Gene Bleymaier had a problem in 1986. As Boise State’s athletic director, he knew the university needed something distinctive, some way to punch above its weight class in crowded college football.
The school was already planning to install artificial turf at Albertsons Stadium. Standard green would work fine. But Bleymaier asked a different question: why not make it blue to match the school colors?
The manufacturer said yes and Boise State went for it.
They became the first college program in America to play on anything other than green. Critics thought it was gimmicky. But television cameras loved it, and suddenly everyone was talking about Boise State football. The “Smurf Turf” became famous, helping build a national brand that persists decades later.
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