Forty-year-old football turf, outdated banners and well-worn lockers and stools may sound like junk, but Boise State is turning their trash into treasure.
The athletic department’s recent partnership with CollectU creates opportunities for fans to purchase rare items, building a business on Bronco Nation’s nostalgia.
“To turn retired equipment and materials into one-of-a-kind collectibles, we’re giving our fans a chance to own a piece of our story while generating more resources to support our student-athletes,” Athletic Director Jeramiah Dickey said in a press release.
CollectU’s goal to turn stadium and arena renovations into once-in-a-lifetime collectibles preserves history, excites fans and supports sustainability, while raising funds for future projects.
Boise State foreshadowed the partnership in 2019 when replacing the sixth rendition of The Blue. The department sold square-foot sized pieces of the turf for about $40 to $50, according to Senior Associate Dean of External Affairs, Chris Kutz.
In 2025, Roberto Bergerson, an assistant basketball coach for the Broncos, heard about the opportunity from a CollectU partner he met in his “basketball playing days.”
“Berto connected with our administration,” said Matthew Sterling, associate athletic director for merchandise and brand operations. “We started having conversations and explored what it could look like and away it went.”
Founder of CollectU Jay Sharman’s low-risk, high-reward business strategy was appealing to Boise State’s forward-thinking mentality which prompted the founder to fly from Chicago to tour the facilities. There, he began pointing out various items as possibilities for profit.
Near the end of the tour, Sharman paused in a former indoor racket-ball court located in Albertsons Stadium, opposite the Stueckle Sky Center. The room, now used as offices, was covered in blue carpet and brown cardboard storage boxes at the time.
“I kicked up the carpet and I was like ‘what is this?’ Sharman said. “It was wet and moldy, it was kind of used up.”
As the department casually noted it as the last remaining piece of original blue turf Gene Bleymaier installed in 1986, Sharman knew he struck gold.
CollectU created shadowboxes, display cases deep enough to showcase items, filling them with sections cut from the original turf to sell for $300. The case’s background is lined with an iconic photo of Albertsons Stadium signed by Bleymaier, alongside text sharing the story of The Blue.
Garman noted the unified approach between Boise State and CollectU’s blue collar mentality.
“It’s amazing the branding,” Sharman said. “I love how the campus has banners hanging up and everything is tied into The Blue and innovation … Everything that we are doing appeals to the blue collar and the pride in that … We’re a unified approach to the brand.”
The bags made from old stadium banners were especially unique to the project’s sustainability. While Sterling and the athletic department saw it as outdated junk, Sharman saw opportunities for fans to connect.
“We thought ‘cool, we’re just replacing the banner like we always do,’” Sterling said. “Didn’t think anything of it, and he saw it and saw an opportunity.”
In 2026, Sharman began executing the idea with Buck’s Bags, a Boise-based company the Broncos have been collaborating with since 1992.
To create drawstring and duffel bags, Buck’s Bags athletic sales manager Steve Nyce blended his typical fabrics with unique portions of banners that previously hung around Albertsons Stadium, a true testament to Boise State’s innovation.
“It was a team effort,” Nyce said. “Obviously, we’ve never done anything like this.”
Buck’s Bags actively works to manufacture the first line of products as plans between Boise State and CollectU continue to grow. The team plans to expand its collection this fall and CollectU encourages fans to share what products would be interesting to add to their collection.
“One thing that’s been great about them [CollectU] is they are trying to integrate with our storytelling to create products or launch products around timelines that mirror our storytelling,” Sterling said. “As the season goes on, we’ll see some new things come out from them that tie into what we’re doing.”
