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By Stuart
Colorado Daily – February
February 10th
Colorado in at No. 48 in recruiting budgets
Ya gotta spend money to make money … or in this case, gather up five-star recruits.
The Business of College Sports has put out a list of recruiting budgets for college programs. Colorado comes in at No. 48 on the list, with total recruiting expenses of $885,421, with $633,190 allocated to men’s sports; $252,231 to women’s sports.
At the top of the list is Tennessee, with a recruiting budget of just shy of $2.3 million. Auburn and Notre Dame are Nos. 2 and 3, with the Tigers and Fighting Irish joining the Volunteers as the only teams with recruiting budgets in excess of $2 million.
Overall, six of the top eight spots are taken up by teams from the SEC … no real surprise there. The top Pac-12 team should also not be a surprise … with Oregon checking in at No. 18 with a recruiting budget roughly 50% higher than that of Colorado, at $1.2 million.
Also ahead of Colorado on the list from the Pac-12 are teams ranked 27th-29th, with Washington, Arizona and Stanford all at around $1 million per year. UCLA and USC are ranked No. 36 and No. 37, with Cal, at No. 45, the only other team from the Pac-12 spending more than the Buffs on recruiting.
Coming in behind Colorado are the four remaining schools in the Pac-12: Arizona State; Utah; Oregon State and Washington State.
The only ranking which does seem out of sorts with the results on the field is USC, with the Trojans no better than 6th in the conference, and 37th overall. Perhaps it has to do with the recruiting penalties imposed upon USC by the NCAA, or perhaps the Trojans have cleaned up their act on the recruiting trail, and are doing more with less.
Let’s go with the former explanation …
February 9th
Two eight team conferences to merge for 2013-14?
According to ESPN, Conference USA’s board of directors will meet later this week to discuss the possibility of a full-scale merger with the Mountain West Conference, according to a source with knowledge of the situation.
The prospect of a merger was already on the meeting agenda, even before C-USA member Memphis was on the verge of joining the Big East, the source said.
Memphis was officially invited into the Big East on Wednesday and has accepted the invitation. The school will join in 2013.
In the past year, C-USA members Houston, SMU and Central Florida accepted invitations to join the Big East in 2013-14.
That, along with Memphis’ pending departure, would leave C-USA with eight members: Southern Miss, Tulsa, Marshall, Rice, UAB, Tulane, East Carolina and UTEP.
The Mountain West is adding Nevada and Fresno State from the Western Athletic Conference for all sports and Hawaii in football. But the MWC is losing San Diego State to the Big East in football and the Big West for all other sports; Boise State to the Big East in football and the WAC in other sports; and TCU to the Big 12.
That means in 2013-14, the MWC would have eight football members, including Hawaii, and seven in all sports: UNLV, New Mexico, Wyoming, Colorado State, Air Force, Fresno State and Nevada.
A merger between C-USA and the MWC could consist of a conference with its current 2013-14 membership of 15 in all sports and 16 in football.
February 8th
Recruiting pipelines?
This past recruiting cycle, Colorado signed players from all over the nation, in several*cases with players joining former teammates who were already on the CU roster.
As for the Class of 2013, Colorado coaches are already at work at those same schools.
The Buffs signed highly regarded cornerback Yuri Wright this February, with Wright joining Don Bosco prep (N.J.) teammate Tony Jones.
For next season, Colorado would like to sign four-star defensive end Alquadin Mohammad (Rivals bio)*(Scout bio).
On Signing Day, 2012, Colorado signed three players from Upland, California – defensive back Marques Mosley, running back Donta Abron, and fullback Christian Powell. Now Colorado is recruiting four-star defensive end, and Upland teammate,*Joe Mathis (Rivals bio)*(Scout bio).
From Edna Carter Magnet school in New Orleans, Colorado signed wide receiver Keenan Canty. Next spring, CU hopes to land Canty’s former teammate, cornerback Lowell Ellis.*(Rivals bio) *(Scout bio).
The Buffs are hoping that the dismissal of wide receiver Austin Vincent from the roster will not hurt their chances with fellow DeSoto, Texas, star, four-star running back Dontre Wilson.(Rivals bio) *(Scout bio).
Of course, there are other schools which have sent multiple players to Boulder which the Buffs are currently recruiting (including many Colorado high schools) …
We know that recruiters often work hard to convince the mothers of players about the benefits of having their son play for the Buffs.
Also important, though, is the relationship college coaches develop with high school coaches, who are often looked to for advice from prospective recruits.
If the offer sheet for 2013 is any example, than it can be said that the CU coaches have some pretty fair relationships with high school coaches across the nation.
February 5th
Buffs and the Super Bowl
Colorado has had 31 different alumni win Super Bowl rings.
Nate Solder would*have liked to have become No. 32.
A year ago, Solder was a consensus All-American for the Buffs.* Solder was then selected in the first round of the NFL draft (No. 17 overall) by the New England Patriots.
This season, Solder played in all 19 of the Patriots’ games, starting 16.*Solder was the starting right tackle, and was named to the Pro Football Weekly’s All-Rookie Team.
If New England had won, Solder would have*become the seventh Buff to*earn a Super Bowl ring in his rookie season, and the first since Tom Ashworth, also a Patriots’ offensive lineman, did so in 2001.
The 31 former Buffs who have earned Super Bowl rings have amassed a total of 47 rings total. There was a Buff – Boyd Dowler – who won Super Bowl rings in Super Bowls I and II, up to last season, when kicker Mason Crosby and linebacker Brad Jones won rings with the Green Bay Packers.
Buffs with multiple Super Bowl rings:
WR – Bowd Dowler – Green Bay (1966; 1967)
DB – Dick Anderson – Miami (1972; 1973)
WR – Cliff Branch – Oakland (1976; 1980; 1983)
DB – Mike L. Davis – Oakland (1980; 1983)
DB – Odis McKinney – Oakland (1980; 1983)
P – Barry Helton – San Francisco (1988; 1989)
OT – Matt Lepsis – Denver (1997; 1998)
P – Tom Rouen – Denver (1997; 1998)
DE – Alfred Williams – Denver (1997; 1998)
OT – Tom Ashworth – New England (2001; 2003; 2004)
LB – Ted Johsnon – New England (2001; 2003; 2004)
TE – Daniel Graham – New England (2003; 2004)
TE – Christian Fauria – New England (2003; 2004)
February 2nd
Recruiting Luncheon notes
For those of us looking for a major announcement concerning facilities (see story, below) at the recruiting luncheon, Thursday was a disappointment.
While Colorado athletic director Mike Bohn did announce that the $7 million video boards had been approved by the Board of Regents, and did officially announce that Colorado would be adding women’s lacrosse for the 2014 season, here’s what Bohn had to say about additional facilities …
“Stay tuned”.
That’s it. Bohn did take the time to sell helmets worn for the USC game – at $5,000 apiece – to raise money to replace the turf inside the practice bubble, but there were no announcements concerning other facility improvements.
Jeremy Bloom
After CU head basketball coach Tad Boyle thanked Jon Embree for helping to restore “Buff Pride”, the featured speaker, Jeremy Bloom was introduced.
Bloom spoke about being a Buff, as well as being an Olympic skier. Highlights of Bloom’s last run in the Winter Olympics in Torino were shown, with Bloom, a pre-race favorite, finishing out of the medals.
Bloom talked about how he dealt with disappointments – that he would give himself 48 hours to dwell on the defeat; 48 hours to mull, replay, and cry over what might have been. Then, Bloom said, that after the 48 hours, he was done with what had taken place, and was ready to move on.
Bloom related his experience to what the Colorado football program has been going through the past six years. “Our 48 hours are over,” Bloom declared. “Time for excuses is over … The right people are in place to bring the swagger back to Boulder.”
Bill McCartney
Coach Mac was his usual self. He told the story about how, many years ago, a man set out to find the perfect horse. He learned about horses. He learned to train horses. He learned what to look for in a good horse.
The man then sent his soldiers out across the lands, looking for horses which met his new criteria.*His men brought back 100 horses. The man then trained the horses, including how to come to him whenever he called.
The man then left the horses out in the desert heat, keeping them stalled 100 yards from water. The horses were all dying to get to the water, but the man would not release them. Then, finally, he had the stall opened, calling out to the horses. 99 of the horses went to the water … one came to the man.
It was that horse, the “one in a hundred”, which the man used to start the Arabian breed of horse, recognized around the world as the best horses.
“Jon Embree is one in a hundred”, McCartney declared. Embree is the sort of man, the sort of coach, which can lead the Colorado program back to greatness.
Still, McCartney cautioned, it will take time. Even the Arabian breed, he noted, took several generations to take hold …
—
Coach McCartney was also there to rally the troops. Coach Mac announced a fund-raiser – a pre-Spring game rally in the indoor practice bubble before the Spring Game (April 14th). McCartney also announced that every Thursday night during the season, there would be a pep rally at the First Bank Center in Broomfield, with 5,000 fans expected for each event.
Mark your calendar!
February 1st
Facilities upgrade unveiled
Sorry about the picture quality – it’s from a twitter feed, but it does give you an idea of what is being proposed for an upgrade to Folsom Field.
Which you can compare to the present Folsom Field:
The new building, which will be to the northeast of the stadium, will also*come with some additional seating in the northeast corner.*When this*expansion will take place, how much it will cost, and how it will be paid for, will hopefully be explained at the recruiting luncheon on Thursday.
Rocky Mountain Showdown moved to Sunday
Not a real surprise, when you’ve got 3-9 v. 3-10 …
While the television coverage, and the time for kickoff, have yet to be announced, the Rocky Mountain Showdown between Colorado and Colorado State in Denver has been moved from Saturday, September 1st, to Sunday, September 2nd.
Colorado to add women’s lacrosse team
The University of Colorado has worked with the NCAA minimum of 16 sports for a number of years.
With the new Pac-12 television contract money now in sight, the Buffs are looking to expand their athletic footprint.
Earlier this month Colorado athletic director Mike*Bohn said that girls lacrosse is the fastest growing sport at the high school level in Colorado and much of the rest of the nation and that it would make sense for many reasons for CU to add women’s lacrosse. Bohn said at that time the department is targeting the 2013-14 school year for the new women’s program to begin competing. He said it could compete as a club sport prior to that.
Startup costs for the program will be relatively minimal with no new facilities required.Women’s lacrosse is played in the spring and the CU team would play in Folsom Field and likely use the practice bubble and the same outdoor practice fields utilized by the football team.
The program will compete in the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation in the sport because the Pac-12 Conference does not sponsor women’s lacrosse. That could change in the future because CU will be the fifth Pac-12 school to field a women’s lacrosse program along with Stanford, Cal, Oregon and USC.
Bohn said earlier this month that CU needed to add a women’s sport to help correct the imbalance in the department between the total number of opportunities offered to men and women and the money spent on men’s and women’s programs as required by Title IX laws.
Women’s lacrosse will be the 10th women’s sport at CU joining women’s basketball, cross country, golf, skiing, soccer, tennis, indoor track, outdoor track and field and volleyball.
Originally posted by CU At the Game
Click here to vie
Colorado Daily – February
February 10th
Colorado in at No. 48 in recruiting budgets
Ya gotta spend money to make money … or in this case, gather up five-star recruits.
The Business of College Sports has put out a list of recruiting budgets for college programs. Colorado comes in at No. 48 on the list, with total recruiting expenses of $885,421, with $633,190 allocated to men’s sports; $252,231 to women’s sports.
At the top of the list is Tennessee, with a recruiting budget of just shy of $2.3 million. Auburn and Notre Dame are Nos. 2 and 3, with the Tigers and Fighting Irish joining the Volunteers as the only teams with recruiting budgets in excess of $2 million.
Overall, six of the top eight spots are taken up by teams from the SEC … no real surprise there. The top Pac-12 team should also not be a surprise … with Oregon checking in at No. 18 with a recruiting budget roughly 50% higher than that of Colorado, at $1.2 million.
Also ahead of Colorado on the list from the Pac-12 are teams ranked 27th-29th, with Washington, Arizona and Stanford all at around $1 million per year. UCLA and USC are ranked No. 36 and No. 37, with Cal, at No. 45, the only other team from the Pac-12 spending more than the Buffs on recruiting.
Coming in behind Colorado are the four remaining schools in the Pac-12: Arizona State; Utah; Oregon State and Washington State.
The only ranking which does seem out of sorts with the results on the field is USC, with the Trojans no better than 6th in the conference, and 37th overall. Perhaps it has to do with the recruiting penalties imposed upon USC by the NCAA, or perhaps the Trojans have cleaned up their act on the recruiting trail, and are doing more with less.
Let’s go with the former explanation …
February 9th
Two eight team conferences to merge for 2013-14?
According to ESPN, Conference USA’s board of directors will meet later this week to discuss the possibility of a full-scale merger with the Mountain West Conference, according to a source with knowledge of the situation.
The prospect of a merger was already on the meeting agenda, even before C-USA member Memphis was on the verge of joining the Big East, the source said.
Memphis was officially invited into the Big East on Wednesday and has accepted the invitation. The school will join in 2013.
In the past year, C-USA members Houston, SMU and Central Florida accepted invitations to join the Big East in 2013-14.
That, along with Memphis’ pending departure, would leave C-USA with eight members: Southern Miss, Tulsa, Marshall, Rice, UAB, Tulane, East Carolina and UTEP.
The Mountain West is adding Nevada and Fresno State from the Western Athletic Conference for all sports and Hawaii in football. But the MWC is losing San Diego State to the Big East in football and the Big West for all other sports; Boise State to the Big East in football and the WAC in other sports; and TCU to the Big 12.
That means in 2013-14, the MWC would have eight football members, including Hawaii, and seven in all sports: UNLV, New Mexico, Wyoming, Colorado State, Air Force, Fresno State and Nevada.
A merger between C-USA and the MWC could consist of a conference with its current 2013-14 membership of 15 in all sports and 16 in football.
February 8th
Recruiting pipelines?
This past recruiting cycle, Colorado signed players from all over the nation, in several*cases with players joining former teammates who were already on the CU roster.
As for the Class of 2013, Colorado coaches are already at work at those same schools.
The Buffs signed highly regarded cornerback Yuri Wright this February, with Wright joining Don Bosco prep (N.J.) teammate Tony Jones.
For next season, Colorado would like to sign four-star defensive end Alquadin Mohammad (Rivals bio)*(Scout bio).
On Signing Day, 2012, Colorado signed three players from Upland, California – defensive back Marques Mosley, running back Donta Abron, and fullback Christian Powell. Now Colorado is recruiting four-star defensive end, and Upland teammate,*Joe Mathis (Rivals bio)*(Scout bio).
From Edna Carter Magnet school in New Orleans, Colorado signed wide receiver Keenan Canty. Next spring, CU hopes to land Canty’s former teammate, cornerback Lowell Ellis.*(Rivals bio) *(Scout bio).
The Buffs are hoping that the dismissal of wide receiver Austin Vincent from the roster will not hurt their chances with fellow DeSoto, Texas, star, four-star running back Dontre Wilson.(Rivals bio) *(Scout bio).
Of course, there are other schools which have sent multiple players to Boulder which the Buffs are currently recruiting (including many Colorado high schools) …
We know that recruiters often work hard to convince the mothers of players about the benefits of having their son play for the Buffs.
Also important, though, is the relationship college coaches develop with high school coaches, who are often looked to for advice from prospective recruits.
If the offer sheet for 2013 is any example, than it can be said that the CU coaches have some pretty fair relationships with high school coaches across the nation.
February 5th
Buffs and the Super Bowl
Colorado has had 31 different alumni win Super Bowl rings.
Nate Solder would*have liked to have become No. 32.
A year ago, Solder was a consensus All-American for the Buffs.* Solder was then selected in the first round of the NFL draft (No. 17 overall) by the New England Patriots.
This season, Solder played in all 19 of the Patriots’ games, starting 16.*Solder was the starting right tackle, and was named to the Pro Football Weekly’s All-Rookie Team.
If New England had won, Solder would have*become the seventh Buff to*earn a Super Bowl ring in his rookie season, and the first since Tom Ashworth, also a Patriots’ offensive lineman, did so in 2001.
The 31 former Buffs who have earned Super Bowl rings have amassed a total of 47 rings total. There was a Buff – Boyd Dowler – who won Super Bowl rings in Super Bowls I and II, up to last season, when kicker Mason Crosby and linebacker Brad Jones won rings with the Green Bay Packers.
Buffs with multiple Super Bowl rings:
WR – Bowd Dowler – Green Bay (1966; 1967)
DB – Dick Anderson – Miami (1972; 1973)
WR – Cliff Branch – Oakland (1976; 1980; 1983)
DB – Mike L. Davis – Oakland (1980; 1983)
DB – Odis McKinney – Oakland (1980; 1983)
P – Barry Helton – San Francisco (1988; 1989)
OT – Matt Lepsis – Denver (1997; 1998)
P – Tom Rouen – Denver (1997; 1998)
DE – Alfred Williams – Denver (1997; 1998)
OT – Tom Ashworth – New England (2001; 2003; 2004)
LB – Ted Johsnon – New England (2001; 2003; 2004)
TE – Daniel Graham – New England (2003; 2004)
TE – Christian Fauria – New England (2003; 2004)
February 2nd
Recruiting Luncheon notes
For those of us looking for a major announcement concerning facilities (see story, below) at the recruiting luncheon, Thursday was a disappointment.
While Colorado athletic director Mike Bohn did announce that the $7 million video boards had been approved by the Board of Regents, and did officially announce that Colorado would be adding women’s lacrosse for the 2014 season, here’s what Bohn had to say about additional facilities …
“Stay tuned”.
That’s it. Bohn did take the time to sell helmets worn for the USC game – at $5,000 apiece – to raise money to replace the turf inside the practice bubble, but there were no announcements concerning other facility improvements.
Jeremy Bloom
After CU head basketball coach Tad Boyle thanked Jon Embree for helping to restore “Buff Pride”, the featured speaker, Jeremy Bloom was introduced.
Bloom spoke about being a Buff, as well as being an Olympic skier. Highlights of Bloom’s last run in the Winter Olympics in Torino were shown, with Bloom, a pre-race favorite, finishing out of the medals.
Bloom talked about how he dealt with disappointments – that he would give himself 48 hours to dwell on the defeat; 48 hours to mull, replay, and cry over what might have been. Then, Bloom said, that after the 48 hours, he was done with what had taken place, and was ready to move on.
Bloom related his experience to what the Colorado football program has been going through the past six years. “Our 48 hours are over,” Bloom declared. “Time for excuses is over … The right people are in place to bring the swagger back to Boulder.”
Bill McCartney
Coach Mac was his usual self. He told the story about how, many years ago, a man set out to find the perfect horse. He learned about horses. He learned to train horses. He learned what to look for in a good horse.
The man then sent his soldiers out across the lands, looking for horses which met his new criteria.*His men brought back 100 horses. The man then trained the horses, including how to come to him whenever he called.
The man then left the horses out in the desert heat, keeping them stalled 100 yards from water. The horses were all dying to get to the water, but the man would not release them. Then, finally, he had the stall opened, calling out to the horses. 99 of the horses went to the water … one came to the man.
It was that horse, the “one in a hundred”, which the man used to start the Arabian breed of horse, recognized around the world as the best horses.
“Jon Embree is one in a hundred”, McCartney declared. Embree is the sort of man, the sort of coach, which can lead the Colorado program back to greatness.
Still, McCartney cautioned, it will take time. Even the Arabian breed, he noted, took several generations to take hold …
—
Coach McCartney was also there to rally the troops. Coach Mac announced a fund-raiser – a pre-Spring game rally in the indoor practice bubble before the Spring Game (April 14th). McCartney also announced that every Thursday night during the season, there would be a pep rally at the First Bank Center in Broomfield, with 5,000 fans expected for each event.
Mark your calendar!
February 1st
Facilities upgrade unveiled
Sorry about the picture quality – it’s from a twitter feed, but it does give you an idea of what is being proposed for an upgrade to Folsom Field.
Which you can compare to the present Folsom Field:
The new building, which will be to the northeast of the stadium, will also*come with some additional seating in the northeast corner.*When this*expansion will take place, how much it will cost, and how it will be paid for, will hopefully be explained at the recruiting luncheon on Thursday.
Rocky Mountain Showdown moved to Sunday
Not a real surprise, when you’ve got 3-9 v. 3-10 …
While the television coverage, and the time for kickoff, have yet to be announced, the Rocky Mountain Showdown between Colorado and Colorado State in Denver has been moved from Saturday, September 1st, to Sunday, September 2nd.
Colorado to add women’s lacrosse team
The University of Colorado has worked with the NCAA minimum of 16 sports for a number of years.
With the new Pac-12 television contract money now in sight, the Buffs are looking to expand their athletic footprint.
Earlier this month Colorado athletic director Mike*Bohn said that girls lacrosse is the fastest growing sport at the high school level in Colorado and much of the rest of the nation and that it would make sense for many reasons for CU to add women’s lacrosse. Bohn said at that time the department is targeting the 2013-14 school year for the new women’s program to begin competing. He said it could compete as a club sport prior to that.
Startup costs for the program will be relatively minimal with no new facilities required.Women’s lacrosse is played in the spring and the CU team would play in Folsom Field and likely use the practice bubble and the same outdoor practice fields utilized by the football team.
The program will compete in the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation in the sport because the Pac-12 Conference does not sponsor women’s lacrosse. That could change in the future because CU will be the fifth Pac-12 school to field a women’s lacrosse program along with Stanford, Cal, Oregon and USC.
Bohn said earlier this month that CU needed to add a women’s sport to help correct the imbalance in the department between the total number of opportunities offered to men and women and the money spent on men’s and women’s programs as required by Title IX laws.
Women’s lacrosse will be the 10th women’s sport at CU joining women’s basketball, cross country, golf, skiing, soccer, tennis, indoor track, outdoor track and field and volleyball.
Originally posted by CU At the Game
Click here to vie