Boise State Announces New Athletic Director

Boise State has announced that Mark Coyle will be the new Athletic Director to replace former AD Gene Bleymaier who was released from the postion in August. Coyle, 43, will be the fourth athletic director in the school’s 44-year history and will formally assume the duties from interm AD Curt Apsey after moving his family from Lexington, KY. Coyle has an extensive background in sports marketing, and a career that includes four years at the University of Minnesota, and a six-year stint at the University of Kentucky. At Kentucky he served as the Wildcats deputy director of athletics.

Coyle has good fundraising skills and they will come in handy when he takes over the program in January. His appointment comes at a challenging time in Boise State history. In addition to overseeing an athletic department comprised of 17 mens and womens sporting teams, he will have to cope with three years of NCAA probation, continuing the on-going stadium expansion, and paying for the rising costs of the Broncos athletic department. He also comes to Boise State at a critical time when Broncos football head coach Chris Petersen’s name is once again being circulated as a coaching candidate at such schools as North Carolina, UCLA and Arizona.