By Libby Sander

The Boise State University Broncos don't shy away from the unconventional. After all, they're the only team in college football to play on a bright blue Astroturf field.

On Wednesday, the university's athletic director unveiled an unusual plan for raising money to build and renovate the institution's athletics facilities: The Broncos will sell 200,000 shares in a new nonprofit corporation, Boise State Broncos Inc., at $100 each. The anticipated $20-million in proceeds will pay for the construction of new and renovated athletics facilities.

So far, the Broncos have sold 1,200 shares, mostly to members of the new company's 12-person board.

"We are dependent on our supporters," the athletic director, Gene Bleymaier, said in a written statement. "If we are to continue the success we are enjoying now we must generate new revenues to pay for coaches' salaries, scholarships and facilities. Owning Bronco stock allows everyone to help us reach those goals."

Among the projects on the wish list is an end-zone expansion on the south end of Bronco Stadium, as well as new locker rooms for men's and women's basketball.

Bronco stock will not be publicly traded, will not pay any dividends, and the shares will not appreciate in value. Owning shares is not linked to seating privileges, either.

Instead, shareholders will receive a certificate stating their 'ownership,' and may participate in annual shareholders' meetings. They will also have the chance to vote for members of the new company's board of directors, and the cost of the shares is tax-deductible.

Though unusual, if not unheard of, in college sports, the Broncos' plan is not without precedent elsewhere. The NFL's Green Bay Packers took a similar approach in 1997, and now have more than 112,000 fans who own 4.7 million shares in the franchise.

And Boise State isn't alone in thinking creatively about new revenue streams. Big-time college sports programs, which incur significant expenses from their operations, athletics scholarships, and costly capital projects, are always looking for new ways to make money.

The University of California at Berkeley, for instance, recently embarked on a $1-billion campaign for its sports endowment. Berkeley's campaign is unusual not only in its ambitious goal but also in its approach. The campaign relies largely on the money derived from long-term seat licenses for football—not private donations—to boost the endowment. (Most major athletics programs typically use seat licenses to finance capital projects, not endowments.)

And Oklahoma State University raised eyebrows two years ago when it announced it had secured $280-million for capital projects and a sports endowment by taking out $10-million life insurance policies on 28 of its athletics boosters.

Boise State's approach has already generated buzz among some fans. As one put it, writing on One Bronco Nation Under God, a blog for the university's football fans, "I already feel like I have partial 'ownership' of this program. Now, I can donate another hundred bucks (which is far less than my usual annual gift to the university) and get a cool certificate for my wall. Count me in."

Ford Reports Nearly $1 Billion Profit

The latest and strongest sign of the automaker's comeback comes as it pays down debt and adds to U.S. market share

By David Welch

It's now fair to declare Ford Motor (F) an unqualified turnaround story.

The company reported a $997 million third-quarter profit on Nov. 2, adding profits to gains in market share and improvements in quality since CEO Alan Mulally took over in September 2006. The nearly $1 billion profit is a $1.2 billion turnaround from the third quarter of last year. The company also generated $1 billion in cash and paid down $2 billion in debt.

"Ford is making tremendous progress," Mulally said on a conference call. "Our transformation is working."

Strong earnings are a big victory for Ford and Mulally. The company has been far stronger than rivals General Motors and Chrysler (FIA.MI), gaining market share this year. But looking healthier than GM and Chrysler, both of which were in bankruptcy earlier this year, was hardly a great feat.

Ford still has a big debt load, something that GM and Chrysler were able to greatly reduce in bankruptcy. The company dropped long-term debt to $23 billion. But adding short-term debt and obligations to the UAW's retiree health-care trust, Ford's debt is estimated at $38 billion. It's a disadvantage, but Barclays Capital analyst Brian Johnson says Ford should have enough cash to meet its needs.

U.S. Market Share Up to 15.2%

Ford made the earnings leap on the back of about $4.6 billion in cost reductions so far this year. But the company is making progress with consumers, too. Ford's U.S. market share is up one percentage point to 15.2%, and Ford added $100 million to automotive revenue. The company said that productivity gains, lower retiree costs, and a drop in costs in its plants all added to the bottom line.

There is some real meat in Ford's improvement. The company added $1.9 billion in pretax profit by getting better pricing. Some of that may be because the incentives it had to offer were lower during the government's cash-for-clunkers program. But CFO Lewis Booth said Ford has been more disciplined at its plants, building fewer cars, so the company doesn't need deep discounts to foist excess production on the market. Its new models are also selling at fatter sticker prices, Booth said.

Ford made $357 million in pretax profit in North America, after losing $2.6 billion at home in the third quarter of last year.

Despite the strong quarter, Ford has still lost $1.3 billion so far this year.

Ford did report a $2.3 billion profit in the second quarter, but that was thanks to a one-time special items that added $2.8 billion in black ink. Ford still had an operating loss of $424 million in the second quarter.

If you strip out Volvo's $135 million loss—Ford is moving closer to selling the unit to China's Geely Automotive—the numbers look even better.

Still Relying on Finance Profits

Ford's results are a big boost for the company. But a lot of work still needs to be done. Of the company's $1.1 billion pretax profit, $677 million came from the finance company. Relying heavily on finance profits has long been a crutch of U.S. automakers since profits on their cars were hard to come by.

Just being in the black in today's recession is a big achievement, of course. Mulally said he expects Ford to be firmly profitable and to show positive cash flow in 2011, but he didn't give guidance for 2010 because of uncertainty over the economy. "We're not sure about the strength of the recovery," Mulally said.

Ford is also flush with cash. The company has $23.8 billion in cash, up $2 billion from the second quarter. Part of that was achieved by issuing $565 million in new stock in the quarter.

Welch is BusinessWeek's Detroit bureau chief.