Unbridled Motivation: Boise State’s Coaching Excellence
- Mar 18
- 5 min read
Boise State Athletics is on an impressive trajectory. So much so that Bronco Nation (and others) are taking note. Boise State led the Mountain West (MW) in total attendance in back-to-back seasons (2023-2024 & 2024-2025), so there’s definitely a building buy-in from the fanbase. Our AD Vantage team is proud to announce a partnership with Boise State Athletics this week. We’re excited to keep them on the cutting edge as they shatter barriers in pursuit of excellence in coaching performance. To celebrate our partnership, we’re taking the time to see what’s spurring their current success and see what’s on the horizon for an athletics program that seems built for the long run.
In January 2021, Jeramiah Dickey stepped into the role of Athletic Director, and his leadership changed the game across sports. In this piece, we’ll use AD Vantage to dive deeper into what the data tells us about the success across the four sports of: Football, Men’s Basketball, Women’s Soccer, and Softball. We’ll also provide insights into what separates their coaches and programs from others in the Mountain West, all powered and backed by data.
Take it straight from Boise State’s AD, “We at Boise State are Bar Raisers, and AD Vantage is a great resource for us to continue to push even higher and compete at a high level in our industry,” said Dickey. “We’re never a finished product, which means we will turn over every rock we can to find our advantage and represent all of Bronco Nation on a national stage. We appreciate AD Vantage for providing solutions for us and look forward to our partnership as we consistently pursue What’s Next!”
The parallels between Dickey’s strong leadership and the Boise State mascot are undeniable. According to an article in Smithsonian Magazine, Broncos aren’t actually a particular species or breed. Instead, the term bronco comes from Spanish roots and describes horses that have not been fully trained. Being “untrained” in terms of broncos is not an indictment. It’s a badge of honor for being an unflappable, unbridled force– which is exactly what the Broncos trust and expect from Dickey. When looking at CoachEffect scores across four different sports, it’s easy to see that he’s an AD with a holistic focus on how to run comprehensive, efficient programs. Let’s dive into the “Dickey difference” he’s made.
What is CoachEffect?
Think of stepping into a local coffee shop and seeing their “proprietary blend” on tap, if you will. The CoachEffect score is AD Vantage’s version of that. We take cumulative data, distill it, provide context, and the yield is a comprehensive view to evaluate coaching performance. For more on this, we have an article titled Feature Focus that dives into detail.
Coaching Success Across Sports
Football
Head Coach: Spencer Danielson (2023 - Present)
CoachEffect Score: 66.84, Exceptional
AD Vantage Point:
Since Dickey arrived on campus, Bronco Football revenues have shown promising increases. That includes a bump from 5 million to 15 million in contributions as well as a 15% growth in ticket sales. Couple that with his in-house hire of Spencer Danielson, who has gone on to win three MWC titles in a row and a CFP birth with an aggregate SRS rank of #40 over three seasons, they’re building something special on their iconic turf, “The Blue”.
Spencer Danielson coached at Boise State since 2017 and rose through the ranks from graduate assistant to Head Coach (HC) in just seven years. It’s an inspiring glimpse at what hard work, consistency in coaching, learning, and potential can produce.
Men’s Basketball
Head Coach: Leon Rice (2010 - Present)
CoachEffect Score: 71.73 Exceptional
AD Vantage Point:
Leon Rice was a successful coach at Boise before Jeramiah arrived. However, before Dickey's arrival, the Broncos averaged a year-end RPI or net of 92.33. Since his arrival, they've averaged 44.5.
Coach Rice is the winningest coach in the program’s history. Under his leadership, Boise State has achieved program firsts, including three consecutive NCAA Tournament appearances (2022-24), the highest NCAA Tournament seed in program history (No. 8 in 2022), and the program's first appearance in the AP Top 25 (2014-15).
Women’s Soccer
Head Coach: Jim Thomas (2013 - Present)
CoachEffect Score: 60.30, Strong
AD Vantage Point:
Jim Thomas delivers a CoachEffect score of 60.30 with an exceptional 46-20 record (69.7%) since 2021. The Broncos achieved their highest year-end RPI in the last decade in 2024, of 51.
In 2018, Thomas earned the honor of Mountain West Coach of the Year and led his team to the first Mountain West Championship. The year prior, they won the MW regular season. In 2019, his team set Boise State records with 18 wins and 8 conference wins. In the last 3 seasons (2023 - 2025), he matched that same 8 conference win record. Coach Thomas also holds the title for most wins in program history with 112 and counting.
Softball
Head Coach: Justin Shults (2022 - Present)
CoachEffect Score: 66.79, Exceptional
AD Vantage Point:
Justin Shults was one of Dickey’s first head coaching hires. He delivers a CoachEffect score of 66.79 with a 128-75 record (63.1%). In Shults’ inaugural season, 2022, the Broncos demonstrated championship-caliber potential with a record of 40-10, RPI #39. This tied the program record for most wins in one season.
Shults proved that his early success wasn’t an outlier. In 2023, he was named Mountain West Coach of the Year and led the Broncos to a regular-season conference title. Shults proved that you can make an impact early and also sustain that success year over year. With how efficient their program is, we recommend that other Olympic Sports take note of how Boise State Softball does business.
Down the Stretch
As we close out this announcement, we’d like to thank Boise State for their faith in us to power their program with the data they need to take it to new heights. There’s so much more to coaching than just wins and losses– there are ways to do business, to make a difference, and to achieve what was never thought possible. The CoachEffect goes beyond traditional measurements of evaluation to allow you to assess coaching performance in alignment with your core values. What’s your program’s priority? Is it a win percentage? Conference titles? Championships? Budget efficiency? Player engagement? ROI?
All of these elements and more contribute to running successful D1 Athletic programs. Having data to back up coaching performance in all these areas and more is what AD Vantage does and does well. We’d be thrilled to partner with your programs to see what hidden talents, opportunities, and values you may find that you didn’t know existed.
