Discussions of adult beverages at sporting events are usually more popular than discussions of test scores, budgets and curriculum — unless you’re on the state board of education, especially when you’re on the state board of education in Idaho.

As alcohol service has spread to dozens more college football and basketball venues in recent years, it has become a frequent topic at Idaho State Board of Education meetings. “We’re appointed as the State Board of Education, and yet it seems every year we become the state board of alcohol licensing,” board member Andrew Scoggin said in October 2018.

At Boise State, alcohol is sold during football games only to of-age premium ticket holders inside Albertsons Stadium’s Stueckle Sky Club. It is not sold in the concourses to those sitting in the standard outdoor areas. But that may change as soon as the 2020 season.

Ten of the Mountain West’s 11 other football schools serve alcohol, primarily beer and wine, to all ticket holders 21 and up. Utah State is the only other school that does not allow it.

Last month, the Idaho State Board of Education decided it no longer wanted to have the issue be such a major, frequent discussion point and gave preliminary approval for the schools’ presidents to have the power to make those decisions. A final approval is slated to be on the agenda for December’s meeting, after which point the decision would be in Boise State’s hands at last.

“If it does pass, we have to understand exactly what it means,” Boise State president Dr. Marlene Tromp told The Athletic. “I didn’t anticipate this sort of change from the Board, but we’ll make our decision after they decide.”

Tromp, the university’s seventh president, began her tenure July 1. Though she did not firmly state if she would approve alcohol sales if given the authority, she said that during her time at other venues that sold alcohol in her career, “It seemed normal … I never saw brawling, incidents like that.”

“My first event at Albertsons Stadium was the Garth Brooks concert (July 19-20), and they served alcohol. I didn’t know until our first home football game they didn’t have it,” Tromp said. “So many stadiums around the country do it now. We’re doing some exploring, and if we want to do it, we have to do it the right way.”

For one season, 2015, Boise State was allowed to serve beer and wine at the football team’s indoor facility before games to fans 21 and up who had a game ticket. It ran smoothly, with very few negative incidents, but the Board effectively killed what was called “The Huddle” the following year, fearing future possibilities of minors or students being served.

Last year, the Board denied Boise State’s request to serve pregame alcohol again at the facility, along with three other on-campus locations.

Boise State athletic director Curt Apsey said the Brooks concert saw very few alcohol-related incidents during his weekly spot on Boise radio station KTIK 93.1 FM. When the Board made its decision last month, his feelings were clear.

“We’re excited about the opportunity moving forward,” Apsey said. “Improving the fan environment, excited about that.”

Tromp noted that stipulations the Board may request in terms of safety, restrictions on what can be sold, where and when, and where the money goes, will be important factors in any final move.

It’s possible some fans would be turned off by the approval of in-stadium sales, but it could be a way to draw in some, too, and provide a revenue boost.

Football ticket revenue has dropped every year for Boise State since 2012, falling more than $2 million in total over the next five seasons, with the largest drop from 2016 to 2017. There are plenty of factors, from ticket cost to late kickoffs, but any boost in ticket sales to fans looking to drink, plus the alcohol revenue those fans provide, would help the bottom line.

Other Mountain West schools have reported six-figure net revenue from alcohol sales. Fresno State made $150,000 in 2018 (its second year of selling beer after an 11-year ban); Wyoming made $104,000 in 2017, its first year selling beer and wine at War Memorial Stadium; New Mexico made $136,263 from beer/wine sales in 2016, its first year doing so at football and men’s basketball games.

The Broncos have two regular season home games remaining: Saturday against Wyoming and Nov. 16 against New Mexico. For those who support or oppose alcohol sales, they could be remembered as the final two games before a new era at Albertsons Stadium.

(Photo: Loren Orr / Getty Images)