Colorado University Athletics
Billups Commits $100K To Chauncey's Kids
January 19, 2006 | General, Men's Basketball
BOULDER - The announcement of the "Chauncey's Kids Roundup" program for area youth was the highlight of University of Colorado athletic director Mike Bohn's third media roundtable, which took place here Thursday.
Former CU basketball and current Detroit Piston star point guard Chauncey Billups has made a $100,000 commitment over the next four years to fund the program ($25,000 annually), which will sponsor at least 10,000 area children each of those years at men's home basketball games. He also announced his intention to complete his degree; he declared his eligibility for the National Basketball Association draft following his sophomore year at CU in the spring of 1997.
Billups spoke to the 12 members of the media in attendance via conference call from New York, where the Pistons play the New York Knicks Thursday night. "I am very excited for this opportunity to resurface in the community of Boulder and the arena that I miss so much from when I was there," he said. "I loved playing there.
"I'm excited to give these kids from my neighborhood and other neighborhoods an opportunity to come out and see some great college athletics. I wish I could be there more, but these kids being there will make me feel a whole lot better."
Bohn congratulated Billups for his tremendous support of the program through the years and his willingness to take an active role in the development of the program, which was a success in football under the name of Ralphie's Kids.
Billups spoke fondly of CU and head coach Ricardo Patton often during the 15-minute call. As a sophomore in 1996-97, he led the Buffaloes to the school's first NCAA postseason appearance in 28 years, and once there, CU knocked off Bobby Knight's Indiana Hoosiers in the first round before giving Dean Smith's North Carolina Tarheels all they could handle in the second round. The Buffs were 22-10 that season, finishing second in the inaugural Big 12 Conference standings.
"My relationship with Coach Patton is so strong," Billups said. "I just want to be around there and help him out. We won and got to the NCAA Tournament, which was the best thing I had ever experienced at that time. Now I've been in the (NBA) Finals and won everything, but I'll never forget going to the NCAA Tournament. Before I left, we had the program rocking. It was loud (in the Coors Events Center) and a lot of it was because of the kids. The sky is the limit for that program.
"The potential is unbelievable," he continued. "You're talking about one of the most beautiful cities, one of the most beautiful college towns in the country, period. You have a great coach in Coach Patton. He does it the right way; he's honest with you and tough on you, but that's what you need. The schooling is great, and after school is over with, (Boulder) is a fun town. You're close to a major city, in Denver. So you can't lose with all of that stuff, we have to start selling it more. At the same time, kids have to know that if they come here, they will have a chance to win."
Interested youth groups interested in participating in the Chauncey's Kids Program for men's games or for Ralphie's Kids Program for women's games can call 303-492-0099 or log on to CUBuffs.com and click the Ralphie's Kids icon on the right side of the home page.
OTHER HIGHLIGHTS... Bohn announced several things, including the naming of Brad Neher as interim head men's golf coach (see separate release), a home-and-home series in football with the University of Minnesota in 2012-2013, the discussions and intention to make Air Force the first men's basketball opponent of the season every year, and that membership in the Buff Club Cabinet had reached 38 people in just nine weeks (all have committed $25,000 over each of the next three years for an overall total of $2.85 million).
Three CU basketball legends will have their jerseys honored at the February 11 men's game against Texas Tech (2:00 p.m.). Robert Jeangerard and Jim Davis (who both wore No. 20) and Scott Wedman (No. 4) will have their numbers and careers officially recognized at halftime.
Associate AD Ceal Barry gave a quick overview of academics, and reported that seven of CU's sport programs boasted team grade point averages of 3.0 or better, topped by a gaudy 3.53 by the women's ski team. Five student-athletes have perfect 4.0 grade point averages: Ryan Anderson (golf), Lucie Zikova (skiing) and Erin Heinonen, Daniel Kenney and Stephanie Bohler (cross country & track). In addition, 133 of 310 student-athletes, or 43 percent, posted GPA's of 3.0 or better.
