The 2001 Boise State Broncos football team represented

Boise State University Boise State University (BSU) is a Public university, public research university in Boise, Idaho, United States. Founded in 1932 by the Episcopal Church (United States), Episcopal Church, it became an independent junior college in 1934 and has b ...

as a member of the

Western Athletic Conference The Western Athletic Conference (WAC) is an NCAA Division I conference. The WAC covers a broad expanse of the Western United States with member institutions located in Arizona, California, Texas, Utah and Washington (state), Washington. Due to ...

(WAC) during the

2001 NCAA Division I-A football season The 2001 NCAA Division I-A football season was the first college football season of the 21st century. It ended with the University of Miami winning the national title for the fifth time. The Hurricanes were led by Larry Coker, who was in his ...

. Led by first-year head coach

Dan Hawkins Dan, Danny or Daniel Hawkins may refer to: * Dan Hawkins (American football) (born 1960), American football coach and former player and sportscaster * Daniel Hawkins (politician) (born 1960), American politician in the Kansas House of Representat ...

, the Broncos compiled an overall record of 8–4 with a mark of 6–2 in conference play, tying for second place in the WAC. Despite finishing

bowl eligible Bowl eligibility in college football at the NCAA Division I FBS level is the standard through which teams become available for selection to participate in postseason bowl games. When a team achieves this state, it is described as "bowl-eligible". ...

, Boise State was not invited to a

bowl game In North America, a bowl game, or simply bowl, is one of a number of postseason college football games primarily played by NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) teams. For most of its history, the FBS did not use a playoff tourname ...

. The team played home games on campus, at

Bronco Stadium Albertsons Stadium is an outdoor athletic stadium in the Western United States, located on the campus of Boise State University in Boise, Idaho. It is the home of the Boise State Broncos of the Mountain West Conference. Known as Bronco Stadium f ...

Boise, Idaho Boise ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of cities in Idaho, most populous city of the U.S. state of Idaho. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, there were 235,685 people residing in the city. Loca ...

. The loss to

Washington State Washington, officially the State of Washington, is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. It is often referred to as Washington State to distinguish it from the national capital, both named after George Washington ...

on September 8 was Boise State's last regular season loss at Bronco Stadium for over a decade. Two weeks later, the Broncos began a 65-game regular season home winning streak that continued through the 2011 season. Boise State lost the

2005 MPC Computers Bowl The 2005 MPC Computers Bowl was the ninth edition of the bowl game. It featured the 2005 Boise State Broncos football team, Boise State Broncos and the 2005 Boston College Eagles football team, Boston College Eagles. Though playing at home on its ...

at Bronco Stadium, but the bowl game was not considered a home game. This was the first season in which Boise State and

rival A rivalry is the state of two people or Social group, groups engaging in a lasting competitive relationship. Rivalry is the "against each other" spirit between two competing sides. The relationship itself may also be called "a rivalry", and each ...

Idaho Idaho ( ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Pacific Northwest and Mountain states, Mountain West subregions of the Western United States. It borders Montana and Wyoming to the east, Nevada and Utah to the south, and Washington (state), ...

were not in the same conference since the 1969 season, when the Broncos were an NAIA independent. This prompted the introduction of the Governor's Trophy by Idaho governor and University of IDaho alumnus,

Dirk Kempthorne Dirk Arthur Kempthorne (born October 29, 1951) is an American politician who served as the 49th United States Secretary of the Interior from 2006 to 2009 under President George W. Bush. A member of the Republican Party, he previously served as a ...

, to continue the series. The first game played for the trophy was won easily by Boise State, and, ironically, played out of state, at

Martin Stadium Martin Stadium is an outdoor athletic stadium in the Northwestern United States, on the campus of Washington State University in Pullman, Washington. It is the home field of the Washington State Cougars of the Pac-12 Conference. Its full n ...

Pullman, Washington Pullman is the most populous city in Whitman County, located in southeastern Washington within the Palouse region of the Pacific Northwest. The population was 32,901 at the 2020 census, and estimated to be 32,508 in 2022. Originally founded as ...

. Idaho joined the WAC in

2005 2005 was designated as the International Year for Sport and Physical Education and the International Year of Microcredit. The beginning of 2005 also marked the end of the International Decade of the World's Indigenous Peoples, Internationa ...

, and the rivalry returned to a conference game for six seasons. Boise State joined the

Mountain West Conference The Mountain West Conference (MW) is a collegiate athletic conference in the Western United States, participating in NCAA Division I. Its football teams compete in the Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS). The MW officially began operations on Ja ...

after the 2010 season. The 2010 contest remains the most recent meeting of the rivals, and the Broncos hold a 12-game winning streak over the Vandals, who last won in 1998.

Schedule

References

{{Boise State Broncos football navbox

Boise State Boise State University (BSU) is a public research university in Boise, Idaho, United States. Founded in 1932 by the Episcopal Church, it became an independent junior college in 1934 and has been awarding baccalaureate and master's degrees It ...

Boise State Broncos football seasons

Boise State Broncos football The Boise State Broncos football program represents Boise State University in college football and competes in the NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) as a member of the Mountain West Conference. The Broncos play their home games on ...