Boise State’s Jeramiah Dickey Named Athletic Director of the Year

Courtesy of Boise State

BOISE, Idaho – Boise State Athletic Director Jeramiah Dickey was named Athletic Director of the Year by the National Association of Collegiate Directors of Athletics (NACDA), the association announced today. Dickey is honored in the Football Bowl Subdivision and is one of 28 honored by NACDA throughout seven different divisions ranging from FBS to the junior college and community college level.

“NACDA is proud to usher in a new class of Athletics Director of the Year Award winners for 2024-25 and recognize these servant leaders guiding their departments into a new age of intercollegiate athletics,” said Pat Manak, NACDA chief executive officer. “Each of the seven Divisions has at least one first-time honoree, including four brand new winners in the junior college ranks. These 28 individuals represent their institutions, conferences and the industry as a whole with a level of dedication and passion that shines through in their collective accomplishments.”

“Jeramiah is leading the way in collegiate athletics as an innovator, and his work has been invaluable in building the strength of our athletics programs nationally,” said Dr. Marlene Tromp, Boise State University President. “His heart is in his work, and he is a Bronco through and through.”

Since being named director of athletics at Boise State on January 2, 2021, Jeramiah has created an identity and a future for Boise State Athletics through swift, decisive, and intentional action in the best interest of the institution, student-athletes, coaches, staff, alumni and donors.

“Thank you to NACDA for this incredible honor. I am extremely grateful for Elizabeth and how she serves our family which allows me to live out my passion,” said Dickey. “I am blessed to work with a phenomenal TEAM – from the student-athletes and coaches, to support staff and administration, to campus leadership and community. These groups of people show up every day to achieve EPIC at Boise State. I am also appreciative of Bronco Nation as they have played an important part in our success – not only over the last year but since my family and I first stepped foot in Boise back in January 2021 and made us feel welcome from day one. While this award is a great moment for Boise State Athletics and my TEAM, we will not stop. We will strive for more. This honor will inspire us to continue to be BAR RAISERS as we work towards What’s Next.”

When the What’s Next Initiative was revealed in November 2021, it provided a strategic roadmap to enhance the trajectory and sustainability of Bronco Athletics by strengthening four key areas: infrastructure, revenue generation, student-athlete experience and marketability.

After nearly four years of progress with this strategic roadmap, Boise State has reached new heights in 2024-25. The Broncos have won three conference team championships and four conference individual championships so far, including football which not only won the Mountain West for the second year in a row but reached the College Football Playoff as the No. 3 seed. Bronco Nation also sold out all seven home football games to help set a new attendance record in school history. The program also had more than 20,000 season ticket holders, reaching a goal set forth by Dickey and Boise State Athletics in the What’s Next initiative.

In addition to football, Boise State soccer and gymnastics won regular season Mountain West titles. For soccer, the on-field success translated to record attendance as the team and Bronco Nation continued its streak of sellouts by bringing the number to 21 this past season.

The Broncos have also excelled in the classroom under Dickey. The Broncos established a department-record 3.42 GPA last spring and matched it this past fall.  In November, it was announced that Boise State had a 96 percent graduation success rate, which was also a department-record. The department had a best in the NCAA’s Academic Progress Rate (APR) of 991 last academic year.

The championship-level results, on and off the field, and record attendance numbers are further supported by Bronco Nation’s giving – another important goal of the What’s Next initiative. The Bronco Athletic Association (BAA), which has raised nearly $100 million dollars in Dickey’s tenure, closed out the 2024 membership year with 8,977 active members – a 120 percent increase from the launch of the Horsepower Drive in November 2021. From the Blue Collar Club to the Lyle Smith Society the goal for Boise State is to reach 10,000 members by the end of 2025. Prior to Dickey, the BAA had less than 4,000 active members.

The Lyle Smith Society has also grown under Dickey as it stands close to 300 members and accounts for more than $30 million in philanthropic commitments over the next five years. Over the past year, Boise State received its largest one-time gift ever when the estate of Allen and Billie Dee Noble donated $25 million towards Boise State football. The Broncos have received eight gifts of $1 million or more in 2024, including a $1 million gift to women’s basketball in November.

Focused on providing for all Boise State student-athletes, Dickey and his Boise State team have led more than 50 facility improvements over the last four-plus years including a renovation of the Boas Soccer Complex and overhaul of the locker rooms in the Varsity Center for beach volleyball, track and field, cross country, and women’s golf.

One of the larger facility improvements is the construction of the North End Zone Project, which broke ground on January 4 of this year and is set to be complete by the start of the 2026 football season. The $65 million addition to Albertsons Stadium will be a multi-use space that serves all 350+ Boise State student-athletes, which was supported by a partnership with Simplot, and creates a number of upgraded seating options for Bronco Nation at football games.

The athletic department has increased its focus on engaging with multiple constituencies, including the Treasure Valley community and former student-athletes. In the community, the Broncos volunteered at nearly 400 different events and more than 60 local charities and schools impacted in 2023-24. The Bronco Athletic Association partnered with Athlete Network, a digital platform that expands the impact of the Varsity B Letterwinners Club by allowing alumni to effortlessly stay connected with teammates, fellow alumni and current coaches, student-athletes and staff.

Under Jeramiah’s leadership, the Broncos United initiative was launched to focus on the investment in our most important asset – our people. It keys on six areas, combining to create a holistic environment of supporting student-athletes, coaches and staff. The six components include physical health and wellness, mental health and wellness, personal growth and development, professional development, community and equality/belonging.

Among the criteria for the award were service as an AD for a minimum of five academic years; demonstration of commitment to higher education and student-athletes; continuous teamwork, loyalty and excellence; and the ability to inspire individuals or groups to high levels of accomplishments. Additionally, each AD’s institution must have passed a compliance check through its appropriate governing body (i.e., NCAA, NAIA, etc.), in which the institution could not have been on probation or cited for a lack of institutional control during the tenure of the current athletics director.

About NACDA

Now in its 60th year, NACDA is the professional and educational Association for more than 24,000 college athletics administrators at more than 2,300 institutions throughout the United States, Canada and Mexico. NACDA manages 19 professional associations and four foundations. In addition to virtual programming, NACDA hosts and/or has a presence at seven major professional development events in-person annually. The NACDA & Affiliates Convention is the largest gathering of collegiate athletics administrators in the country. For more information, visit www.nacda.com.