From the BDC. I know it´s in the news room, but I think this deserves its own thread on the main board as it could get lost in the news room. And kudos to SJBuff and AtlBuff who broke the Hawaii and WVU stories early for us.
Buffs to play Mountaineers
CU close to completing nonconference football schedules through 2013
By Kyle Ringo (Contact)
Dienstag, Juni 26, 2007
University of Colorado officials have reached agreements with future opponents in football, completing the program's nonconference schedules through the 2013 season, the Camera has learned.
The Buffs are sticking to their long-held tradition of playing the best of the best by adding a home- and-home series with West Virginia for the 2008 and 2009 seasons. CU also will host Eastern Washington in 2008 and play a four-game series with Hawaii in the 2010, 2011, 2014 and 2015 seasons.
CU will host the Mountaineers in the first meeting between the programs in September 2008 and travel to Morgantown, W.V., in September 2009. The Mountaineers have become a perennial power in the Big East Conference in recent years and are regularly ranked in both top-25 polls.
The series replaces a previous agreement that called for the Buffs to play North Carolina during the same seasons.
North Carolina elected to make a coaching change following last season and new coach Butch Davis decided to opt out of the series with the Buffs. North Carolina must pay CU $100,000 in damages, according to the game contract.
Sources said Colorado officials offered to forgive the $100,000 payment in exchange for an agreement to play a home-and-home series against the Tar Heels in men's basketball, but UNC turned down the idea.
Colorado athletic director Mike Bohn said he can't comment on incomplete negotiations, but he acknowledged his department is close to announcing future football schedule changes and additions.
"Our schedule for 2008 is not complete although we're encouraged by the progress we're making," Bohn said. "We're extremely excited about continuing to provide our fans with great opponents and a fun atmosphere in Folsom Field."
The addition of West Virginia to the schedule adds another college football heavyweight to the lineup of strong programs now scheduled to visit Folsom Field over the next decade. CU already has scheduled games or series with programs such as Georgia, California, Oregon, Washington and LSU.
The Buffs will face Florida State at home this season and play at Arizona State.
The 2008 home game against Eastern Washington will be the first meeting with that program and only the second game CU has played against a Division I-AA opponent. The Buffs were beaten by Montana State last season in coach Dan Hawkins' Boulder debut in what was the first meeting in CU history with a I-AA opponent.
Scheduling a pair of road trips to Hawaii in 2011 and 2015 leaves open the possibility that the Buffs could play a 13th regular season game in those years. The NCAA allows programs that are willing to make the long road trip to Hawaii to play an extra game. CU could turn the opportunity into a seventh home game in those seasons, creating a significant extra stream of revenue if it chooses.
CU has been aggressive in reworking its future football schedules since Bohn was hired two years ago. The program has games scheduled as far out as the 2018 season and is only a few games shy of having the future nonconference schedule completed through 2015.