Colorado State's athletic department released a video (dated Jan 10, 2014) to show support by Fort Collins community leaders and business owners for the proposed on-campus stadium project. What I found interesting is that the video specifically references Oklahoma and Texas football (even showing game footage) from around 2:10 to 2:25. Seems revealing about CSU's future conference aspirations...but what do I know.

CSU Stadium Support Video

I hope CSU gets their on-campus stadium, but the part about OU and UT playing in Fort Collins is about as realistic as the part about having the same kind of game-day atmosphere and crowds that Tennessee has.

(01-13-2014 04:44 PM)Wedge Wrote:  I hope CSU gets their on-campus stadium, but the part about OU and UT playing in Fort Collins is about as realistic as the part about having the same kind of game-day atmosphere and crowds that Tennessee has.

Yeah, I'm not sure UT or OU can match Tennessee for game-day fervor. Lol.

(01-13-2014 04:44 PM)Wedge Wrote:  I hope CSU gets their on-campus stadium, but the part about OU and UT playing in Fort Collins is about as realistic as the part about having the same kind of game-day atmosphere and crowds that Tennessee has.

I find it unlikely as well but #2 Texas did go to Laramie in 2009.

(01-13-2014 05:23 PM)GO Coogs GO!!! Wrote:  

(01-13-2014 04:44 PM)Wedge Wrote:  I hope CSU gets their on-campus stadium, but the part about OU and UT playing in Fort Collins is about as realistic as the part about having the same kind of game-day atmosphere and crowds that Tennessee has.

I find it unlikely as well but #2 Texas did go to Laramie in 2009.

Sure, they might go once. There are a lot of 2-for-1 deals, and if the G5 school agrees to terms that are very favorable to the P5 team, they sometimes even get a 1-for-1.

And CSU could have a good game day atmosphere with an on-campus stadium even if it isn't going to be on the Tennessee level of things. Fort Collins is a good town and putting the stadium on campus, near the center of things, would be a big improvement I'm sure.

No way does that school commit that kind of coin for a stadium without some quotes from major conference folks. These big facility projects preface moves. CSU will be no different.

CSU would fit in nicely with most of the current B12 schools

They'll have to build it and fill it up for a year or two, first.

Then the Big <XII might show some interest.

(01-13-2014 06:47 PM)10thMountain Wrote:  CSU would fit in nicely with most of the current B12 schools

Other than being a state school in the middle of the country with 31k enrollment I struggle to see the similarity.

20k less attendance than our lowest drawing schools
Their largest attendance in the last 16 years is only 31k, which is 20k behind where the non-TxOu group averages out to.

Budget isn't strong at all. When TCU was in the MWC they spent 71mm on athletics with 25mm on football. CSU by comparison is less than half of either mark and is less than 10-15 other Go5 schools or independents. Even with an assumed 20-25mm spike Big 12 membership would provide it's still going to be lower than any current member by 10mm plus.

Facilities in both major sports aren't up to par for the league.

Football had a nice year but hasn't been a solid performer for a while.

CSU has the potential to grow into a good fit but is nowhere near one right now.

(01-13-2014 08:58 PM)S11 Wrote:  Budget isn't strong at all. When TCU was in the MWC they spent 71mm on athletics with 25mm on football. CSU by comparison is less than half of either mark and is less than 10-15 other Go5 schools or independents. Even with an assumed 20-25mm spike Big 12 membership would provide it's still going to be lower than any current member by 10mm plus.

That's a question that any potential B12 member (except BYU) would have to answer... What are your plans for bringing your athletic department budget up to a Big 12 level?

Our AD has publicly stated his goal to increase the athletics budget by 60-70% in the next couple of years, bringing the annual budget to ~$50-55M. Not Texas-big, but much better than our historic average. Also, the facilities are getting very nice upgrades at this time, and the state-of-the-art stadium is getting closer to breaking ground.

I'm not lobbying for a BigTX invite on this board. The data strongly suggest that State has been provided targets, and human resource machinery has been geared up to reach the goals. Our president has been an administrator at State for a long time, and he's very well aware of the strengths of the university. He's hired an amazing fella for athletic director, who has hired big dogs that are well-versed in television contracts, stadia construction, and growing athletic budgets. Excellent coaches have been hired, and high standards have been established for student-athletes. Also, the chancellor of LSU has been hired as our chancellor.

Colorado State is finally reaching for its potential instead of being satisfied with mere existence in the D1 athletics world. The future is bright for Colorado State. As for any future invitation, that's outside our control, and State is becoming more attractive every month.

(01-13-2014 10:35 PM)All Rams All The Time Wrote:  Also, the chancellor of LSU has been hired as our chancellor.

Don't get too discouraged. Colorado State still has a lot to offer.