News Release

Dec. 18, 2006

FIESTA FEVER: In anticipation of the upcoming Tostitos Fiesta Bowl, Boise State University’s Office of Communications has identified story ideas that would be of interest to the community. Following is one of these stories. Feel free to use as written, or contact the sources listed at the bottom for more information.

BSU’S International Programs Director Remembers 'Craziness' of OU Football

Living in Oklahoma as a high school foreign exchange student from Germany, Sabine Klahr found the mentality of Oklahoma football fans to be something of an eye-opener.

“I grew up with soccer in Europe and American football is something I have never grown accustomed to,” said Klahr, now the director of international programs at Boise State University.

Klahr stayed on after high school to earn both her bachelor’s and master’s degrees in botany from the University of Oklahoma. What she hadn’t counted on was an education in American sports fanaticism, Sooners style.

“At OU, the students really go crazy [over football],” she said, “whereas here at BSU it seems to be mostly alumni and community members living in their campers for several days surrounding a game.” Klahr recalls that college craziness involved everything from mischievous overnight re-decorating of the campus to wild parties.

“It was a great cultural learning experience to participate in some of those activities,” she said.

Now that Klahr is at Boise State, she also appreciates some of the other lessons she learned at the University of Oklahoma. “OU excels in academics with a strong international dimension and has found a good balance between advancing academic excellence and promoting the university through their football team,” she said.

As Boise State continues its transformation into a research university, Klahr believes the Broncos can help build a strong national and international reputation for BSU as well. “This will help us attract qualified students to BSU, but it also means we need to have the resources to deliver academic excellence once we attract them,” she said.

Klahr won’t be watching the Fiesta Bowl on New Year’s Day. Instead, she’s heading back to Germany. But she will be taking some Bronco gear with her. “BSU T-shirts are a big hit with my friends’ teenage sons in Germany,” she said, “so I’ll be taking a few along as presents.”

-30-

Contact: Sabine Klahr, International Programs, (208) 426-3652, sklahr@boisestate.edu 
Media Contact: Kathleen Craven, University Communications, (208) 426-3275, kcraven@boisestate.edu

We’re proud to be the home of the undefeated, Fiesta Bowl‑bound Broncos, the national champion student speech and debate team, and the nation's 12th‑ranked engineering program among public, comprehensive universities.
 

The Office of Communications and Marketing - Boise State University
1910 University Drive - Boise Idaho 83725-1030
Located in Capitol Village, 2225 W. University Drive

208-426-1577
(fax)208-426-4001

email communications@boisestate.edu

Last reviewed on Wednesday, January 03, 2007