NJCAA Insider - September 2017

Lyle Smith | Boise Junior College (ID), 1958 NJCAA Football Champions

On July 25, 2017, the college football community mourned the loss of Lyle Smith who is credited as the father of Boise State football. Smith passed away at the age of 101.

Smith started the football program at the college in 1947 - then known as Boise Junior College and a proud member of the NJCAA. His teams won 13 conference titles and led the Broncos to the 1958 NJCAA Football Championship with 22-0 shutout victory over Tyler (TX) in the title game held on Thanksgiving Day - November 27, 1958. The game was held in Boise at Bronco Stadium, which 30 years later would eventually be rebuilt with the famous blue turf field seen on ESPN most fall Saturdays.

Smith stepped down as head coach of the Broncos in 1968, finishing with a 156-25-6 career record. He missed the majority of two seaosns in the early 1950s to serve in the Korean War. 

In 1969, Smith took over as athletic director at Boise and led the program's transition to the NCAA Division I-AA level. He retired in 1981 following the Broncos' 31-29 victory over Eastern Kentucky in the NCAA Division I-AA Championship for the program's second national title.  

Boise eventually moved up to Division I-A (now known as FBS) in 1996 and has since made 15 bowl appearances, won 12 conference championships and posted two undefeated seasons. 

The field at Boise's new Albertsons Stadium bears his name, and a statue of Smith was errected outside its entrance in 2016. 

Further reading: Father of Boise State Football - Lyle Smith - Passes