Colorado University Athletics
Plati-'tudes
January 8, 2001
A bi-weekly notes column penned by David Plati, who is in his 17th year as Colorado's Assistant Athletic Director for Media Relations.
TRIVIA QUESTIONS (leftover from the Holidays) - CU- In its athletic history, has Colorado had more competitions on Christmas Eve, Christmas Day or the day after Christmas? Godfather-I'll warn you: this is too easy, just too easy. What day was it when Vito Corleone (Marlon Brando) was gunned down in The Godfather? Bonus: What was he doing right before he was shot? And whom was Fredo (John Cazale) filling in for in being the driver?
A FEW "CU CENTURY" BOOKS ARE AVAILABLE - Fred Casotti has a box of his CU Century Books available for sale, if anyone is interested in a copy. The book is a full review of the first 100 years of Colorado football (1890-1989), and if you missed getting a copy the first time around, don't miss this chance to acquire a copy. If interested, send a check for $30 (includes postage and handling) made out to Fred Casotti, c/o Athletic Media Relations, University of Colorado, 357 UCB, Boulder, CO 80309-0357.
TOP 11 CU SPORTS STORIES IN 2000 - Nothing like Top 10 lists to instigate memories, reflection and controversy. Here are mine, and as usual, with an extra one in there because I couldn't pare it to 10; ask me in a month and I'd probably have a couple of different ones in here:
1. Kara Wheeler. Kara Grgas Wheeler. Soon to be Kara Grgas Wheeler Goucher. The CU senior had quite a year; she polished off her junior year by winning the 3,000- and 5,000-meter titles at the NCAA Outdoor Championships, then won the NCAA cross country crown in November, leading CU to its first-ever national championship in the sport. She merged her father's name (Grgas) into her name midway through the season, and then became engaged to former CU track All-American Adam Goucher in December.
2. Women's Cross Country Wins National Title. The national coach of the year in Mark Wetmore saw his women's harriers win the school's 18th national championship, as the Buffs cruised to the team win in Ames on November 20.
3. Marcus Houston. Arguably the most prolific high school athlete in state history agrees to play football for Gary Barnett's Buffaloes. It was actually one of those moments when people remember where they were; I was in Pasta Jay's having lunch with Bill McCartney and Fred Casotti, listening on an old AM radio (from about 1971-but not one of those Panasonic "S" radios). When he announced his choice on Thierry Smith's Show on KKFN, I screamed, "Yes!" and threw my fist in the air, causing the other patrons to look at me like I was nuts.
4. Football Buffs Go 3-8. Gary Barnett's second Colorado team struggled to a 3-8 record, though CU played anywhere from the first to fourth toughest schedule in the country and lost four games by four points or less and six of them by a total of 28 points. But the future is bright as CU loses only six seniors, the fourth fewest in the nation. But with almost everyone back in 2001, look for CU to begin that climb back into the nation's elite.
5. Volleyball Team Closes Strong To Earn NCAA Bid. Sitting at 8-9 almost two-thirds of the way into the season, it wasn't looking good for Pii Aiu's Buffaloes to earn a 10th straight berth into the NCAA Championships. However, an 8-2 record down the stretch, including wins over two ranked teams, earned CU that invitation. The Buffs beat Georgia Tech in the first round before succumbing to No. 4 Colorado State in five games on the Rams home floor in the second round.
6. Women's Basketball On The Rebound. Ceal Barry's Buffs matched their 1999-2000 win total (10) in early January, and proved that they are heading back to the form of old when CU whooped up on No. 16 Florida in December with an easy 98-62 victory.
7. Skiers Take Second at NCAA Championships. A spooky instance of CU's three women's alpine skiers all falling at the same exact gate in the slalom opened the door for the University of Denver to win the NCAA title and end Colorado's two-year stranglehold on the championship. But a second place finish nationally is still a good year; just ask the...
8. Men's Cross Country Team: Second at the NCAA's. Though favored to win it, CU finished second in the NCAA Championships for the first time since 1994. The team spent much of the fall ranked No. 1, but though things didn't entirely go its way at nationals.
9. Walls Leads CU To Overtime Win Over Iowa State. Jaquay Walls scored 42 points, including a 40-foot three point shot to send the game into overtime, to lead Ricardo Patton's Buffs to a 102-90 win over eventual Big 12 champion and No. 14 Iowa State on Feb. 19. The win was the second by CU over a ranked team in month (CU beat No. 17 Oklahoma on Jan. 19), as Walls output tied for the fifth most ever in a game by a Buff.
10. Men's Golfers Third at Big 12 Championships. CU's Mark Simpson was named co-coach of the year in leading the Buffs to a third place finish at the Big 12 meet last April, with super frosh Kane Webber named the conference's Newcomer-of-the-Year. If you know anything about Big 12 golf, that is one impressive honor.
11. Athletics 2010 is born. Athletic director Dick Tharp's vision, Athletics 2010, is officially unveiled, as the comprehensive plan for winning, education, facilities and culture is now underway.
COMEBACK-OF-THE-YEAR: Fred Casotti. CU's 77-year old historian almost succumbed to a stroke in mid-October, but has made a miraculous comeback and is nearly his old self.
BUFFS REUNION: Annan "Spud" Wilson and Matt Bullard, members of the CU basketball teams in the mid-1980s, posed for this picture recently when the Houston Rockets played in Seattle. Bullard, who played two years at CU before transferring to Iowa, is a member of the Rockets, while Wilson works with Boeing in Seattle.
THE "IT FINALLY HAPPENED AWARD": After seven years of dating, Assistant AD/Facilities John Krueger and Associate SID Colleen Reilly wed on July 14 in Boulder. Not to be outdone, after six years of dating, former CU Assistant SID Ollie Kirkpatrick popped the question to former soccer player (and SID student) Jenny Law in the fall. She said yes. (For more on the latter, refer to Plati-'Tudes, Volume I, Issue XXI, Oct. 17, 2000.)
THE TWINS - The last Plati-'Tudes was a Q&A, and a question that came in after that was finished was a good one and has been answered. Jerry White of Denver, along with some buddies, wanted to know more about the twins seen at most of our home events, and what their story is. Well, here's the story on 76-year old twins Betty Hoover and Peggy Coppom as relayed from Betty:
They were born on Nov. 19, 1924 in Walsenburg, the same hometown as Byron White. They moved to Haxtun when they were three, when their father set up a grocery store for his father. They remained in Haxtun until moving to Longmont in 1940 but it was on to Boulder in 1941. They were cheerleaders at Boulder High School where they graduated from in 1942, and both attended CU for a year during World War II. Both of their husbands were from Longmont, were pilots in World War II and went on to work for United Airlines after the war. Peggy's husband died in 1973 from complications of a brain tumor, which had forced him to retire early from United; Betty's husband eventually retired with United and died in 1990 (kidney cancer). They've been season ticket holders in football since the 1950s and in basketball since they became widows. Betty says they, "Didn't dress alike while we married, it wasn't very practical. But since that time, you see us together, always dressed alike. We're devout Roman Catholics, so we go to church every day. But we like to say that we pray together and play together. We're really happy with CU and are really proud of our school. We like the sporting events, the band students, just everything about our university and what goes on here and the standards that have been set. We consider CU and all the kids and staff as our families. We're grandmas to all these people. That's our story and we love it." You can see Betty and Peggy regularly sitting about 10 rows up behind the south basket. Drop by and say hello!
INTERESTING POLL - In a recent issue of Street & Smith's SportsBusiness Journal, the magazine ran a poll by sportspoll.com concerning college football fans and their watching habits. In the mountain region (it didn't identify what states, but one would assume CO-NM-UT-WY-MT-ID and possibly AZ and NV), 1,059 people were called at random, with 34.1 percent responding had attended a college football game in the last 12 months, tied for the highest percentage with the East South Central region. Two of those surveyed did not watch television, but 82.2% of the 1,057 who did watched at least one game in the 12-month period (ranking fifth out of the nine regions). And of the 859 who watched a college game, 65.9 percent planned in advance to do so (sixth), 20.5 percent discovered when flipping channels and 13.6 percent selected in favor of other options. The New England area (including New York) consistently ranked last in all categories.
UH, CHECK THAT - In a recent Detroit News survey on Division I men's basketball profits and losses (that the Boulder Camera picked up on Jan. 8), it had CU ranked 137th on the list for the most money lost in 1999-2000 with a figure of $1,199,867. It's a bit deceiving in that the Big 12 sent the numbers in and didn't recognize the television or NCAA tournament revenue for any of the 12 league schools. So for all 12, about $1.33 million has to be added to all the totals for a true comparison, since that's what all the other conferences did. That being the case, CU does not lose money on men's basketball (profit $130,133), and jumped modestly to 98th on the list. The Big 12 included the money for bowls, NCAA tournaments and all television in the overall total revenue and did not break it down into individual sports, which most, if not all, of the other conferences did. These surveys are tough to pull together, and often the information gathered is inconsistent if an exact way to tabulate the numbers isn't explained to the nth degree.
UH, CHECK THAT II - ESPN SportsCenter's John Anderson slipped this one in when recapping Oregon State's 41-9 win over Notre Dame in the Fiesta Bowl: "In Notre Dame's first visit to Tempe since it won the (1988) national championship." He should have said something to the effect of "The Irish gave up 41 points in their second straight Fiesta Bowl appearance," as CU thrashed ND 41-24 in the '95 game (it was 31-3 late in the first half before CU called off the dogs). Ah memories-Kordell Stewart rushing seven times for 143 yards and being named MVP. Remember a few saying Heisman Trophy winner Rashaan Salaam was "held" to 85 yards? They forget he scored three touchdowns before he announced he was going pro following the game.
LOOKING GOOD - The Colorado Rockies' 2001 schedule is out, and if things go as expected, there could be only one direct conflict in game times for KOA to negotiate when it comes to airing CU football. The Rockies are at San Francisco in a 2:05 p.m. start when CU plays CSU (site still pending), but CU-CSU has been a televised night or late afternoon game the last three years. On Sept. 8, CU hosts San Jose State when the Rockies host the Giants at 1:05. But that's probably the end of the conflicts; CU is at Washington State on Sept. 15 when the Rockies play at San Diego (8:05) on Sept. 15, and on Sept. 22, CU hosts Kansas in a probable afternoon game when the Rockies are at Montreal (5:05). What the heck are they doing at Montreal in late September? CU is off on Sept. 29, so there's no conflict with the Rox 1:05 game with Milwaukee.
THIS WEEK'S NUMBER - 77.1 That's the Big 12 Conference leading free throw percentage for the Colorado women's basketball team, as the Buffs have it 269-of-340 free throws in their 10-3 start this year. Linda Lappe is first, connecting of 38-of-42 for a league-leading 90.5 percent, as seven players on the squad are hitting 75 percent or better from the charity stripe in 2000-01. CU hit 43-of-49 against No. 16 Florida, an amazing 87.8 percent, which is an NCAA record for percentage with at least 40 makes; Lappe led the way, going 12-of-12. Ceal Barry's Buffs have hit 73.5 percent or better in 10 of 13 games on the year, and are 40-of-53 in conference play (75.4). As assistant SID Lindsay Anhold boldly states in her notes, "Sure, go ahead and foul us."
WHERE ARE THEY NOW?- Sarah Field Binder, a one-time CU ticket office employee and sister of Buff placekicker Tom Field, sent me some interesting information on what her brother has been up to, and it is definitely not your usual run of the mill post-college story. Tom is still fifth on CU's all-time scoring list with 190 points, though when he graduated, he was second, trailing only Bobby Anderson (Eric Bieniemy, Jeremy Aldrich and Rashaan Salaam have since passed him). Field also held the field goal accuracy mark (36-of-55) for 16 years until Aldrich passed him. After he graduated from CU in 1984, Tom eventually attended medical school, graduating from the University of Minnesota in 1991; he attended on an Air Force scholarship, so after completing his residency in 1994, he was stationed in Alaska for four years. While in residence, he worked in Kenya, Bangladesh and on an Indian reservation in Ship Rock, New Mexico. After returning to the states from Alaska, he spent time in Honduras helping the area recover from Hurricane Mitch and its devastation, and then spent nine months in the Sudan where he helped to establish the rudiments of a health care system. He most recently has worked with MEDAIR, a Christian medical organization committed to giving aid to people largely ignored by other relief organizations, and returned last fall to the Sudan. He plans on moving back to the U.S., specifically River Falls, Wis., this winter. "River Falls is a great place to be, but there's a reality of a whole world of people out there living in desperate conditions," Field told the River Falls Journal last July. "I live in River Falls as well, and enjoy all the comforts. It's very easy to forget what the realities are for a majority of the world. For me, personally, it's certainly been a learning experience. Seeing those realities of the world in a country outside the United States, a world of difficulties compared to how we live. Primary health care is a term we use in the U.S., but in Sudan it has a largely different meaning. I hope people can open up their eyes to the world outside (the United States)." Field, who prepped in River Falls, originally walked on as a member of the 1979 team, but his hard work earned him a scholarship two years later.
TRIVIA ANSWERS - CU-The Buffs have played 10 games, all in men's basketball, on Dec. 26, and have played three football games on Christmas Day (two Aloha Bowl wins and a 43-0 win over the Hawaii-Navy All-Stars in 1924). CU has never participated in an athletic event on Christmas Eve. Godfather-He was shot (five times) on Christmas Eve, after stopping to buy some fruit while Fredo waited with the car; Paulie had called in sick.
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"Plati-'Tudes" features notes and stories that may not get much play from the mainstream media; offers CU's take on issues raised by those who have an interest in the program; answers questions and concerns; and provides CU's point of view if we should disagree with what may have been written or broadcast.
Have a question or want to know CU's take on something? E-mail Dave at david.plati@colorado.edu, and the subject may appear in the next Plati-'Tudes.