ExtraQuiet Arena? Boise State’s sellout crowd lacked energy in San Diego State loss

Aztecs defeated Broncos 76-68 Saturday at ExtraMile Arena

Boise State Broncos head coach Leon Rice. / Orlando Ramirez-Imagn Images

An announced sellout crowd of 12,058 witnessed San Diego State out-muscle Boise State in Saturday’s Mountain West Conference men’s basketball game at ExtraMile Arena.

The physical Aztecs (9-3, 2-1) pulled down 15 offensive rebounds in the 76-68 victory over the Broncos (11-4, 3-1). It was Boise State’s first home loss of the season. 

While most seats were filled before the 2 p.m. Mountain time tipoff, the atmosphere at ExtraMile Arena was a bit muted for an important conference game. 

In a postgame piece, Mark Zeigler of The San Diego Union-Tribune labeled Boise State’s home venue ‘ExtraQuiet Arena.’ The student section was particularly lacking as classes do not resume at Boise State until Jan. 13. 

These seats in section 12 were open all game pic.twitter.com/Mu8yo0HYtt

— Todd S (@toddage_cheese) January 5, 2025

During his Monday press conference, Boise State head coach Leon Rice thanked the fans for showing up in relatively large numbers for the San Diego State game.

“First of all, I’m just so grateful for all those people that came on Saturday,” Rice said. “Two o’clock, what a great time to play. We love that. It’s special when you walk out there and there’s that many people there and it’s that environment.

“I think maybe somebody was critical of ‘Were they loud enough?,’ or I don’t know. But … I’m grateful. And yeah, be loud. But you take the students out, I don’t care where you are. You take the students out of Gonzaga, it’s not going to be the same. It’s not. And that’s just the reality of it.”

The atmosphere at home basketball games is not a new problem for the Broncos. After Saturday’s loss, athletic director Jeramiah Dickey acknowledged the issue. 

Had “fans/donors” in front of my seats yell at my wife for my kids getting loud in the past 🤷‍♂️😂 Basketball is not tennis. We will find a solution. The best basketball atmospheres in country are the loudest. Days of sitting and golf clapping are over. #BleedBlue

— Jeramiah Dickey (@JeramiahDickey) January 5, 2025

Rice hopes Tuesday’s 8:30 p.m. Mountain time start against UNLV (9-5, 3-0) will not scare fans off from piling into ExtraMile Arena for another big Mountain West matchup. 

“I always tell our players that the best ability is availability, and (the fans) were there for us,” Rice said. “I’m grateful for that. Be available, take a nap during the day. We’ll write notes for kids like I always say, miss first period. But we need fans there, we need that home-court advantage. 

“It’s our job to give them a lot to cheer about and be exciting and be competing at our highest level, and we didn’t get that done (against San Diego State) good enough for them. So, let’s go. Another chance comes quick, and let’s have another great performance from them by showing up.”

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