Dear Fernando Lovo,
Welcome to Boulder.
It’s a beautiful (and strange) town. You’ve inherited one of the most naturally beautiful backdrops in college athletics. But by now you’ve probably learned that Colorado’s biggest rival isn’t Nebraska – it’s Zillow. Boulder is the only city in America where you can see a 24-year old with dreadlocks, wearing a $900 Patagonia jacket, screaming about the “evils of capitalism” from the porch of a house his father bought him with Nvidia stock.
“You’re not a free spirit, Caleb. You’re a $4 million PR campaign with a ketamine habit. You’re just the organic, fair-trade glitter your dad sprinkles over his conscience to distract from the fact that he’s priced an entire generation out of their own zip code.”
Never change, Boulder.
But while you need millions of dollars to afford real estate in Boulder, you don’t need millions of dollars to make some much needed changes to the CU football and basketball experience. So we’re going to give you several low-cost, high-return moves that will dramatically elevate the Colorado fan experience almost immediately.
Real progress, Fernando, and no trust fund needed.
Here’s the short list of changes that you can (and should) make that won’t break the bank. CU fans, if you have other thoughts, drop them in the comments! I want to hear what you’d add to the list.
Move the Banners
Spotting the banners at the CU Event Center is like playing Where’s Waldo.
Let’s start at the CU Events Center.
At some point, Colorado administrators decided to hang CU’s championship banners above the concourse instead of above the basketball court.
Read that again.
The banners celebrating the greatest moments in program history are essentially tucked behind infrastructure, ductwork, and overhangs — barely visible from large portions of the seating bowl. From most seats, you can’t feel the history. You have to go looking for it.
That’s backwards.
The court is the stage. Not the concourse. CU needs more visual weight inside that building — more murals, more historical markers, more reminders that real players built this program. (For the record, the new Wall of Honor is a strong step in the right direction.) But hiding the banners above the concourse undermines the very idea of honoring greatness.
Last year I did a hoops road trip to Iowa, Michigan, and Notre Dame.
[Please read the story — I got a lot positive feedback, and CU enacted the “Round Up for NIL Campaign” in part because of the story:]
You know where Michigan’s, Iowa’s and Notre Dame’s banners are?
Above the basketball court. Shocking concept.
When you walk into those arenas, the history hits you immediately. It’s in every TV shot. Recruits see it. Opponents see it. Fans see it.
At the CU Events Center, the building doesn’t feel heavy. It should. Let’s move the banners, Fernando.
And while we’re at it, let’s upgrade the lighting. Right now it feels less like we’re playing in a badly lit rec center. If we want the building to look big-time on television, and to feel big-time in person, these are relatively simple places to start.
Pull Back the Camera on Replays
Now let’s move to the in-person football experience.
There is one fix at Folsom Field that would cost exactly zero dollars and immediately improve Saturdays:
Stop zooming in so tight on replay reviews that no one can, you know, see the play.
When a replay goes up on the jumbotrons, the in-stadium feed locks in so close that fans can count the pores on the quarterback’s nose but we can’t see the route combination, the coverage, or whether there was actual pass interference.
We see a very, very tight zoom on the football.
But we don’t see the play.
It’s maddening. And this isn’t new. Fans around me in Section 106 have been complaining about it for YEARS AND YEARS.
The solution is simple:
Show a view from the traditional TV broadcast angle first.
Let the stadium see the play develop. Let them understand the play.
Then — if you want — show the tight zoom for detail.
When fans can see what’s happening, they feel like they’re part of the game. They react together. They debate it together.
Right now? The replay feed at Folsom doesn’t create clarity. It creates confusion.
Let’s makes the in-stadium experience more enjoyable. Let’s pan out on the replays.
Move the Students at the CU Event Center
Back to the hoops experience.
Most high-level college basketball programs have figured something out: put the students in the first six to eight rows – in newly created bleachers — along one full sideline, typically behind the benches, and let them drive the energy of the building.
Why? Because when students line an entire side of the court, the energy becomes constant. Even on nights that aren’t sellouts, the arena feels alive. Students show up because they have the best seats in the house. And on television, it looks like chaos in the best possible way. It also sells more non-student tickets, because people want to experience the atmosphere.
It’s not accidental that programs like Michigan, Duke, Kansas, and Michigan State do this. They understand that atmosphere is an asset. It’s branding. It’s recruiting. It’s competitive advantage.
The Maize Rage at Michigan is just one student section that sits along one side of the court.
Yes, shifting the student section to the west sideline at the CU Events Center would displace some season-ticket holders. That’s the uncomfortable part. But the payoff is a more hostile home court, better TV optics, stronger student buy-in, and ultimately more demand for tickets overall.
Right now, the students are stuck on one end of the court. They’re not positioned to dominate the visual and emotional center of the game.
Move them to bleacher-style seating along one entire sideline. Give them the first six to eight rows. Put the energy where the cameras live.
Do that, and the CU Events Center transforms into one of the better home-court environments in the Big 12.
And while there’s some cost involved — removing traditional seating and installing bleachers isn’t free — it’s the kind of investment that pays for itself quickly in atmosphere, optics, recruiting buzz, and ticket demand.
A Killer Pre-Game Party
Bevo Blvd. has turned into a massive success for Texas and drives material revenue to the Texas AD.
Fernando, you’ve seen this movie before. You helped implement “Bevo Boulevard” at Texas, and you helped create “Louie Lane” at New Mexico.
It’s time for “Buff Boulevard” Pregame Fan Fest.
Shut down Colorado Avenue pregame. Bring in food trucks. Bring in bands and DJs. Make sure there’s lots of big screen TVs — lots and lots of big screen TVs — showing early games. Create a beer garden partnership with local breweries. Have a CU bookstore pop-up selling spirit wear. Make this a defined, high-energy arrival corridor for the team’s “Buff Walk.”
By creating a packaged, repeatable and university branded fan zone, CU will boost gameday attendance. This will give casual fans a reason to show up early, increase food and beverage revenue, and improve the fan experience. It turns a 3 hour experience into an all-day experience.
The Denver Broncos have been really successful with this concept. They created Mane Street, which opens 3 hours before kickoff and includes bands, family-friendly entertainment, cheap(ish) beer, lots of big screen TVs, and food trucks.
CU already has a Fan Fest on Duane Field but there’s massive room for improvement. It feels minor league compared to what it could be.
Let’s shut down Colorado Avenue, create Buff Boulevard, and watch the money come in. [And I lied — there is a cost to this suggestion. But I, uhh, suggest that the revenue from this event would more than pay for the upfront cost.]
In Conclusion….
These are just a few starting points. There are more (upgrading the sound system at Folsom, adding additional hydration stations at Folsom and the CU Event Center, bringing in an on-court DJ for basketball games, and tightening up a dozen other small details that separate good environments from great ones), but we’ll pace ourselves.
The point isn’t to overwhelm you. It’s to emphasize that meaningful improvement doesn’t always require cranes and capital campaigns. Sometimes it requires intention. Sometimes it requires moving a banner. Sometimes it requires pulling the replay camera back 15 feet.
We’re excited to have new leadership and fresh perspective in the athletic department. It was badly needed. Welcome to Colorado.
And seriously — about the housing prices — you might want to look in Longmont.
Go Buffs!
Sincerely,
BuffsBlog
What do you think? Do you agree with any of the above suggestions? Do you have other “fixes” that Fernando Lovo should know about? If so, drop them in the comments below.
Want to read more from BuffsBlog? Yes? Okay. Here are 2 posts that I’d encourage you to read:
Here’s a story on a newcomer to the football team that is destined to be a team captain for the Buffs:
Or check out this story on an Alabama 5-star recruit that might be the catalyst for CU’s offense this upcoming season:
Yes, yes, yes and yes on items 1-4. Well done.
For me, I was just glad we got rid of the screeching cheerleader that led the “GO CU” cheers before football games.
Hanging banners like that at the CUEC is egregious. I’ve never noticed it before but you’re 100% right.
I think we need more free water stations at Folsom and CUEC. I can’t find a drinking fountain in either of those places to save my life.
And save the bathroom troughs at Balch.