Colorado University Athletics
CU Hosts 'Front Range Huddle' To Kick Off College Season
August 22, 2019 | Football, Neill Woelk
DENVER — College football took center stage in Denver on Thursday, as the University of Colorado hosted a kickoff event featuring five Front Range programs at Blake Street Tavern in Denver.
Head coaches from Colorado, Colorado State, Air Force, Colorado Mines and Northern Colorado were on hand, as were players from most of those programs. A half-dozen television stations from up and down the Front Range, radio stations, newspapers and other media outlets took the opportunity to conduct one-on-one interviews with coaches and players one more time before the season begins.
The event was reminiscent of the old "Big Five Huddle," a one-time weekly event in Denver that brought together Front Range coaches and players for a weekly press conference. Former CU sports information director Tim Simmons expressed an interest in reviving the format as a preseason event and approached CU's David Plati about the possibility and Plati put the event together. Approximately 60 media members attended Thursday's first "Front Range Media Huddle."
Attending from Colorado were head coach Mel Tucker and quarterback Steven Montez, as well as CU men's basketball coach Tad Boyle. Other football coaches in attendance included Colorado State's Mike Bobo, AFA's Troy Calhoun, Gregg Brandon from Colorado Mines and UNC's Earnest Collins.
Northern Colorado is actually the first state school to play this year, traveling to San Jose State next Thursday for the Bears' season opener. Colorado and Colorado State then square off one day later (Aug. 30) at Broncos Stadium at Mile High in a nationally televised 8 p.m. contest (ESPN). Air Force opens Saturday, Aug. 31, with a home game against Colgate and Mines kicks its season off Sept. 7 at Adams State.
While it will be the first Rocky Mountain Showdown for Tucker, it is by no means his first taste of a major rivalry. He gently reminded media members Thursday that he has coached in some historic rivalries during his career, including Chicago-Green Bay and Pittsburgh-Cleveland in the NFL, as well as Alabama-Auburn, Ohio State-Michigan and Georgia-Florida as a college coach.
"I'm really excited about (the Showdown)," Tucker said. "I've heard so much about it. The crowd with both schools, the fans, the atmosphere that's created in this game. It's going to be a special night and I'm really looking forward to it."
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