing athletic events,” soph-omore kinesiology major Jessica Ray said. “This was a great opportunity to be out-side having fun in the sun.”

The Toilet Bowl is also one of the few opportunities students have to step foot on The Blue.

“I have never actually got to play on The Blue,” sopho-more kinesiology major Jes-sica Raube said. “I was very excited to get to do that.”

The Toilet Bowl goes back longer than you would think. It was actually started in the 1950s by several fraternities on campus.

After a hiatus in the mid-80s, the Toilet Bowl was brought back in 1998 and has been the kickoff event of Homecoming Week ever since.

The Toilet Bowl is perhaps the most popular event of Homecoming Week with many students not only par-ticipating but coming out to watch the event as well.

“I heard this was a fun tradition and never took advantage of it until now,” senior graphic design major Hailey Vik said. “Since I am a senior, I wanted to make sure I did this before I left.”

Students not only partici-pate in the event, but run the event. Several former players volunteer their time as refer-ees to make sure the tourna-ment goes smoothly.

“It’s my second time being an official,” senior mathe-matics major Rodney Pagui-rigan said. “I played it my freshman and sophomore years and I am happy to (be) helping out with this great event.”

Every team in the Toilet Bowl was pumped and ready to go in the hopes of coming away as the big winners.

“I am pretty confident in my team,” sophomore com-munication major Zach Cowen said before the tour-nament. “We are going to stomp the competition.”

““—Jake farris

It’s a lot of fun ... We as students don’t get many opportunity

to do things like this.

kalee hinkle/the arBiter

09/18/2014Pg 14

Sports & rec

UNIVERSITY PULSE

Turning Politricks

Airs Sunday

3-5 p.m.

with Christopher Bower, McAlister Mallory,

David McKerracher and Stephen Troxel.

Space Waves

Soul Sessions

Boise Locals Only

Airs Fri

1-2 p.m.

with Alisha Graefe and Paul Bates.

with Michael Prentice.

with Peter Schlesinger.

the Sideline

Sportscast

Airs Monday

11-1 p.m.

Airs Wednesday

6-8 p.m.Airs Wednesday

9-11 a.m.

with Brandon Walton and Rashad Stribling.

Special Homecoming for Har-sin, rest of coaching staffNate LowerySports & Rec Editor

Homecoming is a rare op-portunity to return to cam-pus for most Boise State alumni. For head coach Bryan Harsin and half of the coaching staff, however, it is a reminder that they get to work in the same place where they spent their play-ing days.

Out of the 10 full-time football coaches, six spent their undergraduate ca-reers at Boise State, and all but Scott Huff and Andy Avalos—the only hold-overs from Chris Petersen’s staff—are returning to Boi-se State after stints outside of the Treasure Valley.

At the head of it all is the Boise man himself: Coach Harsin. Harsin is a native of Boise; he graduated from

Capital High School in 1994 and was a quarterback for the Broncos from 1995-1999.

“We’re coming home,” Harsin said in a press re-lease following his hiring as head coach. “(Boise State) is a special place built by special people.”

Harsin always dreamed of returning to Boise State after he left to become the co-offensive coordinator at Texas in 2011.

“One of the hardest de-cisions we ever made was leaving Boise,” Harsin said. “We did that so I could be-come a better coach, so I could one day have the op-portunity to return as head coach—that day has ar-rived.”

After taking the head coaching job at Arkansas State in 2013, it was uncer-

tain if Harsin would find the opportunity to become the head coach at Boise State. Many members of the Bronco community were positive that Petersen was in Boise for the long haul until Dec. 6, when Petersen announced he was leaving for Washington.

For many of the alumni coaching staff, nostalgia for their alma mater is syn-onymous with memories on The Blue.

“To be honest with you, it’s a little more emotional before the game,” Harsin said following Boise State’s win over the Rams. “Just being back on The Blue—that’s a special place.”

The Broncos got Harsin his first win as the Boise State head coach against Colorado State at home ear-lier this season.

Harsin celebrating after his return to the Blue.

lesl

ie B

ost

on

hyd

e/th

e a

rBit

er

09/18/2014 Pg 15

Sports & rec

Homecoming yields success, fan turnout for BroncosNate LowerySports & Rec Editor

Historically, Boise State Homecoming games have yielded success for the foot-ball program. Since 2010 the Broncos are undefeated in Homecoming games, and attendance ratings for those games are higher than the season average.

It’s no secret that the ath-letic department has strug-gled to sell tickets in the post-Kellen Moore era.

Season ticket sales last season dipped down to 22,416, and the numbers for this year have yet to reach that mark.

Homecoming games have been the redeeming factor for Boise State athletics, however.

The last five Homecom-ing opponents (UC Davis, Toledo, Air Force, UNLV and Southern Mississippi) combined for a record of 24-38 in the season they faced the Broncos. Only UC Davis in 2009 had a lower attendance than the season average for that year.

Boise State outscored those opponents 245-77.

This year’s Homecoming game is also the earliest in the season Homecoming has been during that five-year span.

According to campus programs coordinator Erin Mahn, this has caused Homecoming Week to flow with Bronco Welcome.

“It’s a little bit more hec-tic, but it’s really just flowed together with the start of the school year,” Mahn said. “It makes everything run a little faster.”

The past five Homecom-ing games for the Broncos have another similarity how-ever: all were against one of the weakest opponents on the schedule.

A spokesperson for the Alumni Center could not be reached to explain how the Homecoming date is se-lected, but assistant athletic director of media relations Max Corbet told The Arbiter via email that the athletic de-partment has some input in selecting the Homecoming date.

There are several possibili-ties as to why Homecoming games coincide with the Broncos’ weakest opponent.

If there is the possibility that there will be difficulty filling Albertsons Stadium, Homecoming can be used as a draw to bring in those fans who don’t want to see a blowout.

Another possible reason for this pattern is few alumni would want to make the trek

back to Boise and end up seeing the Broncos lose.

According to athletic di-rector Mark Coyle, the ath-letic department has begun working closely with the Alumni Center to get alum-ni more involved with the Broncos, and hopefully in-crease those ticket sales.

Coyle considers athletics to be the “elastic band” that keeps alumni involved with the school.

“How we kind of look at it is, how can we engage our students and get them in-volved so when you all grad-uate [you] still want to be a part of our program,” Coyle said.

Nate LowerySports & Rec Editor

For the first time this season, the Boise State women’s soccer team was kept off of the score-

board.Despite taking 14 shots,

the Broncos were only able to make two shots on target in a 2-0 loss to Northwest rival Gonzaga at Boas Soccer Com-

plex on Monday.The loss drops Boise State to

3-2-2 on the season.Key to the Bulldogs’ de-

fense was finding a way to stop Boise State junior Brooke

Heidemann. Heidemann—last week’s National Player of the Week according to Disney Soccer and the National Soccer Coaches Association—only managed to get one shot off in 78 minutes of action.

Gonzaga (4-4-0) struck first in the 23rd minute with a goal

from Tori Lee from 5 yards out of the net.

Despite having a 9-4 total shot advantage over the Bull-dogs, Boise State was unable to score in the first half, and surrendered another goal to Heather Johnson only 76 sec-onds into the second half.

Boise State next will head down to Southern California to face Pepperdine and UC Ir-vine before going to Colorado with games against Air Force and Colorado College.

The Broncos’ next home game won’t be until Oct. 3 against Colorado State.

Soccer falls to Gonzaga at home

At t e

nd

an

c e

Ye a r

Seasons Homecomings

Average FootballGame Attendance

Homecomings2009:34-16winoverUCDavis.2010:57-14winoverToledo.2011:37-26winoverAirForce.2012:32-7winoverUNLV.2013:60-7winoverSouthernMiss.

Jared

lewis/th

e arBiter

09/18/2014, Page 16

FREE FOR CLUBS AND ORGANIZATIONS TO ADVERTISE YOUR EVENT

PRACTICE MON - THUR6:30 - 8P.M.check out

our FACEBOOKPAGE

BOISE STATEWOMENS RUGBY

Contact: haleygardner@u.boisestate.edu

freeadvertising for you club

SPONSORED BY

A.S.B.S.U.

RUSH AKPsi

you just provedthat this ad works

SPONSORED BY

A.S.B.S.U.

SEEKING MEMBERS

& OFFICERS

Shalom to all Israelites, jews, messianics, & christians on campus!

located on belmont street in the biblical studies center 1025

CLUB MEETS

EVERY FRIDAY6:00-9:00 P.M.

reserve your space

SPONSORED BY

A.S.B.S.U.

through orgsync.com