Boise State University will part ways with athletic director Gene Bleymaier, who has held the post for almost 30 years. Bleymaier began his tenure in 1982 and has helped build BSU's athletic programs over the past three decades. He is also credited with the idea of the Bronco's blue turf.
The decision comes on the heels of the NCAA's rather puzzling investigation of Boise State's football program. The violations concern summer housing arrangements between its incoming players and its current players. Boise State, aiming to make it easy for incoming students to attend voluntary summer workouts, encouraged incoming players to room with current students during the summer. Between 2005 and 2008, the school did not monitor rent finances and allowed incoming players and current players to work out their own rates. The NCAA, however, found this summer arrangement to be an infraction of rules and cited 40 violations for a total of $4,934 in impermissible benefits. That sum has since been repaid and donated to charity.
In response to these violations, Boise State revamped its approach in the summer of 2009 and required documentation for the living arrangements of all incoming students. The school made sure that students were not paying free or reduced-cost housing, and believed that this would resolve any possible violations.
Unfortunately, the NCAA came out with a ruling in August of 2010 that cited another violation. The NCAA claimed that giving the names of current students to incoming students in itself was an "impermissible arrangement."
The whole situation has turned into more of a pain for the school than it would have liked. All the turmoil and confusion over such a seemingly insignificant issue surely played a part in the departure of Bleymaier.
Bleymaier will stay on for another four weeks as athletic director, and Boise State has already began searching for an interim athletic director to fill Bleymaier's vacancy on Sept. 8th.