Portland State University head coach Pokey Allen has been named head coach at Boise State University, promising to do whatever it takes to move Broncos football ahead.
"I'm not going to promise you we're going to win every game. I'm going to promise you we'll play an exciting game, we'll work hard, we'll go to class and we'll have some fun," Allen said at a press conference Wednesday.Allen, 49, replaces Skip Hall, who resigned under pressure Nov. 21 after the Broncos lost to arch-rival Idaho 62-16 - their 11th straight loss to the Vandals. Finishing at 5-6, it was Hall's first losing season in six years as head coach at Boise State.
Allen, whose NCAA Division II team routed Division I-AA Boise State of the Big Sky Conference in Boise, 51-26 earlier this fall en route to a 10-4 season and a playoff berth, will be paid $69,000 a year.
Although the state Board of Education prohibits multiyear contracts for newly hired coaches, Athletic Director Gene Bleymaier said Allen was operating with the understanding he had at least a three-year deal.
Allen was the most valuable player in the 1964 Liberty Bowl as a quarterback for the University of Utah and played three years as quarterback and defensive back in the Canadian Football League.