(03-11-2017 03:13 PM)Pervis_Griffith Wrote:  

(03-11-2017 12:38 PM)BearcatJerry Wrote:  

(03-11-2017 12:15 PM)lew240z Wrote:  The University of Colorado Denver has an enrollment of 33,707. That is only 18 students less than CU Boulder. But the Lynx have no athletic department.

I attended UC-D for a year and Metro State for the rest of my undergraduate time. (They, along with the Community College of Denver) occupy a single campus just outside of downtown Denver.

You need to know something about the history of all three institutions, which stems from the 1960's... They were intended to form a singular unit; in theory, one could start at CCD and get their GED and Associate's level degree. They could then either proceed into the field or continue on with their Bachelor's level degree at Metro (MSC, then MSCD, and now MSU-D). CU was looking to get into the Denver market and was worried that the new Metro State would lock them out ...

Not doubting you at all, since you were there, but Boulder is right next to Denver. Practically on the outer interstate loop of the city now, but even in the 60's, it's not far away at all. How were they concerned about losing the Denver market? It's not like it's Colorado Springs or anything. Seems kinda silly.

Historically, Boulder has always been it's own little place. "In the old days," there was actually a fair bit of distance between Denver and Boulder. Add in the fact that Boulder was principally a "University Town," there was a whole lot of cultural differences between the two. Boulder was the place you "went away to" to go to school. Having a Denver Campus allowed the University of Colorado not just be "someplace you went to for four/six/eight years 'to get' your degree..." but also to get into the market for professionals who were looking to augment their undergraduate degrees from other institutions.

Nowadays, the Denver megalopolis stretches almost uninterrupted from Fort Collins in the North, down past Castle Rock (almost to Colorado Springs) in the South, and into the hills above Boulder, to beyond Golden (in the west) and then stretching out onto the plains on the east. My family moved to the (then) edge of Aurora in 1979, and Golden was still considered "outside" the city.

So...yeah...

Oh, and FWIW, the only major University in Denver, before the 60's, was the University of Denver, which was a smaller private (and very expensive) University. (There were a handful of smaller colleges including Loretto Heights, but they were tiny...) So, when UC-D and Metro State were formed, as Public colleges, it was a big deal for Denver. Up until that point, you needed to either "go away" for a state school (CU, C A&M...now CSU..., UNC, or a host of other smaller State Colleges around the state) or pay big $$$ for a private.