Plati-'tudes - University of Colorado Athletics

May 30, 2001

A bi-weekly notes column penned by David Plati, who is in his 17th year as Colorado's Assistant Athletic Director for Media Relations.

The Supreme Court has ruled that all can read this column, whether you're riding in a golf cart or not... You know, all this hubbub from the Casey Martin case and I haven't seen a single word from either side about walking while carrying your clubs at the same time-that's when carts have the most impact. Just ask the college kids who play 36 holes in a single day 14 times a year carrying their sticks.

TRIVIA QUESTIONS... CU -- The Buffaloes were well represented at Tuesday night's premier bash opening of Coopers' Town, the new rock & jock restaurant in downtown Denver (1909 Blake Street), as both Gary Barnett and Ricardo Patton were present and showered Alice Cooper with jerseys, helmets and coaches shirts. CU has always had good tied to the rock 'n' roll business-name the rocker who wore a University of Colorado t-shirt in an old film clip that eventually became a classic on MTV in the 1980s. Godfather -- From the outtakes included in the Godfather Saga that were on the cutting room floor from II: the man who asked Michael permission to marry Sonny Corleone's oldest daughter was going to make his living in what field?

DID YOU KNOW?... That the new executive director of the Black Coaches Association, Floyd Keith, was an assistant coach for four years (1974-77) at Colorado under Bill Mallory? He tutored several star running backs at CU, including James Mayberry, Tony Reed, Terry Kunz and Jim Kelleher.

GREGORAK TO ENTER COACHING... Former CU linebacker Ty Gregorak, who graduated earlier this month with a degree in communications, is set to join the coaching ranks next January. He will return to his native Washington, where he will work as a graduate assistant with the defense on the University of Washington staff under former CU coach Rick Neuheisel (Neuheisel, of course, recruited Gregorak to CU back in 1996).

WHAT A DIFFERENCE A DAY (WILL) MAKE... Our recent announcement that the CU-Fresno State game, the inaugural Jim Thorpe Association Football Classic, is moving from Saturday (Aug. 25) to Sunday, August 26 was generally made so the contest could appear on national television. Actually, prior to this deal, there was good chance the game would have appeared only on local television in the state or just region, as the Thorpe Committee did not have a television deal before creating the game and asked our AD, Dick Tharp, to help coordinate. But there are a lot of other benefits, first and foremost in the game time. We were looking at a 2:00 or 2:30 start on Saturday for regional TV, and coach Gary Barnett really liked the idea of the game being played in the late afternoon or at night. ESPN is finalizing its schedule for that weekend, so all we know right now is that kickoff will be between 3:30 and 7:00 p.m. mountain. Documented in our release were the facts that we now avoid conflicts with campus orientations that are wrapping up on Saturday, as well as the with the first game at Invesco Field at Mile High between the Broncos and New Orleans, set for 7 p.m. that Saturday. The move to Sunday also eliminates a conflict with the Rockies on KOA; they play a 5:00 game at Milwaukee on Saturday but play at 12:00 on Sunday. And our first game will get game coverage in both Denver papers, with the recent JOA not affecting Monday's publishing schedule as well as freeing up more media for our game. One of the dumber things we heard was to ask the Broncos to move their game from Saturday to Sunday to accommodate us (yeah, right, we're already playing a game in their new stadium, and now we'd ask them to play Sunday then on a Friday, the day of their next preseason game? How arrogant would that have been?). To those worried about one day less to prepare for game two against CSU, at Invesco on Sept. 1, the effects are lessened because both games are local so there is no travel to speak of, and all we lose is film review and conditioning on Sunday-Monday's the players' day off as required by the NCAA. And since CSU will not have played yet, there is no film to review of the Rams available any way, plus the chances that the team will have a practice or two during two-a-days specifically for CSU prep is a pretty good likelihood. In short, if you have to have six days between games at any point of the year, between games 1 and 2 is the time to do it. That's why Barnett was overwhelmingly for it. And to an Internet rumor that former coach Bill McCartney said he would never play in another Sunday game after the 1990 Pigskin Classic because of the short week it created, well, Mac never said that about that game. Our next game was 12 days later, on a Thursday night against Stanford. He said it about the 1989 schedule, when CU played Texas on Labor Day night and then hosted CSU only five days later. Now that was a short week! (CU won both those games handily, 27-6 over UT and 45-20 over CSU).

FIRST P-TOODS POLL RESULTS... Response was pretty good for the first Plati-'Tudes Survey that I sent around three weeks ago. When all was said and done, 76 people participated. Almost all were devout CU fans-I think a Nebraska guy snuck in there somehow but can't be sure, and while not all think we're the greatest thing since sliced bread, most of the input was well thought out and has been passed along to several members of the athletic department for them to digest. Here's a look at the results and comments:

Who do you feel is Colorado's top rival in:
Football: Nebraska 89.2% (66), Colorado State 10.8% (8).
Basketball: Kansas 56.8% (42), Colorado State 21.6% (16), Iowa State 13.5% (10), all others 8.1% (6).
Women's Basketball: Colorado State 24.3% (18), Iowa State 13.5% (10), Kansas 13.5% (10), No Idea 13.5% (10), Missouri 10.8% (8), Nebraska 9.5% (7), all others 14.9 (11).
Overall: Nebraska 74.3% (55), Colorado State 25.7% (19).
(74 of 76 responded)

Favorite Comment: "Contests with Nebraska in all sports are competitive, with those against CSU a close second."

Plati-'Tudes View: It's apparent that Nebraska and CSU are considered by our fans as our main rivals, and I think most if not all in our department would agree (except in skiing-neither have a program, but DU and Utah are our unquestioned rivals in that sport). What was interesting is that 10 different schools were considered our rival in women's hoops (Oklahoma, Oklahoma State, Texas, and Texas Tech also received votes).

Where do you think the CU-CSU football game should be played?
Campus Sites: 74.7% (56)
Denver: 25.3% (19)
(75 of 76 responded)

Favorite comment: "My view of this game is to have each university select the site of the game when they are the home team. Your home game, your decision on where; no whining." - James Deal

Plati-'Tudes View: I'm for campus sites, but do echo the sentiment by many-that it will be cool to play in a brand new stadium. There were a lot of comments on this question, as you could imagine. A sampling of some fan comments:

"Boulder-for the college atmosphere of playing right on campus."

"Boulder-better for the students."

"Boulder-there is nothing like game day on campus."

"Boulder-playing in Denver places too high a priority on the game."

"Boulder-Mile High was good until the tailgating restrictions; we now drink in Boulder and now drive to the game."

"Boulder-Denver was a fun concept initially, but it has worn off."

"Boulder-especially if what the city of Denver is charging for Avs playoff parking (up to $40)."

"Denver-tailgating much easier."

"Denver-assuming the fans can act like adults."

"Denver-it's a good spectacle."

"Denver-but only if all CU ticket holders could be happy with their seats."

"Denver-as long as it makes financial sense for CU."

"Denver-but only because of CSU's stadium (size) situation."

What two sports would you like to see CU add in future years? Men: Baseball 66.2% (49), Hockey 17.6% (13), None 5.4% (4), all others 10.8% (8).

Women: Softball 45.9% (34), None 12.2% (9), Swimming 8.1% (6), Field Hockey 8.1% (6), all others/no idea 25.7% (19).

(74 of 76 responded)

Favorite comment: "Do it (adding baseball) please, while Irv Brown is still around to lead the bandwagon." -- Richard Engel

Plati-'Tudes View: I was surprised at the number of responses to add hockey over baseball, but that could have to do with the NHL playoffs corresponding with the survey. Hockey would be a bigger commitment financially, as there is no Big 12 Conference and we probably wouldn't get admitted into the WCHA right away, meaning a lot of eastern travel. I was on the baseball beat as a student assistant when we folded up the tent back in 1980, so I'd love to see it make a comeback.

What one non-conference team would you really like to see CU schedule in? (Note: received multiple responses, so couldn't rank by percentage):

Football: Air Force, Notre Dame, UCLA, Michigan, Ohio State and Alabama were the most popular choices.

Basketball: Over 25 teams were submitted, with Duke, UCLA, Utah and North Carolina the only schools receiving 10-plus votes.

Women's Basketball: Tennessee, Connecticut and Notre Dame were the dominant choices. (72 of 76 responded)

Favorite comments: "To be great, you must play great teams."

"I don't think any athletic department does better non-league football scheduling." - James Deal

"Two types: One, schedule for the alumni: Virginia/Maryland (DC), Army (NY), Northwestern (Chicago), Boston College, Cal/Stanford (SF). Second, bring in the big boys: Michigan, Ohio St, Florida and Tennessee all to home-and-home series. (In basketball) Consider scheduling a CU double-header at Pepsi Center, something like CU Women vs. Tennessee followed by CU Men vs. Arizona." -- Richard Engel

Plati-'Tudes View: Air Force has been cool to reviving the series in football and basketball, as it was discussed as recently as three or four years ago (the Falcons have seven league games, plus Army and Navy and Notre Dame on occasion, leaving one or two games for them to schedule outside of the region).

What is your favorite non-football or basketball sport at CU? Skiing 36.5% (27), Cross Country/Track 23.0% (17), Volleyball 18.9% (14), Golf 8.1% (6), Soccer 6.8% (5), Tennis 5.4% (4), Cycling 1.4% (1). (74 of 76 responded)

Plati-'Tudes View: It was good to see that there was a lot of interest in our national championship ski program.

What concession items(s) would you like us to offer at games that we currently do not (aside from those who want beer)?
The complete list:
Malted Milk Cups
Gatorade
Garlic Fries
Hot Wings
Health Foods
"Loaded" Nachos
Iced Tea
Subway Sandwiches
Fish Tacos
Soft Pretzels
For kids: hamburgers and chicken nuggets
Prepackaged sandwiches
Krispy Kreme donuts
Fried chicken stand
Dessert cart like the Pepsi Center
Quesadillas
Fixings for hot dogs like at Coors Field (grilled peppers, onions)
And...
Shorter lines
Courtesy and expedience
"I go to cheer, not eat."
"Brat and burger grills on the east side."
"Bigger burritos, like Chipotle."
"Burritos, like the ones at the Broncos and Rockies games."
"No buffalo burgers, it just doesn't seem right."
(70 of 76 responded)

Favorite answer: Hands down, the funniest answer in this survey-"Beer-flavored soda." (Well, second funniest; couldn't use Brent Vaughan's take on why he considers Nebraska our overall rival...)

Plati-'Tudes View: Fish tacos? What do you do with the bones? And Krispy Kreme's have hit the sports world-they sell a four pack for $5.00 at Dodger Stadium. Think there's a serious profit margin there or what...

There's a lot of misinformation out there on CU athletics (internet message boards, sometimes the media, or inherited perception). On a scale of 1-10, how satisfied are you with the CU Buffaloes?

We received grades ranging from as low as a 3 (two) to as high as 10 (four), with the average working out to 7.68.
(73 of 76 responded)

Plati-'Tudes View: It was refreshing to see that while people weren't always 100 percent satisfied, the complaints were few, often legitimate, and worded constructively without attacking coaches or staff which often the way in today's world on the web. Many graded solely on the thing they cared about the most-the performance of the teams on the field and courts. But this was the kind of input we will listen to and is exactly what I had hoped to receive. Grading to 7.68 isn't that bad, as there is obviously room for improvement but feelings of ill will against CU athletics isn't anywhere near what apparently a very select few would have you believe.

If we could do one thing better, what would you ask of us?
Some general quick shots:

"Keep scheduling quality opponents."

"Keep Athletics 2010 on schedule."

"More info on Athletics 2010, it sounds great but we need to know more."

"Bring the football team east once in awhile for the alums."

"Recognize the accomplishments of track more."

"Please do something with the bathrooms in Balch."

"The Buffs should never be pre-empted on KOA because of Rockies games."

"Hype your programs to students."

"Keep the information flowing."

"More home games and lights at Folsom." (65 of 76 responded)

Plati-'Tudes View: Many of the above appeared in multiple responses. In all, I transferred five pages of in-depth comments from people and have distributed them around the department.

As far as Athletics 2010 goes, we've nearly completed our committee work to establish benchmarks on everything in the vision, as well as recommendations on accountability and planning. The final report will go to Dick Tharp in early summer, and as stated previously, we will come out with our own report card on where we stand shortly thereafter. That will officially get the ball rolling publicly.

The bathrooms at Balch were mentioned several times (believe me, I know, as we use them year round). It's an old building with limited adaptation for change without spending a lot more money than one could imagine. Replacing the "trough" with urinals is a five-digit cost, for example. But our facilities people are aware it's not the greatest situation and will do what they can with the resources available.

Lights at Folsom are included in the skybox phase of the stadium; so hopefully by the 2002 season w e will have both, as that is the plan at present. The lights do require a new power source for the northeast side of the campus, which we will likely have to spearhead for the university, as we will be a major user.

Thanks to all who participated; several of us feel that this sort of feedback was excellent.

THIS WEEK'S NUMBER... 11. That's the number of athletic banquets Athletic Director Dick Tharp attended (he missed only men's basketball, men's golf and men's/women's track due to outside commitments). That's a lot of "rubber chicken" dinners, and he was topped only by Lisa Van Goor, our director of special events who attended all 14 we threw last school year (including the smash-hit CUSPYs and the Academic Awards Luncheon).

TRIVIA ANSWERS... CU -- Glenn Frey of the Eagles was wearing a U of C shirt in a clip of the band doing Hotel California, with the clip eventually being retooled into a music video. Godfather -- He was interested in fine art.

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"Plati-'Tudes" features notes and stories that may not get much play from the mainstream media; offers CU's take on issues raised by those who have an interest in the program; answers questions and concerns; and provides CU's point of view if we should disagree with what may have been written or broadcast. Have a question or want to know CU's take on something? E-mail Dave at david.plati@colorado.edu, and the subject may appear in the next Plati-'Tudes.