Utah State may not have won the game with Boise State last Saturday but the football program is making big strides. The game marked the 3rd sellout of the season for Utah State. The 25,513 seating capacity was maxed out and yes the BSU fans helped that number out. Visiting fans though can help themselves to a $5 tailgate in a huge dirt lot about 2 blocks from the stadium. And, as long as you put your booze in a solo cup, nobody will bother you. They will even give you free ice across the street at the C store if you ask them for it. The roads into and out of the stadium are easy to navigate and were mostly stress free. The lines to get in and at the concession stand and bathroom were short, the people happy to see you and most fans braved chilly temps to wear white. The student section seemed to fill the entire side of the stadium and NEVER SAT DOWN.
Utah State still has a very small athletic department budget more than half of Boise States. But, they have a new football facility, decent video board/sound system and a nice statue of Merlin Olson. They even gave the media hounds a free box lunch. UW threw them hot dogs in Seattle. The Huskies budget is 4x Utah States.
Ya, they could use some luxury suites, a new press box and maybe an escalator, but they are going in the right direction. Football season tickets increased 66% over last year and totals over 10,000. Donations to the program have tripled since 2008.
Consider where they have come from. Since 2001, the football program has gone from Independent to the Sun Belt, the WAC and now finally the MWC. Four football coaches later, two of which were forced out and one, Gary Anderson, signed a new deal and bolted, the program has suffered through a 51-97 record since ’01. Pretty resilient for a school which has to compete for fans with a church state competitor in BYU and Pac 12 Utah both only 1 ½ to 2 hours away. Utah State seems primed for the future.
