Boise State fan buys $25k of blue turf for home improvement project

While the Boise State Broncos have undoubtedly been one of the most successful non-Power Five college football teams in the nation over the past few decades, it's still fair to say that they are most well known not for their wins on the football field, but rather for the field that they play on.

The blue turf in Boise, Idaho, will always be a staple of college football, no matter how much the Broncos win or lose going forward. The "Smurf Turf" has become iconic, and one of the only fields of its kind in the sport.

This summer, though, Boise State is tearing up that turf and replacing it with a new and improved blue surface. This has given the university a unique opportunity to use the old turf to create valuable memorabilia for fans to purchase, all while helping the football program financially.

According to The Athletic, Boise State is selling off pieces of the blue turf "in all shapes and sizes to allow fans to literally own a piece of the football program’s history while putting money back into the athletic department’s pockets in the ever-expensive college football landscape."

The venture has already found great success, with one fan purchasing a 400-square-foot section for $25,000, which they plan to use in a home improvement project. They also sold smaller sections for $4,000 and $2,000 at the auction.

“How much the industry is changing, it’s my job to continue to invest in our program, and to do that, I need resources,” Boise State athletic director Jeramiah Dickey said. “You’re going from a place of stretching dollars to how do you make more and how do you set up your infrastructure in your department to do so to take advantage of opportunities. …

“This is low-hanging fruit. We know that every seven to nine years, we’re going to have to change out the blue (turf). We know the blue has power.”

The Athletic reports that the University had a wide range of items available, ranging from $40 for a 6-by-4-inch swatch to a $300 turf ring for men and women on which the band will contain pieces of the soon-to-be-removed turf.

Boise State represented the Group of 6 in the College Football Playoff two years ago, and they are working to get back to that level in the coming years under head coach Spencer Danielson. To do so, though, they will need to compete in the new Pac-12 Conference, playing against the likes of Washington State, Oregon State, San Diego State, Fresno State, and Utah State, among others.