Oregon State football coach Mike Riley has held that job title in three different decades.
Now the dean among Pac-12 Conference coaches, Riley has watched the conference go through a huge transformation in recent years.
The money the league has generated with its new television deal has given schools funds to upgrade facilities and hire the brightest coaching minds.
The payoff is beginning to show on the field, as nine teams qualified for bowl games this season.
The competition has only made Riley’s job harder since his first go-around with Oregon State in the 1997 and ’98 seasons.
After a four-year stint in the NFL, including three as head coach of the San Diego Chargers, he’s held the Beavers job since 2003.
"Our conference has reached an all-time high in competitive status by everybody," Riley said. "Top to bottom, this is the best I have ever seen it and I do have the luxury of looking back over a long period of time and watching this take shape."
Washington State blew a 15-point lead with less than five minutes remaining on Saturday to lose 48-45 to Colorado State in the Gildan New Mexico Bowl.
It’s the league’s only loss in 12 games against the Mountain West after USC whacked Fresno State 45-20 in the Las Vegas Bowl.
According to odds posted on vegasinsider.com, the league is favored in all nine bowl games it was selected to.
The Sheraton Hawaii Bowl is the third and final game featuring a Pac-12 vs. Mountain West matchup.
The conference went 2-0 in BCS bowl games last season, with Stanford beating Wisconsin in the Rose Bowl and Oregon beating Kansas State in the Fiesta Bowl.
"I think this is only the beginning," Riley said. "I think it’s absolutely going to grow this way."
Miller’s time
Matt Miller enters Tuesday’s game five receptions away from tying Boise State’s single-season mark of 82 and is within sight of his first 1,000-yard season.
Not that any of that matters to the junior wideout.
"I’m one of those guys where I could have zero catches, but if we win the game I’m going to be the happiest guy in the locker room," Miller said.
That said, Miller hasn’t gone without at least one catch in his 38 games at Boise State and enters the Hawaii Bowl second on the school’s career receptions list with 205, 24 away from the mark held by Austin Pettis. This season, he’s tied with sophomore Shane Williams-Rhodes with 77 receptions, and his 934 yards and 11 touchdowns are team highs.
Miller acknowledged that not having Chris Petersen on the practice field as head coach "was a little weird the first couple days."
"But we have a great coaching staff in place and they’re doing a good job of keeping us focused and keeping us with great energy," he said.
When the season ends, Miller figures to be part of the offense’s foundation when former Boise State offensive coordinator Bryan Harsin succeeds Petersen as head coach.
"I was here when Coach Harsin was an offensive coordinator, so I’m familiar with him and excited for him to come in," Miller said. "He’s assembling a great staff so far and I think this created a new buzz around the university."
The Broncos held a closed practice at Roosevelt High School on Saturday. Their plans for today include attending the basketball team’s game against Hawaii in the Diamond Head Classic.
Former Warriors return
After six injury-riddled years, Oregon State senior Steven Christian will play in his final collegiate game back where it all started.
Christian spent four years with the University of Hawaii, where he suffered two different season-ending hip injuries.
After graduating from UH, Christian enrolled in a master’s program at Oregon State. He was awarded a sixth year of eligibility this season and is the team’s third safety in dime packages, making 11 tackles.
Boise State also has a former UH player in sophomore Promise Amadi. Amadi is sitting out his season as a transfer, but made the trip with the Broncos. He spent time as a receiver and running back at UH, but moved to defensive back at Boise State.
