Good Morning, Bronco Nation! Boise State beach volleyball accepted an invitation to join the Big 12 Conference as an affiliate member.

The reigning Southland Conference champion will begin competing in the Big 12 for the 2026 spring season. The Broncos enter the conference alongside Florida State and South Carolina, joining incumbent members Arizona, Arizona State and defending national champion TCU.

🗣"Coach Venardos, our coaches and staff, and our student-athletes have proven they can compete with the best and win championships, so joining a conference with the defending national champion and other elite level programs reinforces our commitment to elevating our Bronco experience.” - Jeramiah Dickey, Boise State Director of Athletics

🏐 MORE INFO ℹ️

Lastly, a new conference means new drip… 💧🧡 👇🏼

What else is mixed into today’s piping hot edition of the Good Morning, Bronco Nation Brew? Scroll down to find out!

🏈 Notarainni Named a William V. Campbell Trophy Semifinalist
⏪ B1: Looking Back at the 2007 Statue of Liberty Play (IYKYK)
🏐 Volleyball Info For Tonight & Saturday
🔷 And much, much more!

📈 STOCK UP

🔼 Time Travel to 2007, Please. Boise State and App State will face each other on a football field for the first time in nearly 31 years this Saturday. But the trajectories of both programs were dramatically altered 18 years ago, in 2007. No Boise State fan needs to be told what happened on Jan. 1 of that year.

The first day of the 2007 calendar year ended with what is still considered by many the best game in college football this century.

“It could be argued as the best game ever,'' Boise State quarterback Jared Zabransky said moments after the Tostitos Fiesta Bowl.

Not even 23 hours into the new year, the Broncos walked off with a two-point conversion in overtime that sealed a 43-42 victory on a play cited to this day: the Statue of Liberty. The crowd in Glendale and all across the country - 13.7 million people watched on TV - could not believe what they watched.

🔷 READ B1: FEATURE: “THE POWER OF VICTORY” 🔶

🔼 Leaving an Indelible Marc(o). Boise State linebacker Marco Notarainni was named a semifinalist for the William V. Campbell Trophy. The award is presented annually to the nation's premier football scholar-athlete.

Notarainni has 23 total tackles this season, ranking second on the team. He leads the defense with four quarterback hurries. In his career, the redshirt senior has 138 tackles, 12.5 tackles for loss, 6.5 sacks, one forced fumble and two fumble recoveries. He is a two-time All-Mountain West selection, garnering first team honors in 2024 and honorable mention in 2023.

Off the field, Notarainni routinely volunteers at elementary schools, the Idaho Food Bank and the Boise Rescue Mission.

🏈: MORE ON HIS ACCOMPLISHMENTS, ON AND OFF THE FIELD

🔼 Four On the Field. Four Boise State products will play in primetime to highlight the Broncos in Week Four of the NFL campaign. George Holani and DeMarcus Lawrence play on Prime Video for Thursday night's contest at Arizona. JL Skinner (Denver Broncos) and Cincinnati Bengals (Brett Rypien) will face off on ABC in the second game of a Monday Night Football doubleheader.

🏈: BRONCOS IN THE NFL, WEEK 4 RUNDOWN

🔼 Bumpin’ Into the Weekend Like… Boise State (8-3) opens the Mountain West Conference season on the road at Grand Canyon (8-3) tonight at 7 p.m. (Mountain) and at New Mexico (8-3) at 11 a.m. (MT) on Saturday. All three teams tied for the best nonconference records in the league heading into conference play.

Thursday | Sept. 25 | at Phoenix, Ariz.
Match 1: Boise St. at Grand Canyon, at 7 p.m. (MT) | Live Scoring | Watch

Saturday | Sept. 27 | at Albuquerque, N.M.
Match 2: Boise St. at New Mexico, at 11 a.m. (MT) | Live Scoring | Watch

🏐: SCOUTING REPORT/HOW TO STREAM

🔼 Make Way For Macee. The Boise State women's golf team finished 14th as it concluded play at the Golfweek Red Sky Classic, Wednesday.

In her first tournament of the 2025 fall season, senior Macee Greenwood posted multiple career bests while leading the Broncos with a 34th-place finish. She tied a personal-best 18-hole score of 72 (E), set her lowest 54-hole total (72-75-72–219, +3), and her best individual finish. Greenwood thrived on par 5s, averaging 4.83 for the week. Redshirt junior Leia Chung finished one stroke behind, shooting 220 (+4) to tie for 35th.

🔼 Be in the Hoop Scoop Loop. Boise State women's basketball head coach Gordy Presnell announced the Blue and Orange's Mountain West schedule for the 2025-26 season. All dates are subject to change once television selections are determined for men's and women's conference games.

The Broncos will face nine of 11 opponents home-and-home, will host Colorado State and battle UNLV on the road.

Boise State begins MW play at New Mexico (Dec. 17) and travels to San Diego State (Dec. 20). The Broncos entertain Nevada for their conference home opener in a New Year's Eve clash.

🏀: FULL COURT PRESS

And, with that, the hard work on the hardwood begins…

🔼 Let the Mountain West Mayhem Begin. The Boise State soccer team will open Mountain West play by hosting Wyoming (Sept. 25, 7 p.m.) and Colorado State (Sept. 28, noon).

Boise State is 3-0-2 in the last five MW openers. The Broncos are 11-7-1 against Wyoming and have a 7-0-4 all-time record against CSU.

⚽️: SCOUTING REPORT

Join us for this full-day certification designed to help adults recognize and respond to signs of mental health and substance use challenges among youth ages 6–18. Participants will gain practical skills using the Mental Health First Aid Action Plan (ALGEE), learn how to support youth in crisis, and connect them with appropriate resources. CEU’s for providers will be available. 

📱 FROM THE A.D.

🤔 BLUE TURF TRIVIA

Broncos’ Ace in the Hole. How many top-10 finishes does Cole Rueck have after recently concluding the Gene Miranda Falcon Invitational?

Think you know the answer? Scroll to the bottom to find out!

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🗓 THE WEEK AHEAD

*All times in MT unless otherwise listed

Thursday, Sept. 25
🎾 Women’s Tennis vs. Barb Chandler Classic
🏐 Women’s Beach Volleyball @ Surf City Collegiate Challenge (Huntington Beach, California)
🏐 Women’s Volleyball @ Grand Canyon - TV: Mountain West Network (Phoenix, Arizona) @ 7 p.m. | Watch | Live Stats
⚽️ Women’s Soccer vs. Wyoming TV: Mountain West Network @ 7 p.m. | Watch | Tickets
🎮 ES vs. San Jose State @ 8 p.m.

Friday, Sept. 26
🎾 Men’s Tennis @ ITA Championships (Tulsa, Oklahoma)
🎾 Women’s Tennis vs. Barb Chandler Classic
🎮 ES vs. San Jose State @ 8 p.m.

Saturday, Sept. 27
🎾 Men’s Tennis @ ITA Championships (Tulsa, Oklahoma)
🎾 Women’s Tennis vs. Barb Chandler Classic
🏐 Women’s Volleyball @ New Mexico - TV: Mountain West Network (Albuquerque, New Mexico) @ 11 a.m. | Watch | Live Stats
🏈 Football vs. App State @ 5:30 p.m. TV: Fox Sports Radio: Bronco Radio Network | Live Stats | Watch | Listen | Tickets

Sunday, Sept. 28
🎾 Men’s Tennis @ ITA Championships (Tulsa, Oklahoma)
🎾 Women’s Tennis vs. Barb Chandler Classic
⚽️ Women’s Soccer vs. Colorado State @ noon TV: Mountain West Network | Watch | Tickets 
🥎 Softball vs. College of Idaho @ noon

Monday, Sept. 29
🎾 Women’s Tennis vs. Barb Chandler Classic
⛳️ Women’s Golf @ Molly Collegiate Invitational (Corvallis, Oregon)
⛳️ Men’s Golf @ Mark Simpson Colorado Invitational (Boulder, Colorado)
🎮 ES vs. Syracuse @ 6 p.m. TV: twitch.tv/boisestate
🎮 ES vs. Hawai’i @ 8 p.m. TV: twitch.tv/boisestate

Tuesday, Sept. 30
🎾 Women’s Tennis vs. Barb Chandler Classic
⛳️ Women’s Golf @ Molly Collegiate Invitational (Corvallis, Oregon)
⛳️ Men’s Golf @ Mark Simpson Colorado Invitational (Boulder, Colorado)
🎮 ES vs. Hawai’i @ 8 p.m. TV: twitch.tv/boisestate

Wednesday, Oct. 1
🎮 ES vs. Hawai’i @ 8 p.m. TV: twitch.tv/boisestate

🔷 Go here to view the entire Boise State Athletics Calendar

ℹ️ TRIVIA ANSWER

Answer: 12!

Collectively shooting an 857 (-7), Boise State men's golf concluded the Gene Miranda Falcon Invitational in a sixth-place tie with Utah Tech. Capturing his second-consecutive top-10 finish to start the season, Cole Rueck shot 7-under (73-68-68) and tied for fifth. Shooting under par in five of his six rounds this season, Rueck now has 12 top-10 finishes in his career, one behind Luke Sestero (13) for fifth most on the program's all-time list.

🔷 Happy Thursday, Bronco Nation!