Gene Bleymaier

Gene Bleymaier

Bleymaier speaks at the San Jose State softball field in 2015.
Current position
Title Athletic director
Team San Jose State
Conference Mountain West
Annual salary $220,092
Biographical details
Born 1953 (age 62–63)
Boise, Idaho
Alma mater University of California, Los Angeles
Loyola Law School
Playing career
1972–1974 UCLA
Position(s) Tight end
Administrative career (AD unless noted)
1976–1981 UCLA (asst. AD)
1981–1982 Boise State (asst. AD)
1982–2011 Boise State
2012–present San Jose State
Accomplishments and honors
Awards

As athletic director:

  • Astro Turf Athletics Director of the Year (2008)
  • Bobby Dodd Athletics Director of the Year (2011)

As player:

  • Third-team All-Pac-8 (1974)

Eugene Anthony Bleymaier[1] (born 1953) is an American university administrator who is currently athletic director at San Jose State University.

Early life and education

Born in Boise, Idaho, Bleymaier graduated from Borah High School in Boise in 1971.[2][3] Bleymaier then attended the University of California, Los Angeles and lettered on the UCLA Bruins football team from 1972 to 1974; he played under head coach Pepper Rodgers for his first two season. As a senior in 1974 playing under Dick Vermeil, Bleymaier made 13 catches for 245 yards and one touchdown and was a third-team All-Pac-8 selection.[4][5] Bleymaier graduated from UCLA in 1975 with a bachelor's degree in sociology and was named "outstanding senior" by the UCLA Alumni Association.[6]

After graduating from UCLA, Bleymaier attended Loyola Law School and graduated with a J.D. in 1978.[7]

Administrative career

UCLA (1976–1981)

Bleymaier became assistant athletic director at UCLA in 1976, while attending law school.[8] At UCLA, Bleymaier supervised academic affairs for student-athletes, including financial aid and tutoring.[3]

Boise State (1981–2011)

On June 26, 1981, Boise State University hired Bleymaier as assistant athletic director.[3] Boise State promoted Bleymaier to athletic director in February 1982.[7]

At Boise State, Bleymaier oversaw three conference changes. In 1996, Boise State moved from the Big Sky Conference to the Big West Conference, followed by the Western Athletic Conference (WAC) in 2001 and Mountain West Conference (MWC) in 2011. As a member of the WAC, Boise State won 32 conference championships, including 8 in football.[9] Throughout the 2000s, Boise State was a Top 100 contender for the Learfield Sports Director's Cup, a national award for the most successful college athletics department.[9] Most notably, Boise State Broncos football rose to a national brand under head coach Chris Petersen, culminating in an undefeated season in 2006, including an upset of Oklahoma in the 2007 Fiesta Bowl. The 2009 Boise State football team also finished undefeated and reached #4 in the final AP Poll, the highest in school history. Boise State coaches also earned 31 "Coach of the Year" honors in the 2000s.[9]

Bleymaier also installed Boise State's trademark blue turf at Bronco Stadium in 1986. In 1997, Bleymaier established the Humanitarian Bowl (now the Famous Idaho Potato Bowl) football game hosted by Boise State.[10]

On August 11, 2011, Boise State president Bob Kustra fired Bleymaier, who had served 30 years (29 as athletic director) at the university, following an NCAA investigation involving 22 rules violations by the Boise State women's tennis, men's tennis, track and field, and football programs.[10][11] The following month, the NCAA placed Boise State on three years of probation and reduced football scholarships, among other sanctions.[12]

San Jose State (2012–present)

On May 24, 2012, San Jose State University president Mohammad Qayoumi hired Bleymaier as the university's new athletic director effective June 30; Bleymaier was the only candidate interviewed.[6] At San Jose State, Bleymaier led the athletics department's move from the WAC to MWC and addition of new women's sports, sand volleyball and indoor and outdoor track.[7] Additionally, Bleymaier has overseen fundraising for the proposed Vermeil-Walsh Athletic Center, to be constructed at the north end zone of Spartan Stadium.[13] Bleymaier has also set a goal to upgrade facilities for baseball, softball, soccer, golf, tennis, and track.[14]

In the 2012–13 academic year, Bleymaier's first as athletic director, San Jose State experienced a very successful year, with football going 11–2 and being ranked in the final AP and BCS rankings for the first time in school history. This season also marked the football team's first 11-win season since 1940 and best season record since going 10–2 in 1987. The women's swimming, women's tennis, and softball teams all won WAC titles. These achievements led San Jose State to be ranked a historically high 106th of 295 NCAA Division I programs in the 2013 final Learfield Sports Director's Cup rankings.[7] In September 2012, Bleymaier hired Dave Nakama as baseball head coach, following the retirement of Sam Piraro.[15] That season, Bleymaier also hired several head coaches who began their tenures in the 2013–14 school year. In December 2012, after Mike MacIntyre resigned to become head coach at Colorado, Bleymaier hired UCLA alum and University of San Diego head coach Ron Caragher as San Jose State football head coach.[16] In March 2013, Bleymaier fired men's basketball head coach George Nessman and hired Boise State assistant coach Dave Wojcik to replace Nessman.[17][18]

Under Caragher, San Jose State football went 6–6 in 2013 and 3–9 in 2014. Under Wojcik, men's basketball went 7–24 in 2013–14, then 2–28 in 2014–15. Baseball has gone 49–122 under Nakama, including a last-place finish in the Mountain West in 2015.

In September 2013, following the surprise resignation of women's basketball head coach Tim La Kose, Bleymaier hired Sacramento State head coach Jamie Craighead to replace La Kose.[19] Women's basketball under Craighead improved from 11–19 in 2013–14 to 15–17 in 2014–15, including a run to the semifinals of the 2015 Mountain West Tournament that followed an upset of #1 seed Colorado State.[20]

In January 2014, following the retirement of previous head coach Oscar Crespo, Bleymaier hired Cal State Bakersfield women's volleyball coach Jolene Shepardson to lead San Jose State women's volleyball.[21][22]

References

  1. ↑ "Eugene Anthony Bleymaier - #89225". State Bar of California. Retrieved May 30, 2015.
  2. ↑ Barbour, Tom (2009). Blue Collar Mentality: Boise State's Rise to Football Prominence. Mustang, OK: Tate Publishing. p. 105. ISBN 161566422X.
  3. 1 2 3 Associated Press (June 28, 1981). "Boise hires new assistant AD". The Spokesman-Review. p. C7.
  4. ↑ http://www.sports-reference.com/cfb/players/gene-bleymaier-1.html
  5. ↑ Mazeika, Vytas (April 14, 2002). "Search for new athletic director nears end". Daily Bruin. Retrieved May 30, 2015.
  6. 1 2 Wilner, Jon (May 24, 2012). "San Jose State hires former Boise State athletic director Gene Bleymaier as AD". San Jose Mercury News. Retrieved May 30, 2015.
  7. 1 2 3 4 "Gene Bleymaier". San Jose State Athletics. Retrieved May 30, 2015.
  8. ↑ "Eight new members selected to fill Board, Council vacancies". NCAA News. February 4, 2002. Retrieved May 30, 2015. He served as an assistant athletics director at the University of California, Los Angeles, for five years before coming to Boise State.
  9. 1 2 3 "Gene Bleymaier". Boise State. Archived from the original on January 11, 2012. Retrieved May 30, 2015.
  10. 1 2 Fox, Tom (August 11, 2011). "Man behind blue turf, Boise State athletic growth, Gene Bleymaier terminated as AD". Idaho Press-Tribune. Retrieved May 30, 2015.
  11. ↑ Brunt, Cliff (June 10, 2011). "Boise St meeting with NCAA to discuss infractions". Associated Press. Archived from the original on June 13, 2011.
  12. ↑ Miller, John (September 13, 2011). "Boise State gets NCAA probation, scholarship cuts". Associated Press. Retrieved May 30, 2015.
  13. ↑ Durkin, Jimmy (May 21, 2013). "San Jose State stadium renovation plan approved". San Jose Mercury news. Retrieved May 30, 2015.
  14. ↑ Durkin, Jimmy (August 24, 2014). "San Jose State catching up in facilities race". San Jose Mercury News. Retrieved May 30, 2015.
  15. ↑ "Dave Nakama Named New Baseball Head Coach". San Jose State Spartans. September 6, 2012. Retrieved June 9, 2015.
  16. ↑ "New San Jose State coach Ron Caragher no stranger to maintaining success". San Jose Mercury News. December 17, 2012. Retrieved June 9, 2015.
  17. ↑ Wilner, Jon, and Faraudo, Jeff (March 13, 2013). "San Jose State fires basketball coach George Nessman". San Jose Mercury News. Retrieved June 9, 2015.
  18. ↑ Durkin, Jimmy (March 30, 2013). "San Jose State hires Boise State assistant Dave Wojcik". San Jose Mercury News. Retrieved June 9, 2015.
  19. ↑ "Jamie Craighead Named San José State Women's Head Basketball Coach". San Jose State Spartans. September 16, 2013. Retrieved June 9, 2015.
  20. ↑ "Spartans Slay Top Seed Colorado State 64-55; On To MW Semifinal". San Jose State Spartans. March 10, 2015. Retrieved June 9, 2015.
  21. ↑ "Jolene Shepardson Named Women's Volleyball Coach". San Jose State Spartans. January 23, 2014. Retrieved June 9, 2015.
  22. ↑ "Oscar Crespo Announces Retirement". San Jose State Spartans. December 13, 2014. Retrieved June 9, 2015.
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