Colorado University Athletics
Brooks: Ariel, Kristen Solomon Join SEI In Co-Chair Roles
January 24, 2015 | General, B.G. Brooks
BOULDER - Ariel Solomon's University of Colorado football career was productive and more than a little fulfilling. Consider: He was the starting left tackle on CU's 1990 national championship team, was drafted by the Pittsburgh Steelers, and spent seven years in the NFL.
But he's also fairly certain of one thing, as he said with a smile Saturday afternoon at a media briefing at the Coors Events Center preceding the CU-Washington State men's basketball game:
"If we'd had those facilities, I'd probably gone a couple of rounds higher."
"Those facilities" are the expansive, ambitious project now underway at the northeast corner of Folsom Field. They include, among other things, an indoor practice facility, a high-performance sports center and football amenities designed to put the Buffaloes in elite company in the Pac-12 Conference and the nation.
Solomon and his wife, Kristen, are Boulder residents and CU alums who have monitored the project's progress - but they're not content in a spectator's role.
Athletic Director Rick George announced Saturday that the Solomons will co-chair CU's Sustainable Excellence Initiative (SEI), a pivotal piece of the University's "Be Boulder" campaign. George's announcement of the Solomons' participation was part of going public with the public phase of the fund-raising project - "The Drive For $105 Million."
As of Saturday, George said $72 million has been committed, leaving $33 million to raise.
Ariel Solomon, a Boulder High School graduate, is now the Managing Partner at Boulder's Premier Mortgage Group. Kristen, a Fairview High School alumna, is a Realtor with local company Wright Kingdom Real Estate.
George, the Buffs' recruiting coordinator on former coach Bill McCartney's football staff in the late 1980s, early '90s, said getting Ariel Solomon involved in the SEI was a no-brainer.
"I recruited him once, I did it again," George said, grinning and raising both arms in the air.
More precisely, Solomon said he felt compelled pitch in on a long-overdue athletic department project that is expected to be of immense benefit to student-athletes, the university and the community.
"We were excited to see the goal first of all so close and so precisely laid out," he said. "Then we were excited to be a part of this new legacy that's being built. I know how important the support was when I got to CU, both academically and athletically.
"As we all know, it's very difficult to compete in an academic classroom at (CU) no matter who you are and it's very difficult to compete on the athletic field no matter who you are, with the best athletes in the world. I know that our student-athletes need more support, and so we're excited to help support those athletes that are here today and the ones that are going to come forward.
"I think it's a part of being a Buffs, and that's why we want to give back for all the Buffs that came before me and helped support me and gave me the opportunity to come here. We want to help support the athletes here and the ones that'll come in the future."
Kristen Solomon said she was "excited to be a part of it, to be on board" with George, President Bruce Benson and Chancellor Phil DiStefano, who also attended Saturday's news conference.
George called the Solomons "two Buffs who have been in the community for a long time . . . they're invested in where we're going. They'll be ambassadors in the community and nationally."
George said the push for $105 million "is aspirational but attainable." He called the entire $156 million facilities project "transformational" and said upon completion it would help CU "to achieve our mission . . . we want to create a premier, nationally recognized athletic department."
The project's first phase - completion of the athletic administration, football locker rooms, etc. - is scheduled for early June, with the rest by the end of 2015.
NOTEWORTHY: Â George said the new building will be named "The Champions Center" and the performance center to be called the "CU Sports Medicine and Performance Center" . . . . George called the football team's 2-10 finish last fall "unacceptable," but added he has faith in coach Mike MacIntyre's ability to right the ship. "We've got to get better," George said. "Mike knows that . . . we need football to take the next step to be successful." . . . . George said he and MacIntyre "have not talked about our aspirations for 2015 - we've talked about more immediate issues. We'll talk about it after recruiting." . . . . MacIntyre is still trying to hire a defensive coordinator to replace Kent Baer. George said he would like to tell fans to be patient, "but they would say we're already patient." He said MacIntyre has "talked to some top people; we'll go after the best. Hopefully we'll bring the search to a conclusion shortly." . . . . Both CU basketball programs, said George, are in good hands. "I wish had some guys who were healthy (on the men's team)," he said. "We've got great leadership with Tad Boyle. We've had some things not go our way . . . Tad has done an unbelievable job and will do an unbelievable job for a long time here."
Contact: BG.Brooks@Colorado.EDU
