Folsom, Balch, Ward, Potts, Prentup: The People Behind The Names On CU's Facilities

BOULDER — The names are familiar to anyone who follows the Colorado Buffaloes: Folsom, Balch, Ward, Prentup and Potts, just to name a few.

They are the names on CU's athletic facilities, folks from the past whose contributions to the university merited remembrance.

Some are well-known to those who have a little sense of history. Fred Folsom, CU's second football coach, built the Buffs into a regional power and still has the best winning percentage of any football coach in CU history with more than one season at the helm. Frank Potts, legendary cross country and track coach, served as a CU coach and administrator for 41 years — still a CU record. Dal Ward was another highly successful football coach who led the Buffs into the Big 7, bringing them into the national spotlight.

But what about the others?

Glad you asked.

Here's a quick primer on 11 of CU's athletic facilities and the folks whose names grace them.

If you know all 11, consider yourself a Buffs Fan Extraordinaire.
8 to 10 – Grade A Buff.
5-7 – You know your stuff, you just needed a refresher.
1-4 – Time for some homework.
0 – Have a good time in Lincoln.

Folsom Field — OK, we'll start with an easy one. As we mentioned, Fred Folsom was CU's second football coach, but he replaced a man (Harry Heller) who served just one year. Folsom left a much bigger imprint, serving as the head coach at three different junctures for a total of 15 years between 1895 and 1915, compiling a 77-23-2 record along the way for a 76.5 winning percentage — still the best of any CU coach with more than one year of service. A member of the CU Athletics Hall of Fame, he won nine conference titles and his 77 wins were the most in CU history until Bill McCartney finally surpassed him in 1993. Folsom also coached CU's baseball team for two seasons and earned his law degree at Colorado, eventually teaching at CU's law school for nearly four decades. (One of his students, Byron White, would also go on to become rather famous as an athlete and jurist.)

Folsom Field, by the way, opened in 1924 and was originally known as Colorado Stadium. It was changed to Folsom Field in 1944, soon after Fred Folsom's death.

Balch Fieldhouse — Home to some of CU's best basketball teams over the years, Balch Fieldhouse opened in 1937 as simply the "CU Fieldhouse," a name it carried until the 1976-77 season.

That's when it was renamed Balch Fieldhouse in honor of longtime Buffs swim coach and athletic administrator Roland "Doc" Balch. A former Naval officer, Balch served two years as CU's head athletic trainer (1946-47), then became CU's first men's swimming coach, serving from 1949 to 1961.

But Balch Fieldhouse housed the CU basketball teams only three years after taking Doc Balch's name. In 1979, the CU Events Center opened and the basketball teams moved across campus.

Dal Ward Center — Opened in August 1991 on the heels of a national championship football season, the facility bears the name of a Colorado Sports and CU Athletics hall of famer, Dallas Ward.

Ward was CU's head football coach from 1948-58, when he compiled a 63-41-6 record that included a 27-21 win over Clemson in the 1957 Orange Bowl — Colorado's first-ever bowl victory.

Ward, who also served as an assistant athletic director from 1963-74, coached one year in the Mountain States Conference before the Buffs joined the Big 7.

Carlson Gym — Once a facility used regularly by CU's varsity sports, Carlson Gymnasium is now utilized mainly for for intramural activities while also housing some research facilities.

But the man for whom it is named, Harry Carlson, was a giant in Buffs history. He was Colorado's first athletic director, taking the position in 1927 and serving for 38 years until he retired in 1965 (he was replaced by Eddie Crowder, who Carlson had hired as CU's football coach three years prior).

Carlson's impact at CU is still felt. He was the man responsible for taking Colorado into the Big 7, a move generally seen as taking CU into the era of "big-time" college athletics. He oversaw the construction of Colorado Stadium (later to become Folsom Field); he coached the baseball team for 18 seasons and won 11 league titles; and in 1934, he approved "Buffaloes" as the school's official nickname/mascot. Carlson also served as a CU Regent and is a member of the Colorado Sports and CU Athletics halls of fame.

Franklin Field — The field next to the stadium and adjacent to the Champions Center is named for Walter Franklin, who served in a variety of capacities in the CU Athletic Department. Franklin worked for 17 years as the department's business manager (1923-40), was a faculty representative for two years (1947-48), and was the men's golf coach for three seasons (1934-36).

One other noteworthy accomplishment: Franklin was one of three judges in the contest that ultimately selected "Buffaloes" as the school's official mascot. The other two were Harry Carlson and newspaper reporter Kenneth Bundy.

Casotti Press Box — High above Folsom Field on the west side sits the press box named after longtime CU Sports Information Director Fred "Count" Casotti.

Casotti served as CU's Sports Information Director from 1952-68, then as an associate athletic director under Eddie Crowder and Bill Marolt from 1968-87. A member of the College Sports Information Directors of America, the Colorado Sports and the CU Athletics halls of fame, Casotti was a 1949 CU grad who also served as a press aide at the 1960 Winter Olympics in Squaw Valley, Calif., and manager of the U.S. Alpine team for the 1964 Winter Olympics in Innsbruck, Austria. Casotti also authored three books on CU football.

Prentup Field — Once the home of the Buffaloes' baseball team, Prentup Field is where CU's soccer team now roams. It is named for longtime CU baseball coach Frank "Chief" Prentup, who headed the program for 24 seasons, compiling a 257-255-2 record. Prentup also worked as an assistant football coach for 15 seasons under three different head coaches and was an assistant professor in physical education from 1941 to 1976. He is also a member of the CU Athletics Hall of Fame.

Potts Field — Originally constructed in 1967, the home of CU's track and field teams was dedicated in the name of longtime track coach Frank Potts in 1984. Potts, a member of the Colorado Sports and CU Athletics halls of fame, coached at CU for 41 years — the longest tenure of any CU coach or athletic administrator. Potts coached five NCAA champions and more than 50 conference champions, including CU's first NCAA champ, high jumper Gil Cruter, who would go on to own the world record at one point. Potts also stepped in to coach the football team during World War II, compiling a 16-8-1 record.

Byron White Club Level Lounge — High above Folsom Field in the club level seating is the Byron White Lounge. If you don't know who Byron "Whizzer" White was, shame on you.

Google it. Now go away.

OK, just kidding. Kind of.

Here's the skinny on perhaps CU's greatest alum ever (and not just in athletics):

CU's first All-American after setting national records with 1,121 yards rushing and 122 points in 1937, leading the Buffaloes to an 8-0 regular season record and Cotton Bowl bid. A Rhodes Scholar. Two-time All-Pro halfback. Member of the College Football Hall of Fame, the Big Eight Hall of Fame and the GTE Academic Hall of Fame.

But that's not the most important stuff. After he quit playing football, White was just getting started.

White also served for 31 years as a U.S. Supreme Court Justice (1962-93) — after serving as a decorated naval intelligence officer in World War II and a deputy U.S. Attorney General. That resume is why he was the first inductee into the CU Athletics Hall of Fame, and the only member of the class.

Bill McCartney Football Offices — On the fourth floor of the CU Champions Center, the home for CU's current coaching staff is named after the winningest coach in Colorado history, Bill McCartney.

For those of you who don't know – c'mon. Really?

McCartney finished his 13-year coaching career at CU with a 93-55-5 record that included a 1990 national championship and nine bowl games. His teams won three Big Eight titles, recorded 10 consecutive winning seasons in league competition and finished in the top 20 in the nation six times. He also coached CU's only Heisman Trophy winner (Rashaan Salaam) as well as two Thorpe Award winners (Deon Figures and Chris Hudson) and scores of all-Big Eight and All-American performers. The unanimous national coach of the year in 1989, he is a member of the College Football, Colorado Sports and CU Athletics halls of fame.

Kittredge Field — We saved the toughest for last. If you know this, consider yourself a Buffs legend.

Long a facility for intramurals, the field adjacent to the Kittredge dormitory complex is now the home of CU's lacrosse team. The man for who it is named never lived in Boulder or attended CU. But without him, the university might not even exist.

Col. Charles Kittredge was a state legislator from Colorado Springs in the early years of Colorado statehood. He is the man who sponsored a bill in 1877 that authorized the operation of CU and provided it with a revenue stream through a state property tax. It was enough to get the fledgling school on its feet, and the rest is... well, you know what they say.

Contact: Neill.Woelk@Colorado.edu

Folsom, Balch, Ward, Potts, Prentup: The People Behind The Names On CU's Facilities

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