The Boise State athletic department lost one of its most ardent supporters this week when longtime donor Allen Noble died. He was 93.
Noble also was an early supporter of another Boise icon: Micron Technology.
“Allen Noble’s impact goes well beyond financial contributions to this great institution and our athletic programs,” Boise State football coach Andy Avalos said Tuesday in a statement on Twitter. “How he lived his life — blue collar and hard-working — provided an example for everyone in our program, coaches included.”
Noble quite literally left his mark on the university. He was the lead donor for the expansion of Albertons Stadium that brought capacity to 30,000 seats for the move to the Football Bowl Subdivision (Division I-A). The expansion in the southwest and southeast corners, completed in 1997, included the Allen Noble Hall of Fame Gallery that sits underneath the southwest seats.
Noble was a financial supporter of Boise State’s athletic programs for more than 40 years, served on the board of directors for the Bronco Athletic Association and, in 1988, earned the Bronze Bronco Award, which is only given to the university’s top donors, according to a statement from Boise State.
“We are forever indebted to him for his generous support and for the foundation on which we currently stand,” Boise State Athletic Director Jeramiah Dickey said in a statement on Twitter. “He played a major role in developing who we are as a department, and we will appropriately honor his legacy.”
Noble made his mark in the agricultural world, operating potato farms and developing an irrigation business to serve farmers in the Magic Valley. He was also the first person outside Micron to invest in the company after it was founded in 1978, according to previous Idaho Statesman reporting, and served on its board of directors for 16 years.
His donations supported several of Boise State’s athletic teams, but his heart was always with the football program, former Boise State Athletic Director Gene Bleymaier said.
“His first love was always football and his connection with those coaches and players,” Bleymaier told the Statesman on Tuesday night. “Boise State football would not be where it is today without the likes of Allen Noble.”
Noble’s donations helped Boise State build and update its facilities, purchase equipment for athletes and even pay coaches’ salaries, but Bleymaier said he was more than just a donor to him. He was a confidant.
“There were maybe a dozen or so significant people that I relied on for advice and counsel and who I leaned on to help us with the many fundraising programs we had,” said Bleymaier, who was the Broncos’ athletic director from 1982 to 2011. “But none were as influential as Allen. He was someone I could always go to for advice.”
Former Boise State Associate Athletic Director Brad Larrondo said he was fresh out of school when he first met Noble in 1993, and it didn’t take the two long to form a close relationship. Noble was a regular figure in Larrondo’s office, and as he wasn’t able to make it to as many football games over the past five or six years, Larrondo said he would take a couple players to Noble’s office downtown every once in a while to make sure he felt connected to the program.
“He was a huge tower of influence in the football program, not just because of his loyalty and the resources he provided, but because he shared the passion and vision of what Boise State football is all about,” said Larrondo, who followed former Boise State football coach Bryan Harsin to Auburn in December. “He made his way by being a blue-collar worker in everything he did, and that’s what his family is all about. He’s a Bronco legend for sure.”
Like Bleymaier, Larrondo said Noble was someone he could always turn to for advice. He also said Noble’s support helped pave the way for Boise State to make the jump from Division I-AA to the Big West, and for the Broncos’ ascension to the Western Athletic Conference and Mountain West.
“Look at any college football program around the country that is successful and you’ll see it takes several really strong and influential donors at the top of the pipeline,” said Larrondo, adding that Noble was also a strong supporter of the Broncos’ now-defunct wrestling team and was a men’s basketball season-ticket holder. “You have to have leading figures to help you do that, and Allen is at the top of the list of impact donors.”
From building an agricultural empire to still going into the office every day when he was in his early 90s, Larrondo said Noble embodied the blue-collar spirit that Boise State football has become known for.
“He was blue collar in everything he did,” Larrondo said. “He will be missed.”