In early 1967, Boise College prepared to graduate its first four-year class. That March, student body president Jim Cockrell and other student leaders met with faculty and alumni in the old Student Union Building, now the Communication Building, to form the Boise College Alumni Association.
The new group started with just 12 members, mostly Boise Junior College graduates, since the first class of four-year alumni had not yet graduated. Cockrell and adjunct accounting instructor Frank Illett served as interim co-chairs, and Thomas L. Rhodes was elected as the first president. Membership dues were $2 per year, or $3 per family.
Since then, the Alumni Association has supported many university milestones, from the construction of the Pavilion, now ExtraMile Arena, to the founding of the Keith Stein Blue Thunder Marching Band. Its dedication to Boise State University has never wavered.
Much has changed since that first meeting — a new name, a growing membership and the opening of an alumni center in 2001. But the Boise State Alumni Association’s mission remains the same: connect alumni, support the university, and advocate for its success.