This is an exciting time of year for golfers, football fans, and the people who love them

LAST YEAR a couple of my family members decided to go to their first CU Buffs football game. We’re all Ohio transplants. So they bought tickets at the last minute, paid a pittance, and sat in great seats among teeming hundreds of other fans and watched the game. They had a great time. Very intimate. Good action. And of course, the Buffs lost.

Those days are long gone. They evaporated when CU hired one of the most high-profile men in the game of football – Deion Sanders – to be the team’s head coach. Tickets are now a … tough ticket. For the home opener Sept. 9 against Nebraska the cheapest seat costs $210.

So why are we talking about this in a golf magazine? Because it is a veteran of golf tournament management who brought it about. For this issue we sat down with CU Athletic Director Rick George to understand how his background as a PGA Tour executive, Champions Tour director, and local PGA Tour stop operator helped shape how he approaches his job. He spoke frankly and passionately during the interview in his beautiful office overlooking the north endzone of Folsom Field.

George is nothing if not direct. In beginning answers to many of the questions his first word is ‘Look….’ As in: ‘It’s not that complicated; here’s the deal….’ CU fans needed that directness when it came time to bring in a new coach whose goal is to not just incrementally improve the football program, but make it significantly better.

In the article, you’ll read how George describes his career to-date. He talked about how shoving stakes into the ground to set up a golf tournament and chasing touring pros all over the country to come to his tournament taught him the importance of hard work, paying attention to details, and relationships.

All of those traits – plus a multi-million salary – helped bring Coach Prime to Boulder. Now it remains to be seen if the program can return Buffs games to their status as must-watch football – not just here in the Rocky Mountains, but nationwide.

Elsewhere in this edition we kept the Buffs theme going through the excellent work of food writer John Lehndorff. John provides an expert guide to Boulder-area eateries for post-golf or pregame. I’m warning you now – the list will take several years for most of us to nosh through. So many great meals; so little time.

And lastly, the premier expert on Colorado golf – Jon Rizzi – has the definitive article summing up why Cherry Hills Country Club is among the eternals. With a fresh course renovation, the tract is ready to put the best amateurs to the test. If you’re planning to go watch the U.S. Amateur in August, Jon’s article is must reading.

JIM