The goal, Boise State softball coach Justin Shults says, is more home games.
More home games means more fans. More interest. More tickets. More money. And all that stuff equates to more investment, more resources. And all of that hopefully lands better recruits, which hopefully leads to more wins.
This is the cycle of college athletics, sure. But it is a cycle made much more difficult playing softball in Idaho.
Dona Larsen Park, where the Broncos softball team plays, does not have lights. So Boise State (28-12, 13-2 MW) must only play afternoon games. The park also has an all-dirt infield, meaning when Mother Nature decides to punish the Treasure Valley with March and April snowfall, the field sometimes can’t dry in time for a game.
And that’s after considering that Boise State — and most cold-weather schools — load their early-season schedule with tournaments in the sunny spots of America.
“One of the biggest challenges here is the weather,” BSU Athletic Director Jeramiah Dickey said in a radio interview last week. “A lot of times our team has to go south and play a lot of games outside of Boise. That’s something I think is a challenge.”
Last season, Boise State played just 12 out of its 40 games at home. This year, they’ve had just 11 contests at Dona Larsen Park, but barring a catastrophe there should be three more.
The Broncos will host San Diego State on Friday, Saturday and Sunday. With two wins over the Aztecs, BSU will win the Mountain West regular-season title for the second time ever.
“I would imagine we’re going to break the attendance record this weekend with what’s at stake,” said Shults, now in his second year as head coach.
They would be breaking a long-standing mark that goes back all of seven days.
Last weekend, during a sweep of Utah State, Boise State softball set attendance records for a single game (977 on Saturday) and for a three-game series (2,038). During Wednesday’s 11-0 win over Idaho State — a game that began at 4 p.m. — the Broncos drew almost 500 people.
These are all numbers that haven’t been touched in BSU softball history. Last season, Boise State also set a series attendance record. There were just over 1,600 fans.
“Honestly, there’s nothing better than recognizing the building that’s happening and (seeing) people are starting to notice,” said BSU star Kelsey Hall, who has 11 home runs this year. “People are noticing this is a fun game to watch. Boise State softball is a fun team to watch.”
In other words, softball is growing at Boise State. With each home game — few as they may be — Shults and his squad of mashers have no trouble cultivating new fans.
The Boise Bombers hit more home runs than almost every team in America, score more runs than almost every team in the country and have a better slugging percentage than almost any team in the nation.
They’re an electrifying lineup in an engaging sport (Wednesday’s game finished up in an hour and 36 minutes).
Every home game is an opportunity to grow softball in the Treasure Valley, to grow the BSU softball fan base. Which is why getting more home games is so dang important.
“I think the way we’re playing softball right now has definitely encouraged a lot of people to come out — and I want to keep seeing more,” Shults said. “The more people that come out, the more upgrades softball can get quicker.”
Like lights and turf.
“We need lights, that’s the biggest thing, in order to host the conference tournament — (which) the previous year’s winner gets to host if they meet that qualification,” Shults said. “And then the turf on the field, that’s gonna create more home games as well. When we get the snow and the rain, most days are warm enough to play softball, it’s just our field doesn’t handle it great.”
If or when the Broncos add lights and turf, Shults estimated that Boise State could play close to 50% (or 25ish) of its games at Dona Larsen Park.
Sharing in Shults’ desire for more home games is Dickey, who hired the BSU softball coach soon after getting to Boise. Dickey, who mentioned the turf and lights numerous times, also said his staff has looked into the possibility of adding loge boxes to the stadium, tailgating spots and other ways to help monetarily support the program.
“I see a tremendous opportunity. I wanna say softball is one of the fastest-growing sports,” Dickey said. “I think we can really utilize that passion.
“It’s not out of the question that we’re gonna be a Top 25 program year in and year out.”