Prior to joining Utah, Boylen spent two years at Michigan State University (MSU) as assistant coach under Tom Izzo.

Boylen was born in East Grand Rapids, Michigan in 1965 and attended the University of Maine, where he was a captain during both his junior and senior seasons.

As Tom Izzo's top assistant, he helped lead Michigan State to a 45–23 record in two years, including two NCAA appearances.

[2] In his first season, Boylen brought more consistency to the Utes, guiding them to their first winning record in two years and their first postseason berth since reaching the NCAA tournament in 2005.

Boylen's Utes finished his inaugural season with an 18–15 mark, defeating UTEP in the first round of the 2008 College Basketball Invitational before losing to eventual champion Tulsa.

The Utes were then given a fifth seed in the NCAA tournament but were upset by the Arizona squad with two future NBA players (Jordan Hill and Chase Budinger).

After graduating several key players from the 2008–09 team, Utah struggled in Boylen's third season, regressing to a losing record and finishing in the bottom-half of the Mountain West Conference.