What Kind of University Does CU Want to Be? – Part II

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What Kind of University Does Colorado Want to Be? – Part II

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… Related … Part I – A Brief History of Football and Academics … can be found here …

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Part II – Colorado, College Athletics and The Wild, Wild West

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“If a problem cannot be solved, enlarge it.” – Dwight Eisenhower

4. Green Eyeshade Time

In part I, I discussed the uneasy history between academics and athletics at the University of Colorado. In this half, I will discuss why the mood among the faithful reflects the belief that conditions had changed to permanently leave CU football in mediocrity.  Other schools have moved much more aggressively on NIL programs, pulling transfers out of CU that left this team both young and thin.  (In fact, CU has kept a compliance lid on NIL, frustrating fans who believe that the school should be far more dynamic.)  Worst of all, it was clear from schools being graded to possibly follow the LA schools in the next consolidation, that Colorado was no longer a top, even middling, brand.  This added to the perception that the CU administration lacks the vision and political will to make the necessary decisions to correct the situation.

There are good reasons for supporters to sense the lack of university commitment to athletics. While CU expects its AD to balance its budget, the university also cross-charges the department out-of-state tuition (~ $40,000) for athletic scholarships as opposed to in-state tuition (~ $13,000).  This amounts to approximately $6 million in added department expenses.  While every other school in the Pac-12 used university and donor funds to survive the pandemic shutdown.  CU was forced to borrow close to $18 million from the conference to get through, repaying the debt via a cut in its conference media distribution.  (To fair, CU has occasionally  used discretionary funds from the administration to plug budget gaps in the AD.  Such a fix was almost certainly employed to allow the firing of Karl Dorrell.)

And finally, there is the matter of allowing transfer students into the university.  Colorado admissions places limits of credits CU will accept (subject, grades, application to major, etc) and demands that transfers be on-track to graduate in their major.  These requirements are stricter than most conference schools (among Pac-12 schools, only Stanford maintains as stringent transfer requirements) and have placed athletic teams – not just football – at a serious disadvantage in an era where managing transfers are becoming a competitive necessity.  Listening to Phil DiStefano at Sunday evening’s press conference, it does not appear that changes to this obstacle are forthcoming.

Well, if you have read this far dear friend, you may be asking “so what?” Why not let CU be a nice liberal arts college, with lots of out-of-state kids enjoying the Boulder lifestyle, combined with strong sciences and professional schools? Why bother with intercollegiate athletics?  Since college athletics is often a multi-billion dollar enterprise catering to irrational actors, that is a fair question.

CU might not be the “Harvard of the West”, but it remains a solid school, currently ranked 97th in the US News and World Report rankings. While this record indicates that CU is a mid-level state university, with limited state support and an over-reliance on out-of-state (and international) students, it is certainly no junior college.  But if the academic side is going to prevail in this tussle, CU should state that fact and then explain how it is going to improve that 97th place USN&WR ranking.

If CU is going to claim that athletics are important, and the schools wants to see excellence in all fronts, then it will also need to find a better model under which to operate.  In fact, CU does have one academic strength that needs to be addressed.  CU remains one of 65 members of the Association of American Universities (AAU).  What is the AAU? Good question.  The AAU is a collection of America’s (and Canada’s) top research universities.  According to its website.

Our member universities earn the majority of competitively awarded federal funding for research that improves public health, seeks to address national challenges, and contributes significantly to our economic strength, while educating and training tomorrow’s visionary leaders and innovators.

AAU member universities collectively help shape policy for higher education, science, and innovation; promote best practices in undergraduate and graduate education, and strengthen the contributions of leading research universities to American society.

Who are the AAU schools?  Most, but not all, are state supported research universities.  Fifteen of the Big Ten’s member schools belong to the AAU.  Nine of the Pac-12 schools are in the AAU.  Other prominent AAU schools include North Carolina, Duke, Virginia, Texas and Florida. Sense a trend here?  Ask any CU administrator for a list of our peer schools (or aspirational schools), and most of these institutions will enter the conversation.

And this is the moment where that existential angst enters the room.  Should college football continue to consolidate sooner, rather than later, CU will find itself in a tough spot.  It was very apparent from schools listed on its wish list, that it was unlikely that CU would be invited to join the Public Ivies (i.e., The Big Ten) despite its favorable media market and faded brand.  That would leave Colorado will an unpalatable choice of moving to the Big XII, a conference CU fled a decade ago because it was tired of being the highest academic member, or the Mountain West, a conference that has five ag schools and two members who were junior colleges in my lifetime.  Not a pretty situation for a school that had its choice of conferences in recent memory.

So is it all doom and gloom? Not quite. Despite the Jeremiah’s in the press, the Pac-12 looks to survive, albeit in a diminished form.  A combination of Amazon and ESPN money, an expanded CFP playoff and the Big Ten having filled its appetite should allow the conference to survive for the remainder of this decade.  Not an ideal situation, but a situation that would allow CU to remain aligned with peer schools, reap an increase in media rights and be proactive in its approach to the future. And there is the $64 question – can CU be proactive?

Recent history indicates a gloomy picture on the planning front.  Ever since Mel Tucker was hired away by Michigan St., CU has appeared to be buffeted by the whirlwinds, unable to chart its own course as the pandemic hobbled the school and as other colleges and conferences have moved aggressively in the wake of NCAA incompetence.  The fact that budget was not in place for Karl Dorrell to build his own staff and the school’s reaction to the NIL environment added to this perception.  The defection of several starters from 2021 to other programs was a blow both to the on-field performance and fans’s morale.  Amplifying fans’ frustration has been silence from the Chancellor’s office in the wake of a disastrous start to the football season, leading folks to conclude that the school is hoping to kick this can down the road.  Again, you may ask, does this matter?

In a week when Northwestern (#10 university, USN&WR) announced plans for an $800 million football stadium, it is fair to ask why CU acts as if it cannot adequately support athletics.  One valid excuse is that many donors are either burned out or tapped out (or empty suits), and I will address that in a moment.  At a minimum, CU needed to end its silence on the topic.  Firing Karl Dorrell was a necessary, if regrettable first step. Now comes the need for Colorado’s leadership to articulate an identity and plan to achieve it.   If CU wants to tend more to the Brandeis end of the AAU spectrum than the Michigan end, state so.  But fans need to hear more than platitudes, and the school must be proactive!!

5. The V Thing

Now I will turn to the one person who can address this dilemma: CU president Todd Saliman.  Saliman, promoted from interim role this summer, claims to support athletics.  (He can be found pre-game touring campus, meeting with fans and donors.)  But Saliman is an insider, having worked up through the university finance department. This means that Saliman was not brought in to shake up a complacent university. Saliman might not have articulated a bold vision for CU, but he does understand how athletics impact the university and has the (mixed) advantage of having a unanimous backing of Regents and no serious opposition on the campuses.  But Saliman still has the rare opportunity in front of him to act boldly.

Saliman, to his credit, understands that CU cannot be miserly at this critical juncture.  In an interview with Brian Howell on Friday, Saliman stated:

“CU always lives in a financially-constrained environment in every area where we do work – academics, financial aid, research and athletics.  It’s just the nature of higher education in Colorado. We also make investments in the areas where we think we need to that are strategic and are part of a long-term strategy for success.

“Of course finances are a consideration, but finances are never the only consideration. We look at things strategically to try to determine what will benefit us most over the long term.”

If fans wondered if Colorado would have the fortitude to move on from Dorrell, Saliman signaled it did.

CU, with the Pac-12 having bought itself some time, now has a six to seven year window to address its faded brand and resolve the divisions within the campus.  Come 2028, CU can either be a leading university in a revised Pac-10+ or an in-demand school as college athletics braces for additional consolidation. But Saliman needs to provide a vision with a capital V.  He needs to formulate a solution not only for athletics but also address the sliding academic standing of the university.  If the athletic donor pool is shallow, reach out to other sources, public and private, to make the vision a reality.  Package improved aid for athletics inside a bigger vision for the Boulder campus.  And all of this needs to take place in an era of consolidation (and professionalism) in college athletics and increasing needs for private-public partnerships on campus.  (Too bad NASA cannot buy the naming rights for Folsom Field.)  Most importantly, Saliman MUST be actively involved in the hiring of a permanent replacement for Karl Dorrell – the new coach will be the public face of the university for the next few years and Saliman needs to feel confident in the hire.

In short, it will take sustained and visionary leadership, qualities not always found at CU.  Saliman will need to engage (and challenge) alumni and donors, and not just on athletics.  Saliman will also need to work the state to devise creative solutions, reform a university bureaucracy that seems to enforce mediocracy on everything, and challenge the city of Boulder, which seems to oppose any initiative to improve CU’s standing and often hostile to the student population.  The Board of Regents – which will have three new members elected next month – needs to be on record supporting – but not micromanaging – this initiative.  And more than a few sacred cows will need to slaughtered, starting with the ideas that CU can maintain academic criteria far above its actual standing as a university and any assistance given to athletics will reduce CU’s academic standing.

Mainly, however, the Vision has to be bigger than athletics or academics. It needs to address CU’s standing as an AAU university and its place in the hierarchy of top state and research universities. It should elevate athletics by elevating academics.  It needs to be both inspirational and aspirational.  And it needs to be bold.

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… Related … Part I – A Brief History of Football and Academics … can be found here …

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K Richard Engel is a Financial Planner and saloon-keeper living in Denver. He has degrees from both the Boulder and Denver campuses and was president of the Bay Area alumni chapter in the mid-1990’s.  His views are his own and do not reflect those of the University of Colorado, the Board of Regents, Franklin D Azar or the United Network Command for Law Enforcement.

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This post, about the CU Coaching Search game, from the 2022 Season, is filed under Article.
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