BSU head football coach Chris Petersen told the Western Governors Association that for the past decade, he's been studying successful teams - not just athletic teams, but other groups, and what makes them successful. "It doesn't matter if it's sports, business, government, individual success, the principles are very, very similar," Petersen told the group. When asked the reason for the BSU Broncos' success, he said, his answer is, "It's nothing in particular, but it's everything in general. ... It's really about culture."

Petersen said his "formula for a successful team" is an equation. "I think it's very simple that you're not going to win the Derby on the back of a donkey," he said. "It's all about going out and getting talent. Talent for us, when we're talking about our team ... it's athletic ability with experience, and it's depth. ... Secondly, we've got to motivate them. ... You add that with preparation ... you'll end up with some confidence. And we know this, nothing great in life can be accomplished without tremendous confidence. You can't operate scared in this world, you've got to have confidence." He said, "You get those four things all in line, we think you're going to have success."

All that goes into a team's culture, Petersen said. "A culture can be very motivating or unmotivating. We've all worked in places that were miserable to show up to, and places that were pretty exciting to get out of bed and go to work. So I think the correct culture is a very motivating thing." He said at Boise State, he works for a "championship culture," and said, "If the culture is correct, the rest takes care of itself."