I am sure most of you got this today but for those who didnt:
Dear Buffs Fans,
RAPID. In our strategic plan, it is the acronym for our five core values: respect, accountability, passion, integrity and dedication. As a word, it is simply defined as “moving, acting or occurring with great speed.”
Construction Update
We had a great turnout on May 12 for our official groundbreaking ceremony signifying the start of our Athletics Complex Expansion project; a week later, you would not have recognized the northeast corner of Folsom Field. This is the sense of urgency we need to position ourselves for success.
Mortensen Construction has dug in deep (pun intended) and has removed all the bleacher seating from sections 121 and 122, as well as in the north end zone, and the cement structural bases and all of the railings; they are now in the beginning of the major excavation to begin phase one of the project. That involves the northeast addition to Folsom, including a new Stadium Club and a Rooftop Terrace, which will connect to the current East Stadium Club level; a High Performance Sports Center that will grow our Sports Medicine program and facilities; and additional restrooms and concession areas.
On our website, we have a “Live Construction Cam” you can check anytime to see the daily progress being made in this first of the three sequences of the project. The camera is aimed right at the northeast corner of Folsom; just go to CUBuffs.com or this direct link http://buffs.me/CULiveCam to access.
Sequence two will be the renovation of approximately 80 percent of the Dal Ward Athletic Center, the major highlights of which include: the tripling of academic support unit area to 15,000 square feet, creating locker room space for all student-athletes and an area for our Leadership Development Program, and finally constructing a new Touchdown Club to accommodate loge boxes and club seats. Season ticket holders with seats in the affected seating areas are being contacted personally and will have the first opportunity to purchase seats in those sections, followed by donors and season ticket holders in other areas.
The final sequence of this project will be an indoor practice facility east of the northeast athletic complex to be built on a portion of Franklin Field.
It is important that you know that our fundraising efforts are ongoing toward and beyond the goal of one-third of the funds for the overall project, with the target completion date remaining an aggressive but still realistic fall of 2015.
Graduation
On May 9, we saw 34 of our student-athletes graduate, always one of our best days of the year. We host the graduates and their families; it is truly a pleasure to see the excitement in their eyes as they are ready to go on to the next journey of their lives. A few days later, the NCAA released the annual Academic Progress Report (APR), and we had our highest scores on record in the 10-year existence of the program. Every one of our programs is in strong shape, and the dedication from both the staff of the Herbst Academic Center and our student-athletes are largely responsible for the positives that came out of that report. In addition, we are graduating 83 percent of our student-athletes in our latest four-year cohort Graduation Success Rate (GSR) report filed for 2013-14.
Congratulations
I am very pleased to inform you that our student-athletes were selected as the recipients of the Pac-12 Sportsmanship Award for 2013-14. They were honored for both their resiliency and humanitarian efforts in helping the Boulder community recover from the record rainfall and subsequent massive flooding last September. The way our student-athletes, coaches and staff responded during that difficult time was most rewarding to witness personally. Having been here as your athletic director barely a month, it afforded me the opportunity to see all the wonderful people we have in our program. They put aside their own concerns at the time to help out others in the community.
Congratulations are also in order for our sports information department, cited as a member of the “Super 11” by the Football Writers Association of America. It’s the second time in the last four years Dave Plati and his staff has been honored for outstanding game day operations as well as how his office conducts business on a daily basis with the nation’s top football media.
Competition Update
On the sports front, both of our golf teams advanced to their respective NCAA regionals. Anne Kelly’s women’s team finished 11th in the Pac-12 Championships yet still were invited, so that should be an indication of just how strong the league is. They finished 16th in the regional and did not make it into the finals, but concluded a good season with primarily a young team.
Roy Edwards’ men’s team finished fourth in spectacular fashion in the Pac-12 tournament, posting the best third round score and second best final round effort and did so playing three true freshmen. The same trio was among the five playing in the regional in Auburn, where we got off to a good start (fourth), but eventually finished 12th and did not make it into the finals. Still, the team set numerous records and all five golfers who played in the postseason return next year.
The outdoor track and field teams have had some solid individual performances, highlighted by Shalaya Kipp running the world’s second fastest time in the steeplechase; she followed that by winning the title in the same event at the Pac-12 Championships. Blake Theroux was second in the same event for the men, and we had several others record top five efforts; this conference is also one of the nation’s best in track and those finishes are quality performances. We qualified 18 performers for the NCAA Preliminaries in Fayetteville, the precursor to the NCAA Championships in Eugene the second week in June, and seven earned the right to advance, including Kipp and Theroux, along with Emily Hunsucker, who dominated in winning the women’s hammer throw.
The women’s lacrosse team enjoyed a fine inaugural season, finishing 11-8, which included a 6-3 record in conference play, tying for third. That is the best record in the first year of competition for any sport in our athletic history (men’s basketball was 3-1 back in 1901-02, so technically it had a better winning percentage). Ann Elliot’s team qualified for the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation postseason tournament and won its first-ever playoff game before the season ended with a loss to No. 18 Stanford.
The women’s tennis team unfortunately ran into a buzz saw in conference play, struggling in its 10 league matches and finishing the season with an 8-14 record. The Pac-12, once again, boasts several of the nation’s top teams, with six in the top 25.
Learfield Sports Directors' Cup
Halfway through the spring sports season, we were 34th in the Learfield Sports Directors' Cup Standings. While still the highest we have been in 13 years, we do tend to fall off a bit in the standings this time of year because of the number of sports we sponsor (though now at 17 with the addition of women’s lacrosse). We picked up a few points with the women’s golf team qualifying for the regionals and will do so for the men as well, and could also with the seven outdoor track and field student-athletes participating in the NCAA Championships.
We finished the year with a 566-278-10 record against Division I competition in all sports, a 66.9 winning percentage.
Football Game Times
We now know the kickoff times and television networks for the Colorado State and Arizona State games, as we were informed last week: CSU will kickoff at 7 p.m. in Denver and will be broadcast nationally on Fox Sports 1, and Arizona State, our home and conference opener, will have an 8 p.m. start with ESPNU to televise it to the nation. We really are pleased with these selections, the CSU game time is great heading into Labor Day weekend. Many people will leave work early that Friday and can head down early to the stadium and tailgate or first go over to the Taste of Colorado and then make their way to the game. As for Arizona State, we do understand that 8 p.m. is a little later than we’d normally like for a home game, but that time of the year the temperature in the evening averages in the low-to-mid 60s, so it should be perfect football weather.
Even though the athletic year is winding down, we want to see the momentum and excitement we have created continue to build in the summer months and leading into the 2014-15 athletic year. Donors, season ticket holders, alumni, faculty, staff and friends of the university have all played vital roles in helping us get to where are right now in our Sustainable Excellence Initiative, yet we still need continued support to reach our fundraising goals.
There is always more information on how you can help at www.cubuffclub.com, or you can call the Buff Club office (303-492-2200). Enjoy your summer and I hope you are looking forward to 2014-15 as much as we are!
C ollaboration and U nity,
Rick George
Athletic Director