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 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 3 posts that I’d encourage you to read:
Are you a CU band fan? This is one of my favorite blogposts:
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.
Love the idea of shutting down Colorado Ave down. Went to my first cu game this year and found the replay cams to be so odd. Glad others feel the same.
The comment on beer, is very accurate! However, there needs to be serious revamp if the beer lineup inside the venues too. It’s awful. I expect local, amazing brews and solid NA options. I’d offer my time and energy, probably more of money as a donor too, if they made this better for everyone. Keep the Coors options, add local beers, and if that happens then CU helps the local economy even more.
amazing ideas! I think we desperately need an upgrade to the sound system at Folsom. You can hardly hear the music at the beginning of the game and in between plays, which is what wraps the fans into the experience at other stadiums and get you pumped up. Right now it sounds like someone has a tiny speaker set up at a neighbors bbq.
Disagree on this one to the extent it calls for speakers blasting sound at the crowd. These are football games not concerts. The crowd noise should be the “noise” not a manufactured “pump” from over-amped speakers.
I love the idea of moving students along 1 side of the basketball court in bleacher rows. Make sure those are the rows shown on tV and the CU Event Center will ALWAYS look like it’s jumping, even if the crowds aren’t there. That matters in today’s recruiting world!
I think moving students to one sideline is fantastic, particularly if we name one of the rows the BuffsBlog row. The requirements for sitting in the BuffsBlog row would be (1) wililngness to stand for the entire game, and (2) desire to loudly review the officials in real time throughout the game. These are my people.
On replays don’t just show great plays CU made show the bad ones too for the discerning fan.
100%. If you’ve got to compete with folks staying at home watching the game on TV, you have to make the in-stadium experience at least as good from a replay standpoint. We want to see the key plays of the game, not just the key plays made by CU. And this is in addition to pulling back on the replay angle to give a wider view.
Just want to say I love your blog. There’s not much (any, tbh) CU coverage that is as smart as your blog. Also, there’s not much CU coverage that is free anymore, either. I’m a fan. Keep up the great work.
Thanks Micah. That’s really nice of you to say — it means a lot. Go Buffs!
Alright Fernando, hear this Sir:
Go back to the tradition of Ralphie Run! She should lead the team onto the field every home game, period. We’ve got the Ralphie to do it. Greatest tradition in college football. Fix it yesterday.
Agreed. I think Deion Sanders made a mistake in not initially appreciating / understanding the importance of the team running out behind Ralphie.
Love these 4.
I’d also suggest a much stronger commitment to spirit squads (cheer, band, dance & mascot) to drive the “college event” atmosphere. That’s cheap but will pay for itself because it adds value for the rest of us who buy tickets.
On a similar note, increase budget for appearance fees so that we can have a more appealing OOC home schedule. With that, raise the level of in-state interest. I’d love to see a “CO Big 4” tournament every year with CU, CSU, DU and UNC. I’d also love to see regular series with Wyoming and New Mexico. Last on this, lobby Yormark hard to get annual challenges with other power conferences Big East, ACC, B1G, SEC to add the excitement of a marquee game or two every year.
I too would much rather watch CU play Northern Colorado or DU or CSU or Wyoming than Montana State, Eastern Washington, UC Davis, San Francisco, Californai Baptist, Portland State or UTSA (all teams that CU played in the non-conference this season).
I like all these ideas. If we were in the era of unlimited facility dollars (which CU has never been in), since the 90’s I have always thought a rebuild or major renovation of the foam dome would make for a much more intimidating hoops atmosphere. If they built the stands steeper making the upper bowl smaller, so it is very loud with only 7,500 fans. I would like to see a comparison of the dimensions of the Pit v. the Foam-dome… Some places you see smaller teams play in are just nuthouses with the fans almost on the court.
Do something about the God-awful parking situation for basketball games. Takes forever to get out of there.
I mean, they’re currently trying to bribe students to come to games and it’s not working. So if you make the changes you suggest, the tv angle would be empty.
And I know as a Duke fan during holiday break they give away tickets to younger fans to fill the student section but it requires a lot of work and coordination from their ticket office that I don’t think the current CU ticket office is capable of. There also aren’t many young people that attend CU basketball games other than students.
I really disagree. There are always more students at basketball games than there are people sitting in the first six or seven rows of games anyway. And, more students will come if they have better seats. There are a lot of schools that manage to deal with the issues you’ve laid out so I don’t think it’s rocket science.
Gosh I like reading your copy. I always come away knowing something I didn’t know before. Your enthusiasm is infectious. It’s going to be a great season. 🦬
Thanks Clare!
If you are in Balch fieldhouse at halftime, there are 2 very stupid things that occur. The path into the building on the north side (near my section 104, not the true north entrance), gets intentionally blocked for 5 minutes or more so less than 10 asst. coaches or analysts can eventually leave the press box. Hundreds of fans wait for these few people to pass. Makes you want to attack them as they amble out. The other thing is that it is impossible to walk through the fieldhouse because the long lines emanating from the food stands come out perpendicular to the sides of the fieldhouse, and are so long they meet in the middle of the area,facing opposite directions. Put up railings in front of each food stand that are angled away from the center of the whole, decrepit building, leaving the center open for foot traffic. Nobody likes walking through multiple lines just to get across Balch.
Hi Frenado,
thanks for reading the comments on this site, pyched that you are the new AD! Here are a couple of suggestions that cost nothing and would make the game day experience better. VT has the team run out to ‘enter sandman’ we need to copy this. Have the team run out behind Ralphie to a high energy stadium rock anthem, my vote is ‘thunderstruck’ or ‘crazy train’. We also need to have a sing along between the 3rd and 4th quarter like UM does with ‘mr. brightside’ and UWV does with ‘country roads’. Obviously there is only one song for this, ‘rocky mountain high’. Also, we all realize that we’re a steeping stone for you and that your going to eventually end up in the P2. Your a young buck, you’ve got time. Don’t just jump at the first offer, stay here for 5ish years, learn how to be a great AD and build a great AD. It will serve you well in the long run. Plus your family will get to live in a great place for a while(most of those P2 places are ok but not great).
Thanks, Mike