Stampede Magazine by Buff Club

VOLUME: 8 • ISSUE: 2

reiD PLetCHer BOuncEs BacK

Marty and alFrEd mCeLWain

MEEt nEW WOMEn’s sOccEr cOach DannY SanCHeZ

What it takes to be a buff FIVE studEnt-athlEtEs – IncludIng Katie Hartman – sharE a day In thE lIFE

MEn’s BasKEtBall 2012 PaC-12 CHamPionS

cu’s hOOPstEr tWinS

Letter from the

Athletic Director

VOLUME: 8 • ISSUE: 2 EDITORIAL DIRECTOR, BUFF CLUB Natalie A. Pigliacampo MANAGING EDITOR Doug Ottewill, Haas Rock Publications

ongratulations on the tremendous season by our men’s basketball team. Coach tad Boyle, his staff and the team led by four determined seniors made the 2011-12 season an entertaining and enjoyable ride. Buffs across the country can take great pride in the team’s impressive run to a Pac-12 tournament Championship and subsequent NCAA tournament appearance, our first in nine years. Led by our student body, one of the top eight student sections in the country, the inspirational influence of our fan base that stood Shoulder to Shoulder with the team was special. our women’s team recorded its first 20win season in eight years, reaching the elite eight of the WNIt. Coach (and former Buff) Linda Lappe is instilling a fundamentally strong brand of basketball with the team continually improving. our future in both men’s and women’s basketball is extremely bright, and we are most appreciative of people like you who have invested a great deal of passion in creating this memorable season. In february, we officially announced the addition of women’s lacrosse to become our 17th NCAA intercollegiate sport at CU; it will debut in spring 2014. We anticipate announcing the program’s first head coach soon and have already received three commitments from top in-state performers. Did you know that you are a Buff Club member? the very fact that you are holding this issue in your hand and reading this letter designates you as a valued Buff Club member. But to further illustrate what the Buff Club means to you and to our studentathletes, please do not miss the interesting infographic on page 12. the athletic department relies on the Buff Club team to secure the funds necessary for our studentathletes to be successful in competition

CONTRIBUTING WRITERS Pat Rooney Vanessa Hughes Daniel Mohrmann ART DIRECTION AND DESIGN Becky Antcliff

and in the classroom, representing you and all those associated with our outstanding institution. As we close out the winter, we salute two of our skiers. freshman Adam Zika cruised to victory in the men’s giant slalom, with his 1.07-second win, the largest margin of victory in an NCAA giant slalom since 1980. In becoming CU’s first national champion in the GS since the late Bryan Sax won in 1995, Zika also became the fourth Buffaloes male alpine skier in the school’s history to win his first NCAA race. Sophomore Andreas haug was presented with the elite 89 Award, designated for the student-athlete with the best grade point average in all 89 championships sponsored by the NCAA; haug owns a perfect 4.0 for 43 hours of credits earned in his three semesters as a Buff. these wonderful accomplishments along with the momentum created by fall Pac-12 championships in men’s and women’s cross country, and record academic performances by all our programs, is contagious. We are most appreciative of all you do in providing vital resources that propel our student-athletes toward championships and academic success. We urge you to continue your leadership efforts by identifying others whom we should encourage to join us Shoulder to Shoulder in our vision for excellence. We have some exciting pictures of our vision to share with you in upcoming editions of the Stampede that we believe will produce a high level of intensity in Buffaloes everywhere.

PHOTOGRAPHERS CU Sports Information Chip Bromfield, Pro-Motion, Ltd. Getty Images Jathan Campbell Natalie Pigliacampo Tracy Ostrofsky ADVERTISING SALES Chris Dolge Casey Light Will McKinlay The Stampede is published and produced in association with: HAAS ROCK PUBLICATIONS, LLC PRESIDENT James Merilatt

PUBLISHER Doug Ottewill

PROOFREADERS Casey Light Chris Bianchi

The Stampede is published four times per year, as a 64-page quarterly. Buff Club, 369 UCB, Boulder, CO 80309 BUFF CLUB 800.621.2833 Subscription rate for The Stampede is a gift for $100 or more per year to the Buff Club. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to Buff Club, 369 UCB, Boulder, CO 80309 Reproduction or use of editorial or graphic content in any manner without written permission is prohibited. Copyright 2011 / All Rights Reserved Printed in the U.S.A

THE STAMPEDE IS PROUDLY PRINTED ON RECYCLED PAPER

We want to hear from you! Comments regarding The Stampede can be directed to buffclub@cufund.org or 303-492-2200.

mike Bohn 1

STAMPEDE

Departments 06 32 64

IN FOCUS Q&A: KUrt GUlbrANd bUFFAlO bIll

12 bUFF ClUb NOteS 2

STAMPEDE

Features 16 20 24 28

PROFILE: THE MALCOLM-PECK SISTERS (BASKETBALL) PROFILE: REID PLETCHER (SKIING) PROFILE: MARTY AND ALFRED MCELWAIN (BUFF CLUB) PROFILE: DANNY SANCHEZ (SOCCER)

52 COVER STORY: A DAY IN THE LIFE

FIVE CU STUDENT-ATHLETES PROVIDE AN INSIDE LOOK AT WHAT IT’S LIKE TO BE A BUFF 4

STAMPEDE

HOME COURT ADVANTAGE

Against Cal, members of the C-Unit celebrated amidst a shower of confetti. A week later, 50 of them headed west to support the Buffs at the Pac-12 Basketball Tournaments. Photo by Chip Bromfield

STAMPEDE

BEAR HUGS

After beating Cal, Tad Boyle and senior guard Nate Tomlinson embrace along the sideline, capping a tremendous season at Coors Events Center. Photo by Chip Bromfield

STAMPEDE 10

UP, UP AND AWAY

Eddie Taylor of the CU track and field team pole vaults against the hazy Colorado sky. Photo by Chip Bromfield

STAMPEDE

NOTES FROM THE BUFF CLUB Supporting student-athletes infographic Ever wonder what the Buff Club is and if you are member? Well, if you are reading this, you ARE a Buff Club member and here is what that means for Colorado student-athletes.

The CU Foundation partners with the University of Colorado to raise, manage and invest private support for the universityâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s benefit. Our donors help the university transform lives through education, research, clinical care and community engagement.

Alumni C-Club Official association for former University of Colorado letter winners.

The Buff Club operates under the University of Colorado Foundation and partners exclusively with the athletic department. We are commonly referred to as the foundation athletics group, athletics development and, of course, the Buff Club. Our team of 14 works to secure funding to support full and partial scholarship costs, recruiting efforts, capital projects and endowment programs for the University of Colorado Athletic Department and its world-class student-athlete body.

2011-2102 school year

339 student-athletes on roster 256 received academic aid $8M total for student-athlete tuition

The CU athletic department is one of the largest sources of students and tuition funding to CU-Boulder with more than 250 scholarship student-athletes attending CU totaling $8 million in full in-state and outof-state tuition and aid.

ExtErnal ChaptErs denver Buff Club Boulder Buff Club northern Colorado Buff Club pikes peak Buff Club Buffalo Belles The external Buff Club chapters and Buffalo Belles partner with the Buff Club and Colorado Athletics to host events throughout football and basketball seasons, put on golf tournaments and collectively raise money on behalf of the Buff Club to support student-athletes.

ApproximATely 6,000 memBers ConTriBUTe $6m To CU sTUdenTAThleTes ThroUgh:

Buff CluB seating donations

for fooTBAll or menâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s BAskeTBAll

Buff CluB donations 13

BUFFS NOTES Catching up with CU Athletics

RECRUITING LUNCHEON

The Buffs faithful turned out to meet the newest class As per the norm, the Buff Club’s annual Recruiting Luncheon was a huge success. Not only did the 950 on hand meet one of the Pac-12’s best recruiting classes, but they enjoyed camaraderie and a bevy of outstanding speakers.

Chip proudly displays collectors’ helmets that were auctioned off at the event.

Former Buff Jeremy Bloom served as the day’s keynote speaker, offering great words of inspiration for both the team and its supporters.

Legendary coach Bill McCartney delivered his usual thunderous address, this year encouraging Buffs and their families to attend the annual Spring Game.

The day’s festivities focused primarily on football. However, Buffs basketball coach Tad Boyle received the lunch’s biggest reception, a roar that ultimately turned into a lengthy standing ovation.

COMPLIANCE CORNER ComplianCe aCronyms The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) and the University of Colorado (CU) have many acronyms that are used frequently, but are often misunderstood by the public. I’d like to spell out and define some of these important acronyms for you to help better understand our department and rules to which we must adhere. psa Prospective Student-Athlete. Also knows as a recruit. PSAs are ANY students who have started classes for the ninth grade, regardless of athletics participation. Student-athletes enrolled in preparatory school and junior colleges are also considered PSAs. sa Student-Athlete. SAs are CU’s current student-athletes and the reason we love college athletics! SAs bring joy to the athletic department through their hard work, competition and success both on and off the athletic fields. Far Faculty Athletics Representative. Each NCAA Division I institution has an FAR on campus to serve as the liaison between athletics and academics. CU’s FAR, Dr. David Clough, plays a very active role in our athletic department while also fulfilling his duties as a faculty member on campus. Dr. Clough is also currently the president of the Faculty Athletics Representatives Association (FARA) and represents CU in matters of national importance. sar Student-Athlete Reinstatement. This is the process CU must go through should a violation occur and a SA be declared ineligible. Through this process, CU presents the facts of the violations to the NCAA and penalties are assessed before the SA can be reinstated. Penalties can include donating the value of the impermissible activity/benefit to a local charity, being withheld from competition or even losing all remaining NCAA eligibility.

saF/saoF Special Assistance Fund/StudentAthlete Opportunity Fund. These two funds are provided by the NCAA to institutions to help assist student-athletes who may be in financial need or fall into a hardship. SAF is available to student-athletes who show financial need. This fund can be used by student-athletes to help purchase necessary clothing, toiletries and also help fund a trip home for the holidays. SAOF is available to our SAs who may come upon a hardship while on campus. CU has funded flights home for a family member’s funeral, replacement of stolen items and life-skills events for our SAs with this fund. Any SA looking to utilize these funds must receive prior approval before doing so. iaWp/iaWrp Individual Associated With a Prospect/Individual Associated With a Recruited Prospect. These terms are key in men’s basketball legislation. IAWP and IAWRPs are those associated with prospects such as high school coaches, AAU coaches, teachers, ADs and many other titles fall into these categories. In recruiting men’s basketball prospects, interaction with and hiring of IAWP/ IAWRP is limited. Throughout the nation, IAWP/IAWPRs were being used by college coaches while benefitting from their influence with PSAs in their college decision making. I hope these definitions help widen your knowledge of NCAA rules and acronyms. If you happen to see another acronym that you do not understand, please feel free to contact me. Go Buffs! Jill Gainey Associate Director of Compliance, Rules Education jillian.gainey@colorado.edu 303.492.6155

STAMPEDE

Meagan and Brenna MalcolM-Peck

STUDENT

PROFILE

DOUBLE TROUBLE The Malcolm-Peck twins are an asset to the Buffs’ basketball team

ibling rivalries make for some of the best stories in sports. Whether it’s an individual sport such as tennis, or a team sport like football, the easy angle to take with siblings is simply this: Which one is better?

numerous examples have been present in sports for many years – take the Williams sisters in tennis, for example. However, in the newly remodeled coors events and conference center, no such rivalry exists between Meagan and Brenna Malcolm-Peck. The twin sisters from Boulder grew up knowing they were going to play basketball together in college. In fact, they even based their recruiting trips and visits around the schools that only showed an interest in both of them. college can turn into a time when someone, especially an athlete, finds out who they are as an individual. But for the Malcolm-Peck girls, they wanted to show the

By Dan Mohrmann

college basketball world who they were as a unit.

know what our mom would do without us if we decided to leave.”

“That was our main focus when we were looking at colleges – who would look at us together?” Meagan said. “Most colleges knew that, so we were very lucky that we ended up playing with each other.”

When it comes to playing together on the court, the girls insist there is never any desire to try to one-up each other. They use their chemistry and support for each other to push “the other sister” to get better, hoping that it rubs off on the team, as well.

not only were the Malcolm-Peck sisters lucky to end up playing for the same team, but they were able to stay close to home while doing so. The twins are originally from Boulder and were home-schooled, but they played basketball together at Thunderridge before finishing at Horizon High School. as the recruiting process heated up, the opportunity to play in Boulder presented itself. and although there were other schools willing to nab both sisters, the chance to play closer to home was certainly appealing. “We always wanted to stick around home, and we love Boulder,” Brenna said. “I don’t

Interestingly enough, a good game from one and not the other generally translates to a “bad game.” For the twins, it’s all for one, one for all. If one girl plays poorly, and the other plays well, the consensus is that there’s room for improvement – for both. True teammates tend to provide a support system when things aren’t going well, but having a sibling there brings an entirely different level of support and encouragement. “Playing college basketball is always going to be stressful; there’s going to be hard times and your team will always be there to

Playing college baSketball iS alwayS going to be StreSSful; there’S going to be hard timeS and your team will alwayS be there to Pick you uP, but having your SiSter there, knowing you can do it no matter what, iS a bonuS. Meagan Malcolm-Peck

STAMPEDE

they grew up watching colorado basketball.

Linda Lappe

pick you up,” Meagan said. “But having your sister there, knowing you can do it no matter what, is a bonus.” Head coach Linda Lappe is a huge fan of the Malcolm-Peck sisters. When Lappe was playing for the Buffs, she knew the girls as players at CU basketball camps. Lappe doesn’t look at the twins as players with strengths unique to the basketball court, but rather as two players who know what it means to bleed the black and gold of the Buffs. “They have a lot of passion for the university; they grew up watching Colorado basketball,” Lappe said. “That’s first and foremost what they bring to our team. They bring positive attitudes and a lot of positive energy.” Brenna and Meagan never show signs of frustration or competitiveness, even when 18

directly competing against each other in team play. In practice situations, they see each other no differently than any of their other teammates. The only time they ever show a hint of a rivalry is during one-on-one play.

and become better players for the success of their team. The team has benefited from the Malcolm-Peck girls as well as another set of twins (Brittany and Ashley Wilson from Long Beach, Calif.) to provide a family atmosphere around the squad.

“Brenna wins most of our one-on-one match-ups,” Meagan said. “But we were banned from one-on-one when we were younger because we would get in too many fights. It’s the only time we’re competitive, because we get so (angry) with each other that we start grabbing and fouling each other.”

Being from Boulder only adds to the family structure, as the parents of Brenna and Meagan are always willing to embrace the Buffs as their extended family. In fact, they’ve come to support the entire team the same way they do their daughters.

As they grew up, the competitive attitude toward one another began to wane, and upon deciding to play to the Buffs, the twins were focused toward only working together, pushing each other to get better

“If someone doesn’t have a place to go for Thanksgiving, or if we just want to have a day away, we’ll go (home),” Meagan said. “It’s always fun to do that, and sometimes they’ll just take us all out to dinner.” Team chemistry has always been a key factor

for successful teams. And the Buffs are no different. CU is now starting to gain back the feel the team had under longtime head coach Ceal Barry. Lappe has taken the lessons she learned in her time as a player, and has now applied them to her team. Thanks to players like Brenna and Meagan, the message has taken effect, and the Buffs are showing signs of emerging as a strong force in the Pac-12. Although a competitive nature can easily exist between sisters, Meagan and Brenna Malcolm-Peck have shown their dedication to their teammates and their school. Their primary job is to make the Buffs a better basketball team, something they are able to do both on the court and in the locker room. “They really enjoy when the other has success,” Lappe said. “Sometimes, I think they want success for each other more than they want success for themselves. That’s a trait of a twin and a very special trait to have on your team.” Lappe can point out those traits that clearly define the girls as twins, but as a coach she is able to see each one as an individual with their own set of unique talents. The girls were born only 27 seconds apart, but have developed their game differently, and perhaps Lappe’s biggest success in handling the girls is recognizing them as individuals rather than two of the same player. “With twins, you always treat them as two totally different people and different players,” Lappe said. “I think of them more as sisters than as twins. They bring things to this team that are totally different and I think that’s important, as well.” The most difficult trait of any twin is trying to determine which one is which. The Malcolm-Peck girls are identical in appearance, speak similarly and move alike. If they wore the same number, it would almost be impossible to distinguish them from one another. Meagan was able give a slight hint to tell them apart, one that is noted more by their opponents than anyone. “Brenna has a quicker first-step,” she says with a wink. Regardless, opposing defenses will carefully attempt to defend both girls – the same. 19

STAMPEDE

Reid PletcheR

STUDENT

PROFILE

IMPROBABLE COMEBACK Reid Pletcher experiences an unusual set of highs and lows

he story of an athlete returning from a seasonending injury isn’t necessarily unusual in today’s sports world. A competitor’s return to the field with little to no effects of a severe injury does not hold the same drama or intrigue that it did even 10 years ago. it almost begs the question: What would make such a return a newsworthy accomplishment? A near-death experience might do the trick.

that’s what cU men’s Nordic skier Reid Pletcher faced during his offseason when he sustained life-threatening injuries in a rock-climbing accident. But against all odds, Pletcher has not missed a beat. When the season began for the Buffs, he was standing right next to his teammates, ready to compete and make his way back to the podium as a winner. Pletcher ended his junior season as a champion. the cU Nordic ski team is perhaps the deepest in the country, so when he finally got the chance to compete for the Buffs in the NcAA championships, Pletcher took full advantage. he was able to ski his way to both an individual and team national championship.

After finishing spring and summer classes, Pletcher and some friends decided to go on a rock-climbing trip where both his career as a skier and his life nearly came to end. While trying to scale a difficult wall, Pletcher fell. And although he put in four pieces of protection at the 25-foot mark, the “insurance” did not hold. Pletcher plummeted to the ground. “i don’t remember anything after i started the climb. i only remember getting ready for the climb,” Pletcher said. “i fractured my skull in two places, broke both of my wrists and was really lucky i didn’t have any neck or back damage.” Although he was awake and responding to eMts who arrived on the scene, Pletcher can’t recall anything from at least three days after the accident. he was helicoptered to denver, where he was treated over the course of the next three weeks. “i was talking and responding to questions, but i clearly didn’t have the right focus,” Pletcher said. “they’d ask me simple questions like how to make a peanutbutter-and-jelly sandwich and i couldn’t answer that. But i was talking.”

I was talkIng and respondIng to questIons, but I clearly dIdn’t have the rIght focus. Reid Pletcher

By Dan Mohrmann

Pletcher drifted in and out of consciousness over the course of the next few days and still has trouble remembering exactly when he came to. he had been told that he was awake numerous times during that period, but only remembers realizing that he was in the hospital. “it was really gradual, sometimes i would wake in the hospital bed and go right back to sleep,” Pletcher said. Not only was Pletcher lucky enough to survive the fall, his recovery rate can only be described as extraordinary. immediately following the accident, his coaches, teammates and friends flooded the hospital to visit him. Although he was awake, alert and talking with several of his friends and teammates, he remembers almost none of it, and only knows of his visitors from finding out about them later. Once Pletcher became fully aware, and was able to account for himself and his surroundings, he instantly sought answers as to what happened. Although he had a rough idea of what he’d been through, the full scope of the accident came clear to him about four days later. “Apparently, i was asking people all the time. ‘What happened to me?’ when i was in the hospital,” he said. “When i came to, i just assumed i knew. But apparently, i had been asking that entire weekend.” After starting his rehab, the thought of never competing on the slopes again entered Pletcher’s mind – but he was determined to get back on the skis and climb the podium as a national champion once again. After staying in the hospital for three weeks, his recovery began to move faster than most had anticipated, giving him hope that he could get back to work within two months. like any other road back to competition, Pletcher had to start slow and work his way back into shape. in the spirit of a true athlete,

STAMPEDE

I fractured my skull In two places, broke both of my wrIsts and was really lucky I dIdnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t have any neck or back damage. Reid Pletcher

he was determined to get back to 100 percent sooner rather than later, and began training for a mountain race that would take place right before classes started in August. This followed a two-month hiatus from any training whatsoever; Pletcher was intent on getting back to prime shape. “Realistically, I shouldn’t have been running a race. I was training really hard and probably should’ve been taking it easier and been more careful. That one hurt a lot,” he said. Thanksgiving soon rolled around and Pletcher found himself ready to compete for the Buffs for the first time since his accident. He had discovered that his attitude toward competitions was far different from what he had gone through in the past. Where he used to be driven and expecting nothing short of a victory, Pletcher suddenly felt the need to avoid putting as much pressure on himself; he wanted to temper his expectations of what he felt he could do for his team. “Last year, I had one of the best years of skiing in my life. I was super-motivated and driven to compete, win and push it to the limit. Now, I have this voice in the back of my head telling me that I should be happy that I’m even racing,” he said. “I had doubts that I would be as competitive as I was, so I guess I’ve lowered my expectations and I maybe don’t have the same drive to win because I’m doubting myself a little bit.” Doubts and all, Pletcher had gone from being amidst medical care on a Flight for Life helicopter, to standing next to his teammates on the same stage where he’d won a national championship. The highs and lows had all taken place within just six months. His expectations may be tempered, but his appreciation for competing with his teammates took center stage for Pletcher’s senior year in Boulder. His return to the team proved to be emotionally uplifting for both himself and the Buffs. But the big surprise came with the results of the national circuit race he competed in last Thanksgiving. “The first races were sprints, which were usually my specialty. In a good year, I can finish top three and be at the podium in these races. I went into the race thinking I would shoot for top 20, top 15 would be great and top 10 would be awesome,” he said. “I just wanted to see if I could be somewhat competitive, then I would know if I could come back. I went into the race really stressed and I won my first national circuit race ever in those sprints.” By all accounts, it appears that Pletcher is back. 23

STAMPEDE

presents

DONOR

PROFILE

CREATING THEIR OWN LEGACY Marty and Alfred McElwain love supporting CU women’s hoops By Marty Coffin Evans | Photos by Natalie Pigliacampo

oulder born and raised, Marty (Business, 1976) and Alfred (Arts and Science, 1975) McElwain profess a love for their hometown, the University of Colorado and its sports programs. More especially, they’re very fond of the women’s basketball program. “We grew up on Sox Walseth basketball and went to many games in the Balch Field House,” Marty remembers.

As children of CU grads, it was perhaps only natural they too would become Buffs, particularly following years of attending numerous sporting events. Alfred remembers that her father played football with Byron “Whizzer” White. Their support for basketball came as a result of Walseth’s influence. “Any boy who knew Sox, attended the games or his camps, aspired to play for him. He was special,” Marty comments. After Walseth’s passing, the McElwains started contributing in his memory as scholarship donors, but to the women’s program that he also coached. They enjoy seeing his former players come out for the games. A subsequent connection with Ceal Barry further tied the McElwains to CU Athletics. “Through a Buff Club golf outing, Ceal and I bonded and became friends,“ Marty reflects. He remembers Ceal “setting the hook for our commitment” to women’s basketball.

Marty and Alfred have enjoyed supporting scholarship student-athletes and are quite proud that “their” Britney Blythe graduated last year and then landed her first job. “When you meet a young lady like Britney, you get to watch her mature, grow through the years and go out into the real world. It’s just very rewarding,” Marty says. The McElwains are still in touch with Britney and plan to see her along with her parents at future California road games. The McElwains are very pleased with the current athletic department leadership, especially the coaches’ emphasis on academics and graduation first, and sports second. Deciding to become a donor to the CU StudentAthlete Scholarship Program also came about with a little nudging from long-time supporters, Bob and Judy (Education, 1959) Charles. They encouraged Marty and Alfred to take the opportunity to meet scholarship student-athletes and watch them develop into young adults during their time at CU. They’ve never regretted this nudge. Even with the different connections to Sox Walseth and the Charles family, Ceal is the lynchpin for the McElwains’ CU support. “Without Ceal, we wonder if we would still be as connected to the program as we are. We have so much respect for her,” they acknowledge. With head coach Linda Lappe now building the women’s program, the McElwains decided the timing was right for their additional support.

Perhaps their two daughters’ participation in Ceal’s summer basketball camps was an additional impetus for their support. Alfred believes many times the women do without.

“We wanted to jump in now to help the women’s program as they move to the next level in the Pac-12, rather than jump on the bandwagon when they’re on top,” Marty explains. They believe Coach Lappe and her staff bring a level of integrity and work ethic that will produce results.

“The men seem to have the support they need. I’ve always felt the women were slighted,“ she comments.

With the McElwains’ contribution to the Women’s Basketball Excellence Fund in 2012, Coach Lappe has the ability to use their

STAMPEDE

We don’t need to Wait for the Wins – they’ll come. What We need right noW are fans in the seats and communityWide support. Marty McElwain

support in whatever manner best meets her program’s needs. While the McElwains and Coach Lappe shared ideas, they wanted her to have the final say. Their hope is that others will join them in supporting the CU women’s basketball program through participating as season ticket holders, scholarship donors or with the Excellence Fund. They believe now’s the

time to provide additional help and support for this program. “We don’t need to wait for the wins – they’ll come. What we need right now are fans in the seats and community-wide support,” Marty exclaims. With strict compliance regulations firmly in mind and adhered to, the McElwains have

enjoyed hosting a dinner for scholarship student-athletes and their donors. Seeing the student-athletes mature and gain confidence and poise in speaking before an audience is very gratifying. The McElwains’ current scholarship student is Arielle Roberson, who is redshirting this year due to an injury. “We still email and text her, providing whatever support we can within NCAA guidelines,” Alfred says. That included a handmade embossed birthday card followed by an email. To be sure, Arielle knew she was remembered on her special day by her scholarship donors. While Marty and Alfred miss Big 12 ties with Kansas State, their daughters’ alma mater, they’re happy with the new Pac12 game configuration. “We can attend games here and tape the away ones,” they note. Both Marty and Alfred like Coach Lappe’s “Three Minute Drill,” where the players greet the fans after the game. “Everyone likes to be appreciated,” they confidently note. “Our fans are strong, vocal and loyal. We’d love to see more fans – like in years past – and we’ll get there again.” 27

STAMPEDE

CoaCh

PRoFILE

Danny Sanchez

REACHING NEW HEIGHTS Coach Danny Sanchez brings a winning attitude back to Buffs soccer

hen the Buffs first asked thenWyoming coach Danny Sanchez to interview for cU’s vacant head soccer coach position, Sanchez told them they would have to wait. he knew he wanted the job, but he was several meters beneath the streets of London riding the “Tube” transit system amidst a recruiting trip. When Sanchez emerged at ground level, cU athletic director Mike Bohn, associate aD ceal Barry and search committee head Julie Manning called back to set up a stateside interview. Then on Dec. 19, he ascended to 5,430 feet as the new head soccer coach for the colorado Buffaloes.

“It was one of those days where you start to kind of pinch yourself,” Sanchez said. “never in my wildest dreams did I think I’d have the opportunity to be coaching at the University of colorado. I’m so comfortable here. For me personally, I could just jump right in and it felt right from day one.” If you ask the athletic department why they chose Sanchez, they’ll tell you it was his passion for and familiarity with colorado soccer – not to mention a sterling record around the Rocky Mountain region. With the Buffs now competing in the Pac-12, the search committee wanted someone who wouldn’t underestimate the commitment soccer at this level required. “(coach Sanchez) recognizes the significant challenge we have in joining the Pac-12 and their incredible stature nationally,” Bohn explained. “One of the appeals of his vision was to be able to pull that together with a strong, structured, strategic approach.” and there was something else. “at every stop he has been, Danny has always been a winner,” Manning said. “he 28

always found a way to get it done, and that resonated with all of us.” Sanchez has built a 276-60-23 career coaching record in 17 years. The coaching ride began at Mesa community college, a junior college in arizona. Then, the coach spent the next six years building an illustrious record at another Division II school, Metro State in Denver, where his teams won 59 consecutive games and a pair of national championships in 2004 and 2006. Sanchez mentioned those colorado connections as a major selling point for taking the job in Boulder. he was born in california and played for two years at the University of connecticut, but spent the majority of his soccer life in the arid plains surrounding the Rocky Mountains. Sanchez’s family moved to Scottsdale, ariz., when he was 11 years old. he played club soccer for the arcadia Scottsdale Sharks and varsity ball at coronado high School. his future wife was a cheerleader at coronado, but their respective paths were not yet destined to cross. after graduation, the young striker moved less than 10 miles away to play at Mesa community college. On new years’ eve, at a party no doubt held for the sole purpose of calmly ushering in 1989, he met Beth, a performer on the dance line at nearby Scottsdale community college. a theme developed for the coach in the two years that followed. For the first time, he uprooted completely, moving to the opposite coast to follow his soccer dreams. This first trip took him to Uconn. Beth, meanwhile, finished out her education across the country as a cheerleader at northern arizona. “It was hard, because we didn’t have email or cell phones,” Beth said of the distance. “you actually had to write letters and send them through the post office.”

By Nick Gerhardt

at first, Danny and Beth called one another when they could. But soon, the long distance phone bills became too expensive. Then the letters began, a couple per week. “We were still pretty early in our relationship, so it was more about staying friends and staying connected at that point,” Beth said. When Sanchez’ playing eligibility ran out after two years at Uconn, he made the leap to coaching – right back where his college career began at Mesa community college. Sanchez coached the men’s and women’s soccer teams and the arcadia Scottsdale Soccer club team all at once during his tenure at Mesa. “having that experience was a little bit of everything. I was just very stretched. I had to recruit a whole new team every year, and I was a director of coaching for a big club,” he said. as if those responsibilities weren’t enough, the coach brought a couple of rings into the picture – wedding bands, which became permanently affixed to Beth and Danny’s fingers in 1998. The college cheerleader soon became a part-time elementary gym teacher, part-time cheerleader for the arizona cardinals of the nFL and a full-time coach’s companion. coach Sanchez said is wife’s support of the soccer dream hasn’t waned in 23 years of marriage. “My wife, she cries after wins and she cries after losses. She takes it very serious and she wants to be successful and she buys in. I think that’s important – to have that support so you can make it work as a family,” Sanchez said. “She’s been a coach’s wife for years. She understands the

Never iN my wildest dreams did i thiNk i’d have the opportuNity to be coachiNg at the uNiversity of colorado. Danny Sanchez

commitment it takes to get to this level. But we also prioritize our time with the family.” That family now consists of two new members – sons Cole, 12, and Drew, 9. The two boys and Beth still reside in Laramie, while their father settles into his fourth coaching job in 17 years. “We’re still in transit. Once we sell our house in Laramie, we’ll get something out here,” Sanchez said. Drew, the younger of the two, likes the idea of relocating to a new city, according to his father. As the more athletically inclined of the two, a new city means more sports against a more competitive population base. And at only nine years of age, he will have the opportunity to dig in to the microcosmic elementary community wherever their parents decide to purchase a house. 29

STAMPEDE

The transition may be less smooth for Cole, characterized as the shyer of the two by his father. Having already entered junior high and approaching those tumultuous teenage years, he will immediately jump into a larger school community. “But I think now is a good time to do it, versus if they were in high school or something like that. I don’t think it’s ever a great time, but I think they’re young enough still that the transition will be good,” Sanchez said. The boys’ parents did not have a preference on which high school their boys would eventually attend, but their mother is keeping an eye on the local sports scene. “Because Drew is pretty serious about soccer, I am concerned about what the clubs are. I don’t think I’ve thought too far ahead as far as high school,” she said. The only academic institution that plays a serious role in their housing decision is, of course, the University of Colorado. “We’d like to be close to CU because we like to attend sporting events. We don’t want to be too far away so we can come back and forth pretty easily,” Beth said. For Danny, the closer his family lives, the more latitude he has on those inevitable days where work never quits. “If I’m going to be at the office for a long time, the kids will come out and hang out then we’ll go to dinner,” Sanchez said. The thought process behind these decisions illustrates the level of commitment on the coach’s behalf. Becoming head coach is more than just one person’s new job; it’s a whole family’s new lifestyle. “We make it a point as family to mesh the roles together,” coach said. That’s why this opportunity is such a dream for Sanchez. For the coach as a professional, this opportunity to move up to arguably the best soccer conference in Division I is a dream. But it also allows his family, Beth especially, to get back to doing what they wanted to do. In their first trip to the high plains, Danny Sanchez established himself as a soccer coach to watch in a decade at Metro State. While he led the Road Runners to a 128-11-7 record during his six seasons at the school, Beth taught gym at Pioneer Charter School in the Denver Public Schools district.

She gave up teaching when Danny took the Wyoming job. Now, his new job gives her the chance to get it back. A certified physical education teacher with sufficient training to teach kindergarten through high school, Beth prefers the elementary-aged children with whom she has so much experience. In an ideal world, she’d love to teach in the same place where her youngest attends school. “I would love to if I could do it,” she said. “I’m not sure, maybe a nine-year-old boy wouldn’t like that so much.” At the very least, she would like to substitute. She hopes her connections in the Denver Public School district will help when it comes time to find a job in their city of choice. But first, they must find a home and move the family again. Until then, her husband is all business. After officially hiring his assistants Dec. 26 – they began recruiting on the 27th – Sanchez and his staff spent several days holed up in a hotel room preparing for the season. “It’s tough to be away from the family, but we’re excited to be here 24/7 and get a lot of things done. It’s been a little less than a month that we’ve been here. It’s a good time right now to really focus on the program,” he said. Sanchez brought two assistants with him from the Wyoming program, Jason Green and Don Trentham. Bohn couldn’t say enough about the work ethic of the two assistants. “They’ve hit the recruiting trail since the minute they all stepped on campus and they’re off to a wonderful start,” Bohn said. Colorado offers an unsung wealth of soccer talent across the state, according to the athletic department, and they believe Sanchez, Trentham and Green will be able to pull from that well immediately. “It rang through loud and clear that a coach can be very, very successful with a program here. These are some of the premier clubs and players in the country (in Colorado),” Manning said. “Can we hold onto all of them? Probably not. But he’s very familiar with the area and with the clubs around here.”

Sanchez replaces longtime coach Bill Hempen. Despite a less-than-stellar run since the departure of star forward Nikki Marshall in 2009, Hempen was one of the 15 winningest women’s soccer coaches in NCAA Division I history. Hempen led the Buffs to six NCAA Tournament appearances, advancing as far as the Sweet 16 in 2006. He went 51-38-11 against the Big 12 conference, but when Colorado realigned with the Pac-12, the team managed just one win in conference play. Hempen and the program soon went their separate ways in a teary press conference that reflected mutual disappointment and the necessity for a new direction. Sanchez hopes to rectify the Buffs’ recent woes. He calls the Pac-12 the “best women’s soccer conference in the country.” He’s already beaten one Pac-12 team – the Colorado Buffaloes – last year. Wyoming had one win and three losses at the time, and after that game, the Pokes tore through the Mountain West en route to the best season in program history. “Any time Wyoming can come into Colorado and get a good result, it’s huge for them in any sport. At the time, that game was really kind of a springboard for us,” Sanchez said. “After that game, we were more confident, because Colorado could have, should have, won that game.” That game “certainly gave the (athletic department) the ability to reflect on what (Sanchez) was able to do,” Bohn said. Sanchez has reached elite status at every conceivable level, from the junior college ranks to Division II. Now, in one of the premier soccer conferences in the country, all Sanchez has to do is keeping winning. Simple, right? “Soccer is a funny sport. Any game can go any direction, whereas in other sports I don’t think that’s necessarily the case,” he said. “But the life blood of any program is recruiting.” “He’s closer to the talent, and at 5,430 feet above sea level, he’ll be bringing nation’s best players to the very top of their sport. Now, all he has to do is win. 31

STAMPEDE

The

STampede

Q&a Kurt GuLBrAND The new associate athletic director for development chats about his new opportunity at CU By Pat Rooney

STAMPEDE 34

he glow that surrounds Kurt Gulbrand is infectious. There’s simply no other way to describe it. Think about the most positive person you know. Now multiply that by 10. That’s Gulbrand. But he’s more than just a mile-wide grin and a friendly, “How ya doin’?” He’s got substance and a track record to match. Before venturing west, he took the Michigan Athletic Department to new heights. And now, he intends on doing the same for the University of Colorado and its student-athletes. If you haven’t met him yet, here’s a preview. But you’d better hurry, or he’ll find you first. Meet Kurt Gulbrand, the new man on campus.

To begin, introduce yourself. What’s your new job here at the Buff Club? I was brought on board here at CU, specifically with the foundation at the Athletic Department, to help deliver concise and consistent message to the CU family. I’m here to help drive revenue back to this department and this university to increase the student-athlete experience, so we can graduate successful members of society. When you deal with 18- to 22-year-old students, there’s a resilience about them. You can’t go up to one of our cross-country runners and tell them that it’s physically impossible to run a four-minute mile. You can’t tell them that they can’t run through that wall. Well, that attitude is infectious. And it permeates through all of us and makes us feel better about our jobs. I tell everyone that I have five core values – trust, honesty, integrity, determination and attitude. They are five things that you personally control. I think that if you can handle those five things, then you will be successful in life in pretty much anything you do. Trust one another. Have an honest line of communication with each other. Have drive and determination, like our students have. Have the integrity that we would never do anything that would put a black mark on CU. And on top of that, have a positive attitude every day. I think that you can control those things and you can be successful. But back to your question – what’s my role here? To take the foundation that Jim Senter has already built and put it into a different stratosphere. Jim did great things when it came to aligning the functionality of this office. He hired great people. This is a great team and my goal is to amp it up and take it externally. It’s to take our Buff Club family from 6,000 annual contributors to 12,000, to 24,000. I’ve always said that our athletic department should have 10 percent of our alumni base positively affected by the athletic department. And I don’t think that anybody can discredit that. We have 240,000 alumni members and I can make a case that 10 percent – or 24,000 members – have been positively affected by the athletic dept. and can afford $1,000 a year, which is $83 a month. Well, that’s $24 million a year, and that’s before you even scratch the surface when it comes to comprehensive campaign. So, my job is to help to provide leadership to those people here on our team, to go forward externally, to ask our people, our patrons, our constituent base, to make a greater investment in CU because the good that we provide in the Boulder community, the state

of Colorado, the nation, and with the tie in to the Pac-12 Conference – that’s where people live. The majority of our people are going to be from the Pacific West and the Pacific Rim. Academically, we’re aligned with those institutions. And some background: Where have you been? How did you arrive at this point in your career? Seventeen years in the making, I guess. I started off at Oregon State as an undergrad. I was in a marketing class and I saw a flier on the wall that said “sports marketing.” I could have done a lot of different things, but it grabbed my eye, my attention. I said, “That sounds kind of neat.” I was a junior; I had no idea what I was going to do at the time. And I figured that people just came to events; tickets were just sold, the officials just showed up. I didn’t even think of it as a business model, and it kind of clicked with me. So, I applied for the job and they were dumb enough to give it to me. And I ran homecoming week. We did our coaches shows out of fraternities and sororities, and we sold sponsorships to Kinko’s. I did little things like that and I really fell in love with it. And I said, “Hey, look, this is a viable opportunity for me.” I was just trying to be around the professionals in the athletic department. I applied for a couple of jobs and I had two offers the day before I graduated, one with a minor league affiliate of MLB and one with a school called Southwest Texas as a marketing assistant. I took the job at Southwest Texas, just because I’d never lived in Texas before. How did you get into fundraising specifically? My facilities guy asked me if I’d help him do a little fundraising, and I was like, “What’s fundraising?” He said, “Well, we want you to secure items for our scholarship auctions so we can raise money for our student-athlete experience.” And I’m like, “What are you talking about?” He said, “Just go out and see our local ATV dealers. See if they’ll give us an ATV that we can auction off, and those resources can be used to offset the cost our student-athletes have.” So that was kind of my introduction into development. And then I got a job at the University of Massachusetts working in annual fund development. I had about four or five job offers after that. A school called Northwestern State in Louisiana called, and I’d never been to Louisiana before, so I said that sounds great so I drove to Louisiana. I loved it down

there. I got involved with the Jazz Festival committee; I got involved with the Christmas Festival committee. I got involved with the community outside of just the athletic department. And I fell in love with the place. I spent three-and-a-half years there. I met my bride to be there. I got to know my in-laws for a year and a half before I even met my wife – they never said they had a daughter, probably for a good reason. Then I got a call that really changed my life in a positive way; Michigan came calling to see if I’d be the regional major gift officer overseeing the western half of the United States. I was already familiar with that part of the country because I was born and raised out there. I say that it changed my life because, here I was at Northwestern State – a I-AA institution – and Michigan gave me an opportunity that really helped fine tune my skill set. The hardest decision I had to make in my life was leaving Louisiana for Ann Arbor, Michigan. The easiest decision I ever made was going to the University of Michigan. I mean it was a no-brainer. It really catapulted my career. Who wouldn’t want to be associated with that behemoth and all that it stands for? And I had a great 12-year run there. In 2005, I was promoted to the assistant director of development.

Talk about your role at Michigan. I had a great boss and two mentors in my life from a development perspective, both Mike Hilliard and Joe Parker. I had a great athletic director in Bill Martin who presented a whole master plan and had a vision for where they wanted to take that place. I got to Michigan in 2000; the locker room that I had in high school was nicer than the locker room they had at Michigan. Most people are surprised by that. It was a giant bowl; we had 80 lockers and one shower. Our team, after they won or lost, would shower with our coaching staff. Imagine that. Imagine me as a head football coach and saying, “Hey, look kids No.’s 81-120, you can’t be part of the football experience. Go change in the auxiliary locker room. Go walk across the campus.” I was there from the year 2000 to 2012. In 2000, I got there and we got excited and started rolling up our sleeves and moving earth. When I got there, we had 6,000 annual contributors raising about $6 million annually. We had a $19 million endowment at the time for athletics; we helped grow that endowment to $63 million. We got about 18,500 in our membership and were raising about $37 million annually when we left. We did $350 million in capital expenditures and we erected nine new buildings and a million square feet of space. By the time we were done, we had completed a $226 million renovation

of Michigan Stadium, which included 3,000 club level seats and 81 suites. Going into this past 2011 football season, we were completely sold out. What drew you to CU? A couple things – the leadership and vision of Mike Bohn, and a great friend and colleague in Jim Senter. Usually when these positions become available, that institutional knowledge vacates the space with it, much like when I left Michigan. I don’t know if you want to call it intellectual property or equity. Someone else has to step in and fill it up; that’s hard to do. Here, you’ve got a guy like Mike and a guy like Jim, and those people are constant and known in their community. They’re well-revered and loved, and they’re part of a national organization. I mean, they made CU look like Michigan was in 2000 – a place that’s got an unbelievable story to tell, a great story, a great history, a great tradition, a great fan base and a community that loves and supports this place. I think we’re about ready to explode and take it to a whole different stratosphere. Things are lined up with the Pac-12 Conference. And that makes this a very attractive opportunity because our people live in those areas and those communities. I want to live in Colorado – this place is beautiful. So when the opportunity presented 35

STAMPEDE itself, we said this is a wonderful opportunity that we can spend the rest of our lives at, raise our children here and dive into the university community. And the people that work with this team are some of the best in the country. They really are great people they are highly dedicated to their jobs and they want to see this place really explode.

attitude. I completely believe in a transparent office and I want to share as much information as I can with my team and make them feel good about what they do every day. I stand by them because there are many different temperaments and convictions on my team. People have different ideas – I don’t want 10 “Kurts” in my office; we’ll never get anything done. People have different beliefs and Now that you’ve been in the position for a few backgrounds and will challenge me. I don’t months, what have you liked about being at want anyone to say, “Okay, that’s what Kurt CU? What has surprised you? said, so that’s what we’ll do.” I want them The people. If you look at the buy-in from to have ownership in this place and I want the institution, from the Chancellor’s office, everyone to feel like, “I made a difference to the president of the Foundation, another because I showed up today and gave everything one of my bosses, Carolyn Whitehead at the I had” – just like when cross country was Foundation. Their love and passion for this running for the Pac-12 championship and the place to make it succeed, to want it to succeed national championship. and to pour everything they’ve got into it. Their passion, their drive, their intensity – In technical terms, you’re at the top of the that’s all positive. And I didn’t expect that. I “org chart” here – essentially, you’re “the didn’t see it coming. I probably should have, boss.” But in the team setting, you’re a but I didn’t. The people’s attitudes around here member of the team just like the rest of the are great. You walk around campus and people staff. How do you differentiate the two are smiling. It’s the middle of January and it’s roles – or do you? 65 degrees outside, with not a cloud in the sky. I try to lead by example; that’s what I’ve I mean, this is special. It really is. I came in always been taught my entire life, and it’s been here on a game day Saturday and our team was reaffirmed all along the 17-year career path not having the greatest year and my first game that I’ve had. I’ll give you an example when I was against Arizona – senior day, the stadium moved to Northwestern State in Louisiana. was packed. Watching Ralphie run on the field I didn’t have a place to live, so I moved in for the first time, and seeing people explode with our athletic director for the first 30 days when CU takes the field, it’s special. And then just to find an apartment. I had never been to see them win that last game against Utah to Louisiana, so I didn’t know where I was knowing the last time they ever wear the black going. I stayed the night at his house and got and gold that they left with a victory. I mean, in the car with him in the morning and drove how many student-athletes get to experience into the office. As we approached the field that? At the same time, our student-athletes house, all dressed up for my first day on the for cross country are running for the national job excited to be here, there was a vortex of championship; they won the first two Pac-12 wind blowing around and there was a Snickers championships. I mean, that’s positive stuff. wrapper blowing on the ground. Well, at That’s exciting. the time, I didn’t even think about it but my athletic director has the audacity to pick up It’s been noted that you’re extremely focused that wrapper in front of me and throw it in on the “team” aspect of running the Buff the garbage can. And, man, you feel about two Club. Why is that so important in this job? inches tall at that time. Here’s the guy – the I’ve competed in team sports across the boss, the leader, in a suit – reaching down and country in my life, and I always know it’s not picking up garbage, because he cared that one person. With the help of many, we can do much about the place. And it really resonated great things. Jim led this office and they did with me at the time. I said, “Look, if he’s wiling great things. I can take what he’s done and to do that, then I better be willing to do it too build upon it. There is great talent here and if I want to be successful in this community I’ll apply my conviction to this place. I believe and this industry.” And so I just kind of carried in trust, honesty, integrity, determination and that little teachable moment. It wasn’t meant 36

to be teachable; he just did what he always did. It made a significant impact; I mean, he was an unbelievable leader and he’s still there today. I think very highly of him; he’s a great mentor and a friend of mine. And I think that’s what I’ve tried to do by leading by example. I try not to look at myself as a boss. I try to be part of an “I wouldn’t ask you to do anything I wouldn’t do myself ” atmosphere. You’re very specific when it comes to the terminology used to brand the university, its athletic department and the objectives of the Buff Club. Where did that attention to detail come from? Why is it so important? My phone says “Go Buffs.” My cell phone has the fight song. When I hang up my phone, the last thing I’ll say is Go Buffs. And people around me go, “You’re a rookie!” and I tell them to listen in five years and it will still ring with the fight song. This place has got a great brand; it’s got a great image. Those are the things other institutions beg for and die for. We got ‘em. The colors, the flags, Folsom Field, Ralphie – those are images and icons that the rest of the universe would love to have. Why not promote those things as often as possible? Tell us about your family. Everyone here says you’re the very definition of a “family man.” Absolutely. My family is the most important thing to me and always will be. I would have never made this decision to move to Boulder and CU without them. When we told our kids, my oldest son, Colton, ran upstairs packed his backpack with about four toys and said, “Lets go, daddy! I’m ready!” I mean, that was exciting. My wife had to leave her job and pack up; she did that because she’s always wanted to live in Colorado, because they truly believe in family. That’s exciting. They have one big family unit. We have a holiday party up here and our families were invited. That’s neat. We spend so much time around this place. There’s not one thing in my closet left that’s maize and blue. It’s all black and gold. When I accepted this job, the very next day, two jerseys for my kids showed up on my doorstep. My kids love this place because of the opportunities provided for them. In a role such as yours, where there are plenty of ups and downs in terms of athletic competition, how do you stay positive? Why is that so critical in your job? We’ve already had a tradition of winning here and that tradition has never left; it’s part of your DNA. Nobody hurts worse than those student-athletes when they drop

a pass or when they don’t reach their goals. Nobody feels worse than they do. And yet, they’re still willing to strap it on next week and go through all that anguish again and get excited. You can’t tell them that they can’t win their next meet. And if they feel that way every day, then why don’t you? I just try to draw strength and energy from them and their successes, because nobody, again, can walk into those locker rooms and say, “You’re not going to win today.” None of those kids will believe you. They believe they’re going to win every game. What do you tell donors when it comes to that? People can find a way to object to anything that’s out there. To me, those are just excuses on why to not get involved. If that’s an excuse then they’re not going to get involved anyway. What I try to focus on is what the positives are – and we’ve got a lot of them. We’ve got a lot of victories and again we’re graduating 29 student-athletes in football. That’s 100 percent student-athlete graduation. That’s a huge victory. That’s why they come here. You don’t come here to win national championships; you come here to get a degree first and foremost, because that’s the catalyst that’s going to take you to another level in society afterwards, giving you the opportunity to win in life. We’re going to teach those young people and help mold them into professional adults to help move this country forward. Those are winnable moments and teachable moments; those are the things that people want. The wins will come if you get the right people. I don’t think that people want to be around a program that’s successful with wins on the field but then not be able to graduate at a high level. If we’re not graduating studentathletes, then we’re not doing our job. That’s the first and foremost thing. CU Athletics has a great base of faithful donors. What’s the most important thing you can do for those donors? Continue to thank them. Continue to tell them how much their support is needed. Continue to display our greatest resource (our student-athletes) to them. And say these are the people who are going to make the biggest difference in our future. And then also introduce them to the new people coming through and say, “Hey, this is the next line of CU Buffs football family.” These are the next people to come through and carry on that tradition. Wear that helmet with pride. Understand what it means to be a Buff; it’s ever changing. Every four years, you’re getting a new set of people here and that’s pretty cool.

On the other hand, your mission is also to grow that group of people. How do you intend on doing that? It’s relatively easy to do. You talk to the people that you’re already involved with and ask for referrals. Who are you talking to that can also be involved? How else can I share this message or story? How can you help me share this message or story so this thing goes viral? When people started learning that 29 of our student-athletes will graduate with a degree from this place you share that message. I’ve never read that message in a paper or publication yet. People want to be around that. They want to be associated with a winner. That is the pinnacle of being a winner. They’re also sharing the message from our state support system that most people think of this as a publicly supported institution, and it absolutely is. But the level of taxpayer support from the public is not what people think it is. It’s around four or five percent for our institution. That’s not

family seven or eight hours a day outside of the holidays, seven or eight times a year, and then another 20 times a year when it comes to basketball. How many people get those opportunities? Look at my family for example; I have a wife and two children. My wife has a full-time job, I have a full-time job and our kids go to school. Our time together as a family is very finite. So I want to spend as much time together and make it a true family experience. Well, we’re able to go to a football game and sit down and you can start from a tailgate perspective to the game to the postgame to dinner afterwards – families are looking for those things. I can bring my in-laws up and they can be around my kids for seven or eight hours a day again outside of the holiday season. That’s pretty impactful. That’s a great time. Absolutely you can look at other professional franchises, but they don’t have the pageantry, the passion; they don’t have Ralphie and they don’t have the Flatirons in the backyard. That’s really cool.

When I accepted thIs job, the very next day, tWo jerseys for my kIds shoWed up on my doorstep. Kurt Gulbrand

really a high level. Most people wouldn’t understand that percentage-wise. Most people would probably think it’s 80 percent supported by the state. And it’s not. And it might go back to 15 percent, but it’s not going back to 80. So, we need philanthropic support to be successful at a high level. Not just athletically but also academically. What’s the most important thing you can bring to the University of Colorado? Family atmosphere. Again, we battled that all the time in Ann Arbor because we had four professional franchises and there are a lot of places for families to spend their entertainment dollars. And then you also have the arts and sciences on top of that. But if you want to be around a fun place that’s close and intimate and start a tradition where you’re with your

And, yes, I’m an advocate of the outdoors. I’ve skied and I have a great passion for skiing and I can understand why people would want to gravitate to the mountains as often as possible. But I’m not asking you to give up 365 days. I’m not asking you to give up all 52 of your weekends. I’m asking for seven of them. For this job, I can also bring my attitude. I’m a positive person. I’ve been positive my entire life, even through challenges. I’ve always had the attitude that you have two choices in life; you can either be positive about something or you can be negative about something. And being miserable is terrible. I’m a positive guy. You’ll always see a smile on my face. You’ll always see me excited every morning. I’ll be the first person in this office and I’ll be one of the last to leave. I’ll give everything I’ve got to CU and so will my family. 37

STAMPEDE

Men’s INDEED Photo MADNESS essay the CU men’s basketball team made it a March to remember BasketBall

Photos courtesy of the Pac-12 and Natalie Pigliacampo

s if the words from an old David Bowie song blared from the loudspeakers at Coors Events Center, “Let’s Dance” surely played loud and clear in the heads of the Buffaloes. As the regular season concluded – and despite the fact that it was an excellent campaign – an invitation to the Big Dance didn’t appear likely. Last year’s disappointment, at least before the season concluded, didn’t look as if it was going to be avenged. Tad Boyle and the Buffs would have to wait until the spring of 2013 to rekindle their dancing dreams. Unless… Unless they pulled off the unthinkable. Unless they swept the Pac-12 Conference Tournament. Unless they ran the table and stood atop the podium when all was said and done. Unless they won the whole darn thing – undeniably forcing their way into the NCAA Tournament. And darned if they didn’t do it. In fact, that’s exactly what the Buffs did. For the first time since 2003, the Buffs went dancing. The photos that follow chronicle their journey, a dance that made it a March to remember.

When the Wildcats’ shot at the buzzer fell short, the Buffs were dancing.

Carlon Brown’s monster dunk delivered the final blow to Arizona.

Coach Boyle and his Buffs hoist the first-ever Pac-12 Championship trophy. 38

The Buffs celebrate at Staples Center.

Down comes the net.

The Buffs won four games in four days, a first in CU basketball history, to be crowned the 2012 Pac-12 Basketball Champions.

A relaxed bunch of Buffs waiting for the NCAA Selection Show to start.

Nate Tomlinson wearing the Pac-12 Championship basketball net.

A happy and relaxed head coach waits to hear about Coloradoâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s selection.

Pregame fun at Kellys in Albuquerque; more than 400 Buffs showed up to support the team.

STAMPEDE The team arrives at The Pit.

Tipoff against UNLV!

Timeout.

1-2-3 for Carlon Brown.

The amazing CU band playing the fight song.

The Buffs beat UNLV and moved on to face former Big 12 Conference foe Baylor.

Shoulder to shoulder. 40

Mr. Dinwiddie was in the running for coolest name in the NCAA tourney.

Seniors Carlon Brown and Nate Tomlinson embrace after getting eliminated at the hands of Baylor. Tomlinson and Brown leave after great contributions to a program thatâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s now on the rise. 41

LifE

A DAy in ThE

STAMPEDE

…of a Colorado Buffalo

What you see isn’t always what you get. In the case of the student-athletes at the University of Colorado, you actually get more. A lot more.

What you see is that the Buffs are tremendous athletes. You see them performing bold feats in the bright lights of competition. Their efforts are extremely public; what they do in a game-by-game sense is the very definition of “laying it all on the line.” Without fail, their effort is easily detected. But what you might not see is all that goes into that one moment you do see. For example, a baseline jump shot that finds the bottom of the nylon at Coors Events Center just before the horn sounds and zeroes fill the game clock takes place in a fraction of a second. But the work that went into those two points most likely took hours, weeks – years. And it’s not just the athletic achievements that must be considered. To be a Buff – to wear the uniform at all – one must strive for greatness far beyond the field, court or track. In fact, that baseline jump shot couldn’t be taken if the shooter hadn’t already excelled in the classroom. Here’s the tricky part: There’s only so much time in a day. But after reading the six accounts that follow – each of which is a first-person, daily account of a tried and true Colorado Buffalo – you might think a “day” would have to last 26, maybe 28, hours. How do they do it? A’s in the classroom. Training. Diet. Practice. Sleep. Just when and how do they fit it all in?

Read on. But mind you, by the time you’ve answered that question, the Buffs will be onto the next thing – swiftly and successfully. It’s a Day in the Life of the Buffs. Try not to blink.

STAMPEDE

Spencer DinwiDDie AGE 18 HOMETOWN Los Angeles, California CLASS Freshman SPORT Men’s Basketball MAJOR Integrative Physiology TOP ATHLETIC ACCOMPLISHMENTS Won the 2010 Adidas Super 64 AAU tournament; won the 2011 CIF LA City section championship. TOP ACADEMIC ACCOMPLISHMENTS Graduated high school with honors.

Now that I’m done with class for the day, I usually go get some food at a dining hall. Eating healthy is a key to being ready for practices and games.

12:00 p.m.

“SOCY 1001.” This is my Introduction to Sociology class, and it examines basic sociological ideas, including social structure and social change in our society.

11:00 a.m.

“COMM 2400.” This is my Discourse, Culture and Identities class. This class is based on analyzing people. Almost in a sociological sense, it’s analyzing them through communication, speech and facial expressions, instead of through a primary basis on culture.

10:00 a.m.

“PHIL 1100” (a.k.a. “Ethics Class”). This class is fairly easy and a good way to start off my day. Even though it’s early, we don’t get many homework assignments, and the class is based on discussion and critical thought.

9:00 a.m.

Wake up and shower.

8:00 a.m.

7:00 a.m.

I chose Friday, Feb. 17, 2012. I chose this day because we had to travel to an away game, yet it’s also one of my toughest academic days. My academic schedule is Monday, Wednesday and Friday, and it starts at 8:00 a.m. and goes to 11:00 a.m. Practice starts at 1:00 p.m. Those are full days, so when game travel is thrown on top, it gets pretty busy pretty fast.

Now, I head over to the gym to make sure I get there early and can start getting ready for practice.

In the air.

6:00 p.m.

Our bus departs for the private airport; then it’s “wheels up” en route to Utah!

5:00 p.m.

Since it’s the day before the game, we didn’t have a post-practice weightlifting workout. When we don’t have a game the next day, practices usually transition to whatever work we’re doing in the weight room. Today’s practice wasn’t too long. Now, I just have to finish packing; I’ve got to get ready to be on the bus by 3:30 p.m.

4:00 p.m.

Practice (continued).

3:00 p.m.

2:00 p.m.

1:00 p.m.

Practice begins.

We arrive around 6:15 p.m. and head straight to the hotel to drop off our bags. It’s a short bus ride and we get to the hotel around 6:45.

Curfew. I’m happy to say I made it, although there was never any doubt.

12:00 a.m.

I’m sippin’ hot chocolate and eating a late-night snack – the perfect way to wind down before going to bed.

11:00 p.m.

I’m in my room, watching the Lakers game and chillin’ with two of my good friends on the team, Sabatino Chen and Jeremy Adams.

10:00 p.m.

Around 8:30, we go back to the hotel, getting the rest of the night off until curfew at 11:00 p.m.

9:00 p.m.

8:00 p.m.

7:00 p.m.

STAMPEDE We leave the hotel for team dinner at Tucci’s restaurant in Salt Lake City. Team dinners are always fun because it’s a great way for the team to bond. We just sit around, laugh and crack jokes on each other.

Sleep.

STAMPEDE

Jasmine sborov AGE 18 HOMETOWN Round Rock, Texas CLASS Freshman SPORT Women’s Basketball MAJOR Sociology TOP ATHLETIC ACCOMPLISHMENTS Four-time high school team MVP; Threetime high school Offensive Player of the Year; McDonald’s All-American nominee; Set high school high jump record at 5’6”. TOP ACADEMIC ACCOMPLISHMENTS Three-time academic All-District (basketball and track). I chose Jan. 18, 2012, as my “day” to log because it was definitely one of my busier days of the week. We were leaving to go to Arizona to play Arizona State on Thursday (19th). Travel days are typically very busy days, especially when class is going on. On this day in particular, I had to go to my first class before we left, so that meant I had to get up a little earlier to eat a good breakfast, make sure everything was packed, drop my bag off in the locker room, go to class, go back to Coors and get on the bus to head to the airport. Normally, I wouldn’t have to do all this on a travel day, but since we are leaving earlier than usual, my day was much busier. Editor’s Note: Photos provided by Jasmine Sborov

We boarded the plane and are ready to take off for Phoenix, one of our new stops as part of the Pac-12 Conference.

1:00 p.m.

Everyone is back from eating their lunches and waiting at the gate for our time to board. A couple of us pass the time with some homework.

12:15 p.m.

Our bags are checked and Julie Seabrook and I ate lunch at Panda Express before we headed through security.

11:30 a.m.

Everyone loaded onto the bus, ready to head to the airport.

10:30 a.m.

Public Speaking class (until 9:30). Class normally goes until 9:50, but because it’s the first day of classes, we got done pretty early.

9:00 a.m.

8:00 a.m.

Woke up, finished packing for Arizona and ate breakfast with my roommates before class.

The coaches called a meeting for us to watch film on ASU. The goal is to get our scouting report completed before we go to practice.

5:00 p.m.

3:30 p.m.

The Buffs landed in Phoenix! We head to baggage claim. Then, we get settled in at the hotel prior to film sessions and practice.

STAMPEDE 50

Everyone is in their own room and lights are out. Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s time to get a good nightâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s rest for the game in the morning.

10:00 p.m.

Team dinner at the hotel. Out of all the time that we spend together as a team, dinners together are usually where we bond the most. A lot of laughing and joking around goes on during these times. There is very rarely ever a dull moment with us, and our coaching staff is kept pretty entertained.

8:00 p.m.

6:00 p.m.

We are on the bus and headed to Sun Devils Arena for practice. Time to cover some last-minute details and get ready for the game.

STAMPEDE

Katie HaRtMaN AGE 23 HOMETOWN Breckenridge, Colo. CLASS Senior SPORT Women’s Skiing MAJOR Psychology TOP ATHLETIC ACCOMPLISHMENTS Gold at the University Games; Spencer Nelson Colorado All-Star Athlete of the Year 2008 and 2011; Buff Distinction Award 2011; Named to Junior Worlds team 2008 and 2009 (only take seven women in the U.S.). TOP ACADEMIC ACCOMPLISHMENTS Firstteam All-Academic 2009, 2010, Chick- Fil-A Big 12 Community Service Award 2011. My day of choice – rather, my days of choice – are our early morning training sessions up at Eldora Ski Resort. These early mornings are usually Monday, Wednesday and Friday, and depending on the weekend, we usually train early mornings on Saturday and Sunday to miss the weekend ski traffic. But as is the case with most studentathletes, there’s rarely a day or week that’s “typical.” There are always new challenges, and this year’s competition schedule has been significantly different – sometimes we’re gone for “weeks” and not just “days.” Regardless, here’s a sneak peek of the most typical day I can imagine.

Heading up the canyon to training at Eldora. Some mornings are “sleepier” than others, but leaving early is important. One of the benefits of the early morning ride is seeing the sunrise from campus.

6:30 a.m.

Wake up! My alarm goes off, giving me just enough time to be able eat breakfast and get to the ski building. The team has to meet at the ski building at 5:45, so we are able to get to Eldora by 6:30.

6:00 a.m.

5:00 a.m.

Editor’s Note: Photos provided by Katie Hartman

Arrive at Eldora and hit the slopes. (Coach) Richie (Rokos) is obsessed with early mornings. He loves it. In actuality, though, mornings are best for training. The first tracks are always better, just in terms of snow. And being there before the public makes it easier on the resort.

On Wednesdays, I don’t start class until 3:00. I still finish at 5:00, but it’s great having a shorter day of classes in the middle of the week. In my first three years, I tried to get in as many credits as I could. I sort of knocked out the bulk of my class load on the front end, and now I’m really happy I did. I only have 10 credits remaining before I graduate.

5:00 p.m.

Once classes start, I go clear through to 5:00 p.m.; but that’s only on Mondays. As a senior, my classes are longer, which is great. I’ve really enjoyed my class schedule this year. I guess they always save the best for last. My favorite class is Development of Musical Theater, even though I’m not a music major; I’m actually a psychology major.

3:00 p.m.

11:00 a.m.

10:00 a.m.

Training concludes. During the season, most of our “training” consists of actually skiing. Other methods of conditioning are done on our own time after we hit the slopes. As soon as we’re done skiing, we hop in the vans and head back to campus. Most of us eat a “second” breakfast on the bus. After skiing, we’re usually hungry – plus, class starts at 11:00 a.m. for most of us.

As soon as class wraps up, I head over to Dal Ward for weightlifting. After my injury last year, I was behind in terms of strength. So this year, I’ve had to do double the work in the weight room in order to be at the high level I want to be when competing. I usually lift for about two hours.

This is when I hit the books, eat and chill out. It just kind of depends on the day or week which one I’m doing. If it’s a tough week of school, I try to study early. If it’s not, I use my time to try to unwind and get rest. But usually, I’ve got to do some type of schoolwork before bed. I’m not a “crammer,” so I try to pace myself throughout the semester. I try to do a little bit every night, so that I’m not cramming before a test or project.

10:00 p.m.

8:00 p.m.

7:00 p.m.

STAMPEDE After I finish up my workout, I head into rehab. I’ve kept up a strict rehab schedule so that I wouldn’t reinjure my knee. It’s important to focus on that, specifically, just to stay strong in key areas. I’ve actually downgraded my total amount of rehab during the season. In the summer, I was typically spending three and a half hours in rehab. It was tough, but it allowed me to get back on the slopes competing for my team. The staff at Dal Ward is awesome. There are days when I still feel some pain, but in terms of strength, I’m the same as I was before the injury. It’s been one of the toughest things I’ve ever had to deal with – it definitely tested me.

I usually go to bed around 10:00; I’m one of those people who doesn’t function well once I’m tired. When I’m tired, I go to bed. Trying to push through and study is usually pretty ineffective, so I go to bed when my body tells me to. Again, that’s why I try to do a little bit every night – I know better than to save it all for the last minute and try to stay up late cramming. I hit the bed and then wake up and do it all over again tomorrow!

STAMPEDE

Stephen KaSica AGE 22 HOMETOWN Grand Junction, Colo. CLASS Senior SPORT Track and Field / Cross Country MAJOR English Literature and Journalism (News-Editorial) MINOR Technology, Arts and Media from ATLAS TOP ATHLETIC ACCOMPLISHMENTS Seventh in the Big 12, 800m outdoors (2010); 10th on CU’s best performers list (800m); Seventh in the Big 12, DMR (2009); 800m personal record: 1:49.92. TOP ACADEMIC ACCOMPLISHMENTS 2011 Pac-12 All-Academic, second team, men’s cross country; Multi-time All-Big 12 academic team; Honors thesis (in progress). The CU “School of Long Distance Running’s (the cross country/ track and field team that specializes in distances from 800-10,000 meter) method” – in a nutshell – is that hard days are hard, and easy days are easy. I try to apply this to my whole day, not just my workouts. Therefore, my class schedule puts most of my classes on my hard days. Out of the hard days, Tuesdays are the hardest. On my easy days, I have only one class or no classes that day.

First class, Media Law with Jefferson Dodge. Law is not something I’d like to take at 8:00, but it’s a class I’ve needed to take for a while.

9:00 a.m.

Post office. I sell books, clothes and electronics on eBay and Amazon to make grocery money, so I get to the post office right when it opens. I’ve been doing this for over a year and I’m on a first-name basis with all the postal workers at the Moorhead Post Office.

8:00 a.m.

Breakfast. I’ve been waking up by 6:00 a.m. since my senior year of high school. I needed to do so because I had to work on the school paper in the afternoons, so I did my runs before my first class. Since then, I have not been able to fall out of the habit. It gives me a sense of accomplishment to see the sunrise every morning. I prefer a hearty breakfast of oatmeal with bananas or scrambled eggs. About once a week, I meet with some friends on the team. We all make breakfast, hang out and guzzle coffee together; it’s my favorite way to start the day.

7:30 a.m.

6:00 a.m.

Editor’s Note: Photos provided by Stephen Kasica and Robert Denton

Second class, African American Literature. I’m taking this class with my two friends who are also runners and it’s taught by my thesis advisor, Adam F. Bradley. I’ve taken many courses with Professor Bradley, from Literary Analysis to Hip Hop Poetics. In 2011, I was his research assistant when he was working with Lonnie Rashid Lynn (a.k.a. Common) on the memoir One Day It’ll All Make Sense, which was on the New York Times bestseller list. I have this class with one friend who is on the team now, Garrett Ward, and another who used to be, Joesph Demoor. Most runners major in one of the sciences, so us liberal arts runners have to stick together.

2:00 p.m.

Lunch. I always pack my lunch, and depending on the workout I have to do at practice that day, it varies from a large hero sandwich to just an apple (if there’s a chance the workout will bring my lunch right back up). I usually meet my girlfriend, Shalaya Kipp, for lunch. The stairs in front of Carlson Gym is our favorite spot.

1:00 p.m.

12:00 p.m.

11:00 a.m.

I go in to see Professor Bradley about my thesis during his office hours. I’m still trying to narrow down a topic. I’d love to write about running. I think there’s a lot to be said about courage and cowardice from how running is depicted in literature. For instance, it’s always running from something – like your scared of it. I think that’s why people love to shout things at runners; they perceive a false sense of fear. But for anyone who threw something at me, they’ve learned that’s not the case.

Reading. Before practice, it’s nice to relax and do some reading before a hard workout. Often times, I read in the treatment room at Dal Ward, so I can also nurse my aches and pains. When you run on the edge like we do, it seems like something is always bothering you – nothing ventured, nothing gained, I suppose.

Track practice. It always begins at 2:00 p.m. Mountain Standard Time. In the Balch Fieldhouse, Coach Wetmore has installed an atomic clock, so there’s no arguing if you show up late. As for the actual training, an 800-meter runner does more fast, anaerobic workouts than a runner who specializes in the 5k or 10k. I only run 65 miles a week, while some of my teammates do over 100 miles a week, but many of my miles are going faster than most people in Boulder ride their bikes. A workout we normally do is the “time trial workout,” which I love and hate. This is usually a 500- to 600-meter run at an 800-meter race pace, followed by 57

(continued)

Strength, flexibility and rejuvenation with coach Craig Downing. I’m one of the few athletes on the team now to remember what “weightlifting” used to be. The former strength coach would give us a sheet of paper with the workout on it and then shut his office door. In fact, many of our exercises were the same ones the cheer team did, and one specifically resembled the YMCA dance with five-pound weights. However, with Craig, we do exercises tailored to the individuals needs. During our workouts, he’s right there with us, making sure we are doing things right. In the last four years, hiring Mr. Downing has been the best decision the athletic department has made for my sport.

9:00 p.m.

6:00 p.m.

5:00 p.m.

2:00 p.m.

STAMPEDE 58

eight or more snappy 100-meter sprints down the straightaway. I fret about these workouts days before they arrive because they’re so intense. And this love/hate relationship comes of the fact that they’re so good for this specialty. If the workout goes well, I know I can do well when it counts in a race. A lot of people say, “Oh, that does not sound so bad.” But imagine a 10k runner, like cross country AllAmerican Andy Wacker, running over four-and-a-half miles at race pace then going one more kilometer and trying to go faster. They are both 75 percent of the race we’re training for, but he’s going longer and slower, while I am going shorter but faster.

Homework and dinner. Athletes love to eat, and after these workouts, I try to have a meal rich in protein to aid muscle recovery. I usually make dinner with Shalaya. It is always faster to prepare a homemade meal with two people, and eating healthy always pays back with interest the next time I’m on the track. I do homework until the time to sleep. One of the advantages of studying English literature is that you can read in bed until you fall asleep and call it “homework.”

After a day like today, it is never difficult to fall asleep early.

STAMPEDE

Brittany Lewis AGE 19 HOMETOWN Denver, Colo. CLASS Freshman SPORT Track MAJOR Integrative Physiology TOP ATHLETIC ACCOMPLISHMENTS Placed third at nationals in 2009; Twotime high school state champion in long jump; Went to junior nationals in 2011. TOP ACADEMIC ACCOMPLISHMENTS Made honor roll every year in high school; Recognized by the principal for academic achievements. I choose Wednesday. Considering all that I encounter in a given week, Wednesdays are one of my longer, consistently challenging days. Hopefully, “Wednesday” will allow people to truly understand what I go through in just a day’s work. Though it is not my most challenging day, it still is full of experiences that normal students don’t experience on a daily basis. With this being the day I chose, you will find that I take part in many activities between classes – dining out, practice and just communicating with my peers.

Lunch. During this time, I have to eat a dish that won’t be too heavy on my stomach, but will still be able to fill me up until I get out of practice at around 4:00 p.m. Today, I ate at Sewell because it’s closer to my last two classes. Being an athlete means being a picky eater; they didn’t have the food of choice, so I made a simple sandwich.

Deviance in U.S. Society (lecture). Looking for this class wasn’t simple; even though the room number looked very similar, I still got lost. Once I found the room, I came to realize that I had previously had a sociology class in the very same place. The class was amazing. I loved the teacher.

12:00 p.m.

Introduction to Chemistry (lecture). This class is from 9:00-9:50, and during this time, we take plenty of notes and have interactive “clicker” questions that we answer among ourselves. My first thought when I walked into this classroom was to snatch a seat closer to the front, allowing me to focus a little better during class. An associate of mine sat right next to me, so we were able to talk amongst ourselves when we were confused. I had so much fun and the experiments were cool. The first day of class was a blast.

11:00 a.m.

Breakfast. Usually, I make my way to the C4C to eat something quick and nutritious. I’ll decide from fruits or oatmeal, and then I’ll get another plate of eggs with bacon or sausage. Sometimes, I’ll get an omelette with spinach, bacon, sausage, onions, cheese and bell peppers. For my beverage, I will choose between milk, orange juice, cranberry juice or water; this varies each day.

10:00 a.m.

9:00 a.m.

8:00 a.m.

Editor’s Note: Photos provided by Brittany Lewis

Beginning Dance (lecture). Walking into the Carlson building, I was of the belief that I was going to enter a room where we would sit down and learn information about dance. When I finally found the room, I realized that I was enrolled in an actual dance class. It was a different experience for sure; we worked on stretching techniques that resembled yoga and did dancing moves that were like African dancing.

I walked to University Village, so I could discuss my living situation for my next academic year. Unfortunately, my visit was cut short due to a compliance meeting that was held at 5:00 p.m. for the track athletes.

5:00 p.m.

Track practice. We did long jump, so our practice was split up into smaller groups so Coach Lindsey can better focus on individuals. It was a wonderful practice. I was on the board and had a great pop. After we finished long jump practice, we had a quick running workout to help prepare us for our meet on Friday afternoon. Once our workout was finished, we attempted our traditional motomoto, where we cooled down by doing various drills from our warm up.

4:30 p.m.

3:00-4:00 p.m.

1:45 p.m.

I went to go meet with my new athletic advisor and received my letters of absence for the semester. This semester, I was placed with a new athletic advisor because of medical reasons with other advisors.

Compliance meeting. Jo Marchi came to Dal Ward to talk to all of the track athletes about whatâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s right and wrong for us (athletes) to partake in during the season. We also had other guests who spoke to us about our finances and insurance coverage for the coming season in a couple days. Luckily, our meeting was nice and short due to previous compliance meetings we had earlier in the fall. 61

9:00 p.m.

I treated myself to dinner in the C4C, where I ate a nice specialized burrito and washed it down with a glass of lemonade. Though I ate by myself, I enjoyed my time in the atmosphere of students and laughter all around me. While I sat in the dining hall watching SportsCenter, I went to my favorite bar – the dessert bar. This is the time when track usually says “bye bye” and chocolate chip cookies enter my tummy. The amazing, warm, softcentered cookies always leave a smile on my face when I leave the C4C.

8:00 p.m.

7:00 p.m.

6:00 p.m.

I met up with one of my closest friends from high school to talk over our break and catch up on life. We met at WeatherTech Café. We also met another friend from our previous school. We talked it out, had laughs and had a great time visiting with each other. The atmosphere made everything fun and relaxing, while we joked around about past experiences, drinking some hot drinks and having a little slice of pizza to get our appetites ready for dinner.

I looked in my planner to see what I had planned for the next day. I knew I didn’t have any homework due for my classes that day, so getting prepared early always makes my day. I have to be organized, and know times and places or who I’m supposed to be meeting with. My planner is what keeps me together throughout the whole year.

Shower up and off to bed! After a long day of work and practice, I have to hit the hay. Getting enough sleep will definitely give me enough energy to get through the next day. Sleep is my favorite time of the day. I’m so used to going to bed at the same time every night that my body is now accustomed to going to bed at a certain time. Lights out for me. Goodnight!

STAMPEDE

THOUGHTS, OBSERVATIONS, NEWS, NOTES AND MUSINGS FROM…

BUFFALO BILL …A BUFF TO THE CORE

Speaking of the aforementioned class, let me give you a few highlights. First off, I love the fact that 20 of the 28 athletes won a championship of some kind as a prep athlete. That doesn’t mean “everything,” but it does mean that across the board, these kids have learned how to win. Here’s what else I like: 16 of them ran track and 10 of them played basketball. Who doesn’t like speed and size? I’m just saying. What I wouldn’t do to be a CU student right now. The fact that I’m 166 years old hurts, but what hurts worse is that I wasn’t able to go on the special “roadie” put together for the C-Unit, CU’s nationally ranked student section. Long story short? The school paid the way for 50 members of the C-Unit to attend the Pac-12 Conference Tourney, then followed up by making it incredibly inexpensive for 150 more kids to travel to New Mexico for the Big Dance. This is one of the coolest “sports” stories I’ve heard – rewarding great fans for a great season and building a great tradition for CU men’s hoops along the way. Wow. What a great concept. And I was 166 years too late. Whenever a basketball coach does well, there’s always talk from national experts that he’ll be heading to the next traditional powerhouse with a job opening. Tad Boyle’s success at CU has generated the same buzz, but I’m not so sure I buy into it. Boyle strikes me as a driven man, one who’s not going to stop until his mission is complete. He also seems happy as a clam right now. He’s building a great tradition, having great success and seems genuinely appreciative of the support CU fans have given him. Will he ever leave? Who knows, but I feel great about Boyle and where he’s headed.

People like to talk about the recruiting abilities of Jon Embree and Eric Bieniemy. And to be honest, I’ve been one of them. That said, the football staff truly showed what they were capable of when they introduced the newest class on Feb. 1. The 28 recruits are the most signed in a single class at CU since 1978. 64

Last thought before heading to my home, home on the range: While the football and basketball teams were busy making headlines with new recruits and postseason play, the ski team always tends to get a little lost in the shuffle. But let’s just point this out: Every single year – without fail – the Buffs are knocking on the door of an NCAA championship. That’s something that everyone can take a great amount of pride in, and Coach Richard Rokos deserves a tremendous amount of credit.