[1][7] Minter graduated from high school in 1977 and accepted a football scholarship to Boise State University (BSU), and became a two-time All-American under head coach Jim Criner.
[9] As a senior, he was a member of BSU's "Four Horseman" backfield (along with QB Joe Aliotti, FB David Hughes, and HB Terry Zahner), which led the 1980 Broncos to the Division I-AA championship.
BSU defeated the Grambling Tigers, 14–9, in the first round (semifinals) at Bronco Stadium, then edged favored Eastern Kentucky, 31–29, with a late touchdown in the 1980 NCAA Division I-AA Football Championship Game played in Sacramento on December 20.
[10][11] Minter finished his college career with 4,475 rushing yards, but as an undersized Big Sky running back (5 ft 10 in (1.78 m), 190 lb (86 kg)), he went unselected in the 1981 NFL draft, then twelve rounds (332 selections).
[7][16] He returned to teaching (and high school coaching) in 1993 in southeast Oregon in Nyssa[7] and earned a master's degree in 1995 from Northwest Nazarene College.