(UPDATED: 2 p.m., Wednesday, with a statement from Boise State’s general counsel.)
Boise State University has ignored or neglected legal deadlines for public records requests in recent weeks, as Idaho Education News seeks to report on two of the public institution’s high-profile decisions.
Boise State announced last month that its sports teams will move to the Pac-12 Conference amid a nationwide reshuffling of conferences driven by lucrative television deals. At least tens of millions of dollars is at stake for Boise State, and EdNews wants to shed light on what’s motivating the decision — and whether there are risks to taxpayers who fund the university — before the State Board of Education votes to to approve or deny the Pac-12 move.
In late September, Boise State announced another decision that grabbed headlines: The Broncos’ women’s volleyball team forfeited a scheduled game against San José State, which reportedly has a transgender player on its roster. Administrators gave no explanation for the decision, so EdNews asked for public records that could reveal who made it and why.
To date, EdNews has received a fraction of these records — a document already made public by a separate news organization — and Boise State missed three deadlines required under Idaho law.
Boise State stood behind its process for responding to EdNews’ public records requests, in a Wednesday statement from general counsel Matt Wilde. Two of the three assertions by EdNews that Boise State missed legal deadlines are “patently false,” Wilde said. To read Wilde’s statement in its entirety, click here.
The law at a glance
Idaho’s Public Records Act reads as follows: “Every person has a right to examine and take a copy of any public record of this state and there is a presumption that all public records in Idaho are open at all reasonable times for inspection except as otherwise expressly provided by statute.”
The law carries potential civil penalties. If a public official has refused a records request “deliberately and in bad faith,” a court can impose a fine of up to $1,000. A public official or agency that acts in good faith is exempt from civil liability.
The Pac-12 move, and what EdNews requested
On Sep. 12, Boise State announced it has accepted an invitation to join the Pac-12, effective July 1, 2026.
A Mountain West Conference member since 2011, Boise State would join Oregon State, Washington State, Colorado State, Fresno State and San Diego State in a “reimagined” Pac-12. Utah State and Gonzaga later accepted Pac-12 invitations.
Boise State’s move isn’t final, the university said in a news release. The State Board must first approve it. This means taxpayers still have a chance to weigh in on the move before it’s official. And the clock is ticking on the State Board’s decision.
State Board spokesman Mike Keckler told EdNews Tuesday that the conference agreement hasn’t been finalized for the board’s consideration so it’s not on a meeting agenda yet.
On Sept. 18, EdNews filed a records request seeking copies of agreements between Boise State and the Pac-12 and Boise State’s current agreement with the Mountain West.
BoiseDev reported on the terms of the Pac-12 deal here. Between $30 million and $40 million is at stake if Boise State reneges.
EdNews also requested emails and scheduling records involving Boise State President Marlene Tromp, Athletic Director Jeramiah Dickey and Pac-12 officials. And we requested emails from Dickey that mention certain TV networks — financial agreements with broadcasters are an integral part of conference alignments.
Boise State fails to meet Pac-12 public records deadline
EdNews did not receive a response granting or denying the Pac-12 request within three working days, as required by Idaho code 74-103(2). The same code also requires that records be provided within 10 working days of a request.
It’s “patently false” that Boise State missed the three-day deadline in violation of the law, Wilde said, pointing to an automated response that EdNews received on Sept. 18, shortly after filing the records request.
The university “will grant or deny your requested within three (3) working days, unless we determine that a longer period of time is needed to locate, retrieve, and review responsive records, in which case we will provide the records no later than ten (10) working days…” the email said.
The law at a glance
Idaho’s Public Records Act reads as follows:
A public agency or custodian shall either grant or deny a person’s request to examine or copy public records within three (3) working days of the date of the receipt of the request for examination or copying. If it is determined by employees of the public agency that a longer period of time is needed to locate or retrieve the public records, the public agency shall so notify in writing the person requesting to examine or copy the records and shall provide the public records no later than ten (10) working days following the person’s request, if such person is an Idaho resident, and no later than twenty-one (21) working days following a request from a nonresident. Provided however, if it is determined the existing electronic record requested will first have to be converted to another electronic format by the agency or by a third party and that such conversion cannot be completed within ten (10) working days, the agency shall so notify in writing the person requesting to examine or copy the records. The agency shall provide the converted public record at a time mutually agreed upon between the agency and the requester, with due consideration given to any limitations that may exist due to the process of conversion or due to the use of a third party to make the conversion.
If the public agency or custodian fails to respond, the request shall be deemed to be denied within ten (10) working days following the request.
If the public agency denies the person’s request for examination or copying the public records or denies in part and grants in part the person’s request for examination and copying of the public records, the person legally responsible for administering the public agency or that person’s designee shall notify the person in writing of the denial or partial denial of the request for the public record.
On Oct. 1, nine working days after the request, EdNews sent an email to “[email protected]” asking for an update. On Oct. 2, after receiving no response to the prior day’s message, EdNews forwarded the previous email directly to Rob Adelson, Boise State’s public records coordinator. Adelson responded that he would check with the athletics department on the status of the request.
Later on Oct. 2, Adelson provided EdNews with one-fifth of the requested records — a document setting the terms of the agreement between the Pac-12 Conference and its new members, which has already been reported by BoiseDev — and said the emails requested were still under review. EdNews agreed to narrow the request for emails to exclude listserv messages.
As of Oct. 9, the 15th working day since the Sept. 18 request, EdNews has yet to receive the following records:
- Current membership agreements between Boise State and the Mountain West.
- Email correspondence from Tromp and Dickey that includes a receiver or sender with an @pac-12.org email address.
- Email correspondence from Dickey that mentions a list of TV networks.
- Scheduling/calendar/meeting records for Tromp and Dickey that include the names of top Pac-12 officials.
Volleyball and transgender athletics emails
On Oct. 2, EdNews filed a second records request.
EdNews requested “emails and written correspondence” pertaining to Gov. Brad Little’s Aug. 28 executive order, the “Defending Women’s Sports Act.” EdNews also requested emails and written correspondence pertaining to Boise State’s forfeiture of the Sept. 28 volleyball match with San José State.
The requests were limited to Tromp’s office, Dickey’s office and the office of government relations, for a timespan from July 28 through Oct. 2.
Within minutes, EdNews received an automated response from Boise State. The university said it would grant or deny the request within three working days and provide the records within 10 working days, Idaho’s legal deadlines.
The university did not grant or deny the request by Oct. 7, the three-day deadline.
“This, too, is patently false,” Wilde told EdNews, again pointing to the automated email language that noted the three- and 10-day requirements and said the university “will grant or deny the request” within three days.
On Oct. 8, EdNews emailed Boise State to inquire about the request. Adelson sent the following response:
“I appreciate the email,” he wrote. “Due to the large volume of public records requests that Boise State receives and the size of the University, we have determined that a longer period of time is needed to locate, retrieve, and review responsive records, if they exist. We will provide the records no later than ten (10) working days from Wednesday, October 10.”
Oct. 10 falls on a Thursday, not a Wednesday. Either way, Boise State is attempting to push back the timetable on the records request, by a week or more, in violation of state law.
The three- and 10-day clock begins ticking when the records request is filed — not at an arbitrary date of an agency’s choosing.
Wilde said the Wednesday, Oct. 10 date was written in error, and denied that Boise State was trying to change the timetable. “You assumed that the University was consciously choosing an ‘arbitrary’ and new date to respond.”
