BRONCO FOOTBALL ACADEMIC EXCELLENCE

Assistant Athletic Director Gabe Rosenvall oversees the Academic Services program for the Boise State Athletic Department, with a major hands on focus with Bronco football.

Rosenvall and his staff of four full-time academic advisors are house in the PRECO Learning Center within the Athletic Department, with year round student-athlete development in the academic and life skills area. The Bronco football academic plan is an aggressive one, pushing each student-athlete as hard in the classroom as on the football field.

The concept is based on a Nine Semester graduation plan (four and a half years) for all incoming freshman.

In outlining the plan, the academic staff, Coach Petersen, the individual position coach and the student-athlete are all united in the number of credits needed each semester in order to achieve graduation within that time window.

In most instances, this plan allows the student-athlete to finish their football eligibility at the same time they receive their degree, giving them a perfect opportunity to take that next step in life. Each first year player is required to attend daily a one hour study hall in the PRECO Learning Center, where a member of the academic services staff is on hand to answer questions and help the student-athletes organize their time and prepare for the next day’s classes.

Academic advisors and members of the Bronco coaching staff are also in frequent contact with professors and teachers on campus, and each student-athlete is required to do an academic scorecard with their position coach during the semester. This program has helped Boise State football achieve the following results, highlights that are as impressive as the conference championships and bowl wins on the field:

• With Chris Petersen as head coach (2006-present), 116 football players have graduated
• During the Spring Semester 2012, Bronco football established a team record with an average GPA of 3.0, a high B average for players
• 57 players had a 3.0 GPA or higher (semester or cumulative) following the Spring 2012 term
• Boise State was honored nationally by the American Football Coaches Association with the 2011 Academic Achievement Award, presented annually to the school with the top NCAA Graduation Success Rate (GSR)
• Boise State football is the only team in the Nation to rank in the Top 10 of the BCS Academic Top 25 by Higher Education Watch every year since 2007: 2012 (#3), 2011 (#2), 2010 (#2), 2009 (#4), 2008 (#8) and 2007 (#4)
• The Fall 2012 Bronco Football Senior Class includes a group in which all but one player will graduate in 9 semester or less, with all but three of the 23 member senior class graduating before the 2012 Maaco Bowl Las Vegas
• Bronco Football has led its conference in All-Academic selections each of the last 8 years
• Bronco Football has ranked among the Top 10 percent nationally in 2009, 2010, 2011 and 2012 by the NCAA in Academic Progress Rate
• Senior offensive tackle Nate Potter earned first team Capital One Academic All-American honors in 2011, to go along with first team All-American honors on the field