Boise State’s Bachmeier Has A Big Heart

The college football season may have ended last week for Boise State Quarterback Hank Bachmeier, but his season of giving continues year-round. Bachmeier was recently the subject of two complementary profiles involving his life outside of college football.

His story is much more impactful than who will win the Heisman Movie or national championship. As the Idaho Press and then Yahoo Sports first reported, we learn that Bachmeier has a big heart outside the game. 

The subject of the two stories is how his sister Ella had suffered the beginning of multiple seizures. Bachmeier tells both publications, one minute he was dealing with a stingray bite, and the next, his world collapsed around him. Bachmeier was years away from leading the Boise State Broncos to victory on the Blue. He was a young man worried about the health of his sister.  

The Idaho Press details what the doctors found out about Ella's condition: 

"Ella was a freshman in high school and ran track. She was healthy and 'super active', according to Bachmeier, until she unexpectedly came down with what was later diagnosed as Anti NMDA Receptor Encephalitis. It's a rare autoimmune disease featured in the book and movie 'Brain on Fire'.

The Bachmeier family stayed at the Ronald McDonald House while Ella was being treated for her illness. The House provides families with shelter, food, and a sense of normality during their child's treatment. Bachmeier told Yahoo News how it changed his perspective on life.  

"It just puts a lot of things in perspective." He tells Yahoo that they're more important things in life than football. Thankfully, Ella has recovered fully, according to the Idaho Press.  

The Bronco's starting quarterback recently visited the Boise Ronald McDonald House. Through his NIL deal with Wright Brothers, Bachmeier had lunch with seventeen-year-old Hunter Smith. The young man is fighting Leukemia, supported by his family. Thanks to Hank and Wright Brothers, the family had lunch and attended the final home game of the Boise State Football season.  

Too often, we look at athletes as one-dimensional. Hank Bachmeier's commitment to helping others is truly an inspiration to inspire others to follow his path.