The Broncos play their home games on campus at Albertsons Stadium in Boise, Idaho, and their head coach is Spencer Danielson.

[3] Originally a junior college, Boise State first fielded a football team in 1933 under head coach Dusty Kline.

[5] The Broncos did not compete in intramural football from 1942 to 1945 due to having a reduced male student population during World War II.

[6][7] George Blankley assumed the head coaching duties for the remainder of 1950 and the entire 1951 season in Smith's absence and compiled a 16–2 (.889) record.

In 1954, Smith was a leading candidate for the vacant job at his alma mater Idaho, but withdrew his name from consideration, content at Boise.

Boise State's football program moved up to four-year status in 1968 under new head coach Tony Knap and competed as an NAIA independent for two seasons.

Knap was succeeded by Jim Criner in 1976, a defensive assistant the previous season under Dick Vermeil at UCLA, the Rose Bowl champions.

A runner-up to Idaho State in the Big Sky in 1981, BSU hosted Eastern Kentucky in the I-AA semifinals, but lost, 17–23.

Criner departed after the 1982 season to accept the head football coach position at Iowa State;[21] his overall record at BSU was 59–21–1 (.735).

[5] Lyle Setencich was promoted from defensive coordinator to head coach of Boise State following Criner's departure.

[28] In three seasons under head coach Dirk Koetter, who previously served as Oregon's offensive coordinator,[29] the Broncos were 26–10, won two Big West championships and moved to the Western Athletic Conference effective in 2001.

Only Walter Camp, George Washington Woodruff and Bob Pruett had more total wins in their first five years of head coaching.

[39] As a result of the NCAA violations, Gene Bleymaier, the athletic director who brought blue turf to Boise State in 1986 and promoted Petersen 20 years later, was asked to resign, and ultimately fired when he refused.

On December 7, 2011, it was announced that the Broncos would join the Big East Conference as football-only members in July 2013, in a division with Memphis, SMU, Houston, San Diego State, and Temple.

[47] On December 11, 2013, Arkansas State head coach Bryan Harsin returned to his alma mater as Petersen's replacement.

Boise State capped the season with a Las Vegas Bowl win over Oregon and climbed to 22nd in both final polls.

On January 8, 2021, Boise State hired Oregon defensive coordinator Andy Avalos as their new head coach.

The Broncos lost 22-35 and finished the season 8-6, with Danielson finishing with a record of 3-1.Boise State went 12-2 in 2024, repeated as Mountain West Conference Champions, went 11-1 during the regular season with the only loss a last second 3 point loss on the road to number 1 Oregon 37-34.They made the College football playoff as the number 3 seed and a first round bye and lost in the College football Quarterfinal round in the Fiesta Bowl to Penn State 31-14.Boise State finished 8th in the nation in the final polls.

Prior to the 2023 season, the Mountain West did away with divisions and established the two top teams with the best in-conference record would play each other for the conference championship.

Due their regular season not ending until November 26 at Idaho, the same day as the first round of the Division II playoffs, BSU was replaced by runner-up Northern Arizona, who lost 35–0 at home.

The Broncos had one appearance in the NCAA College Division postseason, with a victory in the West regional final in the Camellia Bowl in 1971.

Therefore, anyone (high school, college, or otherwise) must apply for a license from Boise State before installing a football field any color other than green.

Boise State recently approved the proposal for a blue field at Luther College (Division III).

[57] When questioned about the ban, Mountain West Commissioner Craig Thompson confirmed that either the jerseys or pants could be blue, provided that the other be white or orange.

[58] After Boise State decided to not join the Big East Conference and remain in the Mountain West the uniform restrictions were lifted beginning in the 2013 season.

Three weeks later, the Bulldogs avenged their regular season loss by defeating Boise State 19–16 in overtime in a snow covered Mountain West Championship Game.

However, the series is no longer an annual affair after the 2013 expansion, as Nevada was placed in the opposite division from Boise State.

In 2007, in one of the highest scoring games in NCAA Division I football history, Boise State defeated Nevada 69–67 in four overtimes.

The rivalry between the two schools felt as if it had been rekindled after Nevada's win, since Boise State[61] had won the past 10 games dating back to 1998.

Its name was changed to its current identity in 2012, honoring two-time winner Kellen Moore, who became the FBS all-time leader in wins by a quarterback after going 50–3 as the starter at Boise State.