Buffs AD George Expresses 'Cautious Optimism' For Next Year
April 01, 2021 | General, Neill Woelk
BOULDER — Roughly 13 months after the Covid-19 pandemic brought college sports to an abrupt halt, Colorado Athletic Director Rick George has reason to be proud of how the department maintained its core mission during a year of unprecedented circumstances.
Through it all, — the ups, downs, false starts and restarts, testing, protocols and ever-changing government guidelines — CU's staff continued to provide a world-class experience for its student athletes while competing for and winning championships.
"I'm really proud of what we've done in our athletic department," George said in a Thursday virtual meeting with the media. "Our coaches, our staff, our student-athletes have done an amazing job."
Despite the seemingly never-ending roadblocks, CU student-athletes did indeed enjoy their fair share of successes over the last year. From a bowl game for the football team to postseason berths for the men's and women's basketball teams to an NCAA Championship runner-up finish for the ski team, the Buffs have competed at a high level.
Meanwhile, they also excelled in the classroom. CU student-athletes matched the entire Colorado student-body grade-point average for the first time ever last fall while also recording both the highest cumulative and semester GPA ever in the fall.
Through it all, the Buffs were also successful in battling the virus. As of Thursday, CU had conducted 14,395 Covid tests with just 92 positive results.
"We're 13 months into this and we haven't had the virus enter our facilities," George said. "I'm really proud of that and the discipline our student-athletes have shown over the last year. I couldn't be happier with them."
But the pandemic has also caused unprecedented and unavoidable budgetary difficulties. George said the department still faces an $18 million to $20 million deficit, and still plans on obtaining a loan through the Pac-12. The loan, he said, will likely be paid off by deducting from future years' conference distributions.
So what's ahead?
"Cautious optimism," is how George defined his outlook.
Optimistic because Colorado's professional teams — the Rockies, Avalanche and Nuggets — are beginning to allow fans. Optimistic because Colorado's home football schedule next fall is a blockbuster, beginning with a matchup vs. Texas A&M in Denver, and the men's basketball schedule will have marquee games as well.
But cautious because there's no guarantee yet that fans will be allowed to attend those games.
"I think we could fill (Folsom Field and the Events Center) if we have the opportunity to do that," George said. "We'll work closely with our county and our state on what they will allow. We'll adhere to their guidelines. I'm hopeful we can learn a lot from what the Rockies and other professional sports are doing."
Two major factors created CU's budgetary shortfall: no ticket revenue (which usually produces about 50 percent of CU's total revenue) and a roughly 50 percent drop in conference distribution.
"Those two numbers combined put us where we are," George said. "The ticket piece is really important for us. I know we've learned some things."
Thus, department officials will once again prepare for next year's budget using a variety of scenarios, ranging from full capacity to what transpired over the last 12 months — no fans in the stands.
"I'm really glad to see the Rockies being able to have 50 percent (of capacity) in there," George said. "Starting to see more people at the Avalanche and the Nuggets gives us a lot of optimism — but cautious optimism — for what the fall will look like. We'll take our direction from the county and the state."
George also addressed several other issues Thursday:
ON RECRUITING: George noted that the current NCAA "dead" period in recruiting is in place until the end of May, with a possible change to a "quiet" period to come after that. A quiet period means coaches can't go on the road to recruit, but recruits can visit campus.
George said there were actually lessons to be learned from the pandemic when it comes to recruiting. He joked that he told men's basketball coach Tad Boyle, "Go play golf every day and recruit like you have. You have the best class in your history, you don't need to be on the road."
But there was also a serious side to that comment. Recruiting has become a year-round endeavor, something George said the NCAA could curtail to a degree.
"I think there's some things we've learned that we ought to take," he said. "I know how coaches are — they want to be on the road and they want to recruit. But if there's an opportunity for us to give them some days back from not being on the road in the future because we've learned how to do it virtually, we ought to create something that gives them some of their life back where they can be with their families. I would think coaches would want to support that. I'm hopeful the NCAA and the different oversight committees look at that. We should learn something from this pandemic."
ON THE PAC-12's SEARCH FOR A NEW COMMISSIONER: "The first thing I would say is I think it's a great job because there's a tremendous amount of upside to get our reputation at a higher level than it currently is and do some things from a TV perspective," George said. "It's a tremendous opportunity for someone to be able to bring this conference to another level."
The conference is looking for a replacement for Larry Scott, who will step down this summer. Directly ahead are TV contract negotiations, with the current deals expiring in 2024.
"What I hope is that we get somebody that has campus experience," he said. "I don't necessarily think they need TV experience, but they have to be a good negotiator, sitting in that room talking about what our media rights look like moving forward. I think we have to hit the ground running on that. I don't think you wait until 2023-24. I think you need to get in the market and start having those discussions."
George said he will support whoever it is.
"I know I'm going to get behind them and support them and do everything I can to make our conference great because I do think this can be a great conference and there's a tremendous amount of upside," he said. "I'm going to work with them as best I can to make our conference great."
Contact: Neill.Woelk@Colorado.edu
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