Good Morning, Bronco Nation! The Boise State WBB team overcame a double-digit halftime deficit to rally past New Mexico, 89-80, in a high-octane contest in ExtraMile Arena on Tuesday evening. 

Trailing 54-43 at the halftime break, the Broncos (15-7, 5-4 Mountain West) outscored the Lobos (13-9, 6-3 MW) 28-10 in the third quarter to take a seven-point lead into the fourth quarter.

The Broncos had five players score in double figures in the win, with Dani Bayes and Tatum Thompson each recording 18 points.

What else is brewing in today’s edition, Bronco Nation?

🏈 Marco Notarainni named to CSC Academic All-America second team
💙 Boise State Athletics has received a $1M donation
🔷 And much, much more!

📈 STOCK UP

🔼 Bleeding Blue. Boise State Athletics has received a $1 million donation—a gift that has been designated to the Athletic Director Excellence Fund and North End Zone Project. The donor has asked to remain anonymous. This is the eighth $1 million gift that the department has received since the public launch of Unbridled: The Campaign for Boise State University.

🗣 "On behalf of our 350+ student-athletes, coaches and staff, thank you for your generous gift and believing in EPIC. It will take all of us to ensure we attract and retain student-athletes that Bleed Blue." Jeramiah Dickey, director of athletics

🔼 No One-Trick Bronco. Boise State linebacker Marco Notarainni has been named to the College Sports Communicators Academic All-America second team. The redshirt junior maintains a 3.95 GPA while pursuing a business degree.

Notarainni appeared in all 14 games for the Broncos and earned All-Mountain West first team honors. He was also Boise State's highest-graded run defender in 2024, notching a Pro Football Focus grade of 81.1, second-highest in the MW.

📚 MORE ON NOTARAINNI 🏈

🔼 A Familiar Foe. After two consecutive road games, Boise State (13-7) returns home for the first time since Jan. 14 and will host Nevada (11-9) on Wednesday night. Airing live on CBS Sports Network, tip off at ExtraMile Arena is scheduled for 8 p.m. MT.

With 86 games played between the two programs, Nevada is Boise State's third-most common opponent in program history. The Broncos have faced Idaho State 94 times and Idaho on 89 occasions. Boise State has won three of the previous five head-to-head meetings dating back to March 10, 2022.

🏀 : SCOUTING REPORT

🔼 She’s Cracked the Barcode. Fifth year Emily Lopez received Mountain West Bars Specialist of the Week following her performance against San Jose State, Sacramento State and UC Davis on Jan. 26. The honor is awarded to the highest-scoring athlete in each event weekly.

Lopez scored a 9.900 on bars to secure the event championship title at the quad meet on Sunday (Jan. 26). She notched her third title of the season, bringing her career total bars victories to 16. This marks Lopez's 12th weekly MW honor of her career and eighth on bars.

🔼 Upward Trajectory. With 1,721 career points (and counting), Tyson Degenhart ranks fifth on Boise State’s all-time scoring list. He needs 224 more to surpass Tanoka Beard for first.

🔼 Post-BroncoLife Prep. Boise State Athletics prides itself on setting our student-athletes up for success. Learn more at https://www.boisestate.edu/broncolife/.

🔼 From Sweden, With Love. Boise State Men's Tennis Head Coach Luke Shields announced today the addition of Filip Soderquist (Norrtalje, Sweden). Soderquist will join the Broncos for the 2025 fall season. The incoming freshman has been ranked No. 1 in the Swedish under 19 classification and has a Universal Tennis Rating (UTR) rating of 12.06. His International Tennis Federation (ITF) junior ranking is 318.

🤔 BLUE TURF TRIVIA

Checking All the Boxes. Today’s trivia question… How many Broncos football players have been named Academic All-America before Marco Notarainni?

Think you got it? Scroll to the bottom and find out!

📱 FROM THE AD’S DESK

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🗓 LOOKING AHEAD

*All times in MT

Wednesday, Jan. 29
🏀 Men’s Basketball vs. Nevada @ 8 p.m. TV: CBS Sports Network Radio: KBOI 670 AM | Listen | Live Stats 

Thursday, Jan. 30
👟 Track & Field @ Stan Scott Invitational and Multi in Lubbock, Texas

Friday, Jan. 31
👟 Track & Field @ Stan Scott Invitational and Multi in Lubbock, Texas
👟 Track & Field @ UW Invitational in Seattle, Washington
🎾 Men’s Tennis vs. Idaho State @ 12 p.m. | Live Scoring
🎾 Men’s Tennis vs. Eastern Washington @ 4 p.m. | Live Scoring
🤸🏽 Women’s Gymnastics vs. Utah State and Sacramento State @ 7 p.m. | Watch 

Saturday, Feb. 1
👟 Track & Field @ Stan Scott Invitational and Multi in Lubbock, Texas
👟 Track & Field @ UW Invitational in Seattle, Washington
🎾 Women’s Tennis @ Santa Clara @ 12 p.m.
🏀 Men’s Basketball vs. Fresno State @ 2 p.m. TV: Mountain West Network/KTVB 7.2/KTVB+ Radio: KBOI 93.1 FM | Listen | Live Stats | Tickets
🏀 Women’s Basketball @ Wyoming @ 2 p.m. TV: Mountain West Network Radio: KBOI 670 AM | Watch | Listen | Live Stats 

Sunday, Feb. 2
No scheduled events

Monday, Feb. 3
No scheduled events

Tuesday, Feb. 4
🏀 Men’s Basketball @ UNLV @ 9 p.m. TV: CBS Sports Network Network Radio: KBOI 670 AM | Listen | Live Stats

Wednesday, Feb. 5
🏀 Women’s Basketball @. Nevada @ 7:30 p.m. TV: Mountain West Network Radio: KBOI 670 AM | Watch | Listen | Live Stats 

🔷 Click here to view the entire Boise State Athletics Calendar

🎉 TRIVIA ANSWER

Answer: 19!

Marco Notarainni is the 20th player in program history to be named Academic All-America, giving the Broncos 27 total awards. He is the eighth player to garner recognition since 2016, a span that features 12 honors for Boise State.

🔷 Happy Wednesday, Bronco Nation!