Bulls have some fun, then get down to business

BOISE — There’s been a lot of fun and games for the Bulls since their arrival in Boise early Tuesday afternoon, but the team got down to business yesterday afternoon with its first practice of the week in preparation for Saturday’s match in the Famous Idaho Potato Bowl against San Diego State.

Practice took place outside at Boise State's Dona Larsen Park, home of Boise State’s softball and track-and-field programs, where it felt a bit chillier than the 25-degree thermometer reading.

Saturday’s game will be played in Bronco Stadium, home field for Boise State’s football team.

Still, UB players didn’t seem to mind the frosty field conditions, but of course that’s not surprising for a team from Buffalo. San Diego State practiced earlier in the day and may have had a tougher time, given the conditions.

Bulls coach Jeff Quinn seemed pretty happy with the practice, telling UBBulls.com that he liked how the guys responded in their first practice.

The team will practice again on Thursday morning.

Before focusing on football, team members relaxed after the charter flight from Buffalo on Tuesday with a trip to Wahooz Family Fun Zone for the Strikes for Spuds charity bowling event.

The event featured starters from both UB and San Diego State. Teams bowled for a local Boise charity and one from their hometown. The Bulls’ efforts supported St. Luke’s Mission of Mercy in Buffalo and Boise-based Life’s Kitchen.

“I got a strike. I was pretty jacked about that,” said Jake Stockman, a redshirt junior linebacker from Joliet, Ill. The Aztecs proved to be the better bowlers, though, edging the Bulls 241 to 216.

Boise sports radio station 93.1 The Ticket broadcast from the event, interviewing Bulls coach Jeff Quinn, who also was interviewed by local television station KBOI-TV.

Afterward, the Bulls enjoyed a team meal at the family entertainment complex and played arcade games before heading back to the hotel for team meetings.

On Wednesday morning, team members donned helmets of a different kind and spent a few hours at Fast Lane Indoor Kart Racing. Players had the opportunity to race each other in heats of 10 competitors. Even the coaches got in on the action.