Dick Tharp (2022) - CU Athletic Hall of Fame - University of Colorado Athletics

Dick Tharp

Induction:
2022

Dick Tharp was named CU’s fourth full-time athletic director in 1997 and served eight years in the position; he followed Harry Carlson (1927-65); Eddie Crowder (1965-84) and Bill Marolt (1984-96) … His first major accomplishment as AD was a brainchild: CU needed an Athletic Hall of Fame, and thus assembled a small staff to research one and eventually make it a reality a little over a year into his tenure … Also was the impetus in creating CU’s unique “Living Legends” program, honoring letterwinners 50 years after they first letter … He hired several head coaches, including Gary Barnett, who led the Buffaloes to its only Big 12 championship in 2001 and four Big 12 North titles, and one still on staff, women’s golf coach Anne Kelly … Developed the first real long-range plan for the department, Athletics 2010, which was a blueprint for success, accountability and facility growth and were incorporated into later three- and five-year plans … In his years of involvement with CU athletics, he negotiated, drafted and executed contracts for numerous head coaches, most notably Barnett, Bill McCartney, Ceal Barry, Ricardo Patton and his predecessor as athletic director, Bill Marolt … He also oversaw the construction in 2003 of the East Side Club and Suites for Folsom Field, the first major addition to the stadium since 1968.… Tharp enjoyed a long association with the Boulder campus, dating back to his days as a student in CU's School of Law, earning his juris doctorate degree in 1973 … Following his graduation from CU, he became the school's assistant university counsel, a position he held until 1976, when he was named acting university counsel. He remained in that capacity through 1983 …During that tenure he was involved in a variety of athletic dept issues including NCAA relationships and investigations, coaches contracts, policies and regulations of the athletic department, compliance with Title IX and legal proceedings including New England Patriots v. CU when CU hired Chuck Fairbanks … He would return to CU in 1989 after being named vice president and university counsel by then-President Dr. Gordon Gee; he spent five years in that capacity which included being the liaison for athletics to the president’s office … Together with Marolt they worked hard to grow athletics during some of the most productive years in school history, including a football national championship … In 1996, he was asked by the University to become interim athletic director upon Marolt’s return to the U.S. Ski Team (which became a permanent appointment in June 1997) … He was born March 10, 1948, in St. Louis, Mo., and graduated from Omaha (Neb.) Westside High School, where he lettered in basketball, football and baseball … In 1969, he was awarded a “British Blue,” the highest honorary award in Britain when he played for the all-British University team when attending St. Andrews University his junior year … He went on to continue his attendance at DePauw University (Greencastle, Ind.) earning a bachelor of arts degree in history in 1970. He graduated with Phi Beta Kappa honors and was a first-team Academic All-American … He was awarded an NCAA postgraduate scholarship and attended CU’s Law School (earning his J.D. degree in 1973) … He was married to the late Melinda Siebert for 44 years (she passed in 2015 after a nine-year battle with cancer), and has three grown sons, Travis, Taylor and Tucker, all of who played Division I athletics (Travis baseball at Northwestern, Taylor football at Boise State and Tucker baseball at Kansas) … He is also an honorary member of the Alumni C-Club at Colorado, earning the Honorary C in 1988 … He has been inducted into the DePauw Athletic Hall of Fame (1999) and the Omaha Westside Athletic Hall of Fame (2009) … He has a history of being very active in community and charitable events in and around Boulder County. Since retiring and leaving CU, for the past 16 years he has served on the board of directors in support of the Boulder non-profit Greenhouse Scholars, which works to fund and provide mentorship for overachieving yet underprivileged high school students, in several states, to pursue their education.