Classy, BSU. Classy.

It's stunning how the Idaho Statesman and Boise Sate University officials misrepresent University of Idaho as a school of degenerates. In an article written today, the Statesman quotes BSU's president, Bob Kustra saying a number of inflammatory and derogatory things about University of Idaho, its students, graduates, and fans. The worst of these was when Kustra stated, "It's a culture that is nasty, inebriated, and civilly doesn't give our fans the respect that any fan should expect when visiting an away team."

Before we continue, I'd like to note that I never attended the University of Idaho, nor did I attend Boise State. My father attended graduate classes through Boise State, as have a number of my good friends. I also have several friends who graduated from UI. I've split my life just about in half as far as living in southern and northern Idaho. My University was Northwest Nazarene. So suffice it to say, I don't have any particular tie to either of the big state Universities.

I've attended a number of Vandals games and over time have come to consider myself a fan of the Idaho Vandals. This was made in part because of how poorly-behaved Boise fans were, not to mention Boise's academic record which is so dismal I'm embarrassed to admit that Boise ISN'T a state, but instead the capital of Idaho.

In the Statesman hitpiece, Kustra speaks of Idaho supporters talking about Boise's academics. "What bothers me personally is the denigration of our academic programming. That's what I simply can't tolerate…. I've never seen the nastiness aimed at the quality of our academic program that I find here in Idaho from the University of Idaho Vandals…."

What quality of academic programming is he speaking of? It certainly can't be the graduation rate.

Citing graduation rates reported by Boise State's student paper at arbiteronline.com, they have a four-year graduation rate of six percent, six-year graduation rate of 26.2%, and overall graduation rate of 28% (overall graduation rate is calculated by percentage of students who graduate in greater than eight consecutive semesters). Meanwhile, Idaho's overall graduation rate is at 53%. Perhaps I'm wrong in my calculations, but it seems to me that you're almost twice as likely to receive a complete education at University of Idaho than you are at Boise State.

USA Today published an interesting article in November 2008 which focused on schools encouraging their athletes to "cluster" in easy classes that worked around their athletic schedules, essentially giving (and encouraging) the student athletes the option to "major in eligibility." One such eligibility major at Boise is the Communications program.

"Former Boise State safety, Marty Tadman, was among the 48% of the football team's juniors and seniors majoring in communication during the 2007-08 academic year. Boise State's communication program also drew 50% of the juniors and seniors on the men's basketball and women's basketball teams.

"'You hear which majors, and which classes, are the easiest and you take them,' Tadman says. 'You're going to school so you can stay in sports. You're not going for a degree. …It's a joke.'"

Student athletes at Boise are given first choice in classes so the school can ensure the athletes are able to maintain at least the minimum level of academics while pursuing their athletic endeavors. While Boise is not alone in setting up a "major in eligibility" it does not speak very highly of the school's academic standards.

I'll also note that as of the time of my writing, the BSU roster hasn't changed much with 47% of Boise State Junior and Senior football players claiming Communication as their major. (63% of current senior football players at Boise claim Communication as their major.)

That's not exactly the behavior of a paragon of academic integrity. It sounds more like a football factory to me.

University of Idaho, on average, accepts students with a higher High School GPA than Boise State University. But not much higher--3.4 GPA for Idaho's incoming students compared to 3.3 for Boise's. (http://www.princetonreview.com/) So why, with easy classes designed around keeping athletes eligible, does BSU have such a poor graduation rate?

Part of it could easily be that the classes simply aren't giving students what they need to succeed, so the students go elsewhere. A lot of it is more likely attributable to the fact that Boise State was never designed to be a four year University. It is styled after a community college with plenty of training and certification programs, a number of night classes and community enrichment courses. It simply isn't set up for serious academics to succeed. These are the reasons others question the academic program at BSU. The numbers don't lie. Boise State is a football factory built around a community college.

Believe me, long before I ever became a Vandal fan I questioned Boise State's academics. It never made my list of schools to which I chose to apply. Northwest Nazarene University and University of Idaho topped my list of in-state schools for my major, and I had a nomination to the Air Force Academy. My major was Communication, and it is known widely that the Communication program at Boise State is a joke. Time and again I've attended lectures from highly regarded figures in my field, even out of state, and examples of student work from Boise State's Communication program are held out as What Not To Do.

Bob Kustra is the president of Boise State so he's required to say positive things about the school he represents. Nonetheless it's a laughingstock in the academic world. His hate-filled words about University of Idaho, its students, graduates, and fans are inexcusable and a good example of why Vandals tend to have a negative opinion of Boise State and its fans. It's the truth that Boise State's academics are struggling. It's the truth that Boise State has a dismal graduation rate.

It's also the truth that in 2008 a Boise State football player vandalized the University of Idaho's football field and attempted to instigate a fight. This, in the Statesman's terms at the time was merely good rivalry. The Idaho players (and fans) have done nothing to untowardly harm Boise's smurf turf (ugly and inappropriate as it may be). Idaho fans and players treat the Boise field with the utmost respect, even though they tend to dislike its color and the team it represents. In fact, in 2007 when Idaho Coach Robb Akey called called the BSU team "Donkeys," (A purposeful misconstrual of the Boise mascot, the Broncos) BSU president Bob Kustra wrote a letter to Idaho demanding an apology, which Akey issued immediately. However, after the BSU player beat the Idaho logo on the Kibbie Dome football field, Idaho's fans and players were outraged. But they didn't demand an apology, nor did the University issue any sort of request for an apology to Boise. Neither Boise's coach, Chris Peterson, nor Bob Kustra ever issued an apology for the incident.

Yes, the University of Idaho has problems. But the Vandals struggle through their problems with dignity and continue to maintain a high level of academic integrity while they do it, especially among the student athletes. Yes, UI has a reputation for students having accidents while drinking. They don't have any more than most public Universities with a large number of students from outside the area. Boise State doesn't have as much on-campus drinking, because it's a community college, not a destination college. Students at Boise tend to live off campus with their families. You find a lot of alcohol-related incidents at any destination public University like Idaho.

The point of all of this is that the Boise State University president's remarks about the University of Idaho et al. were offensive and largely untrue in the big picture. Yes, some students chant "F U BSU" at football games. Yes, others belt out "Who do we hate?" and others respond "Boise State." Those are common enough rivalry-induced phrases, and there are a large number of Vandals fans who find them offensive and don't participate, or actively try to drown out the negative chants with the school fight song or a round of "IDAHO VANDALS."

Kustra himself admits he doesn't even travel to Moscow anymore. Perhaps he should. He might need some reminding that those of us up north are by and large kind-hearted human beings who enjoy going to see a good football game. We're most certainly not a culture of nasty, inebriated, uncivil people as he characterizes us.

It's difficult to see the full context of the Statesman article through the hate-speech of BSU's president, but the article was about whether Boise and Idaho should continue playing each other after the 2010 season. I'd always assumed that yes, the schools would continue their rivalry, but it would become calmer, as the games would no longer be in-conference games. Now it simply appears that negativity and misconception from Boise will continue whether that school is in the WAC or in the MWC. It seems that no matter what, the powers-that-be at Boise State will continue to misconstrue the University of Idaho and encourage hatred of it, even as the powers-that-be at Idaho do all they can to discourage their fans from calling out the rivalry. Boise demands and receives apologies for minor issues like calling the Broncos the Donkeys, while Idaho calmly sits by as Boise causes damage to Idaho's football field. That's the way things are between these schools, and unfortunately, with attitudes like Kustra's, that's how things are likely to stay.