Boise State finally sold alcohol at home games. How much money did the school bring in?

Boise State brought in almost $1 million in its first full year of alcohol sales at home athletic events.

The athletic department generated $967,982 in gross revenue on sales of beer, wine and seltzers at Albertsons Stadium, ExtraMile Arena and other venues in 2021-22, according to figures the Idaho Statesman acquired through a public records request.

The athletic department receives between 26% and 43% in commission from alcohol sales at games, according to its contract with third-party vendor Aramark. Commission structures on the sale of beer, wine and seltzers vary slightly, but Boise State earned 43% on beer sales at all six home football games in 2021, according to a spokesperson for the university.

In total, 35,600 beers were sold during the football team’s six home games in 2021. Exact sales figures for wine and seltzers were not available, however.

Each 15-ounce beer and 12-ounce seltzer cost $8.

The university announced in July 2021 that it would begin selling alcohol at home games, putting an end to a contentious debate that dated back at least a decade.

Boise State planned to begin selling alcohol in 2020 after the Idaho State Board of Education voted earlier that year to leave the decision up to the presidents of the state’s colleges and universities. That plan was put on hold when the COVID-19 pandemic limited the number of fans who could attend games in 2020 and early 2021.

Former Boise State Athletic Director Curt Apsey said he wasn’t a fan of mixing alcohol and college athletics, but new AD Jeramiah Dickey doesn’t have the same reservations. He made it clear that he was open to the idea as soon as he was hired in January 2021.

Dickey said selling alcohol remains a component of his push to sell out all six of the Broncos’ home football games on an annual basis.

“The fan experience is at the center of what we do,” Dickey told the Statesman. “Everything wasn’t perfect in the first year. COVID created staffing and supply chain issues for us like it did for almost every business in the country, but we learned a lot that we’ll apply moving forward.”

Utah State is the only Mountain West program that doesn’t sell alcohol at home athletic events.

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The bulk of the money Boise State took in via alcohol sales came from football games — $856,098. The most profitable game was the Broncos’ loss to Nevada, which netted nearly $160,000. There were 7,626 beers sold at that game.

Alcohol sales at men’s and women’s basketball games generated just short of $109,000. Other sports — mainly softball, soccer and gymnastics — chipped in with a little more than $3,500 in revenue.

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An influx of cash from alcohol sales is the latest feather in Dickey’s cap. The athletic department has also received four gifts of more than $1 million, including a $4.5 million donation from Melaleuca, which is helping to fund the installation of the largest video board in the Mountain West in Albertsons Stadium’s south end zone.

Dickey said he was pleased with how much Boise State made in its first year of alcohol sales, but those sales are naturally lagging what many schools in Power Five conferences are doing, with their much larger stadiums.

Iowa started selling alcohol last year at games in Kinnick Stadium, which seats 69,250, and the Hawkeyes generated more than $3.2 million. The University of Tennessee generated $2.67 million in alcohol sales from football games alone in 2021. The Volunteers play in Neyland Stadium in Knoxville, which seats more than 100,000.

Albertsons Stadium, home to Boise State’s football team since 1970, can seat 36,387 fans, but raising that capacity to 40,000 is a major component of the sweeping facilities upgrades the university announced in April as part of its “Playbook for Success.”