Colorado University Athletics
Pac-12 Spotlight Focuses On California, Men's Cross Country
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California Location: Berkeley, Calif. Colors: Yale Blue and California Gold Chief Rival: Stanford |
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NCAA Championships: Baseball, two; M Basketball, 1959; M Crew, 2005 (before 1997, when NCAA began governing the sport, Cal won 15 national titles); W Crew, two (also won in 1980); Football, two; M Golf, 2004; Softball, 2002; M Swimming/Diving, three; W Swimming/Diving, two; M Track and Field, two; M Water Polo, 13 12 Top Student-Athletes: Nnamdi Asomugha, football; Jill Costello, crew; Natalie Coughlin, swimming; Tony Gonzalez, football; Sheila Hudson, track and field; Chuck Muncie, football; Ron Rivera, football; James Robinson, track and field; Jeff Tyrrell, water polo; Ed White, football; Archie Williams, track and field; Dean Witter, crew Other Famous Alumni: Astronauts, nine; Nobel
Laureates, 26, including CU professor Thomas Cech; Pulitzer Prize
winners, six, including cartoonist Rube Goldberg; Academy Award
winners, seven, including Gregory Peck, Edith Head; Shining Moment: Few schoolsGÇÖ athletic history has an event to match The Big Game, circa 1982, and The Play. With Stanford leading 20-19 after a field goal with four seconds remaining, Cal used five laterals on the ensuing kickoff to score a touchdown and claim a controversial 25-20 victory. Midway through the game-winning return, members of the Stanford band had come onto the field, leaving the Cal runner(s) to weave through the musicians to finally find the end zone. The legality of two of the laterals was questioned, but the score stood. ItGÇÖs still music to CalGÇÖs ears. Classic CU: Barefoot Kicker, Defense Shines In 1972 Win Over California |
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Bet You DidnGÇÖt Know: CalGÇÖs golden years in menGÇÖs basketball came under the legendary Pete Newell (1955-60). The Bears won the conference title in four of five seasons, then won the 1959 NCAA title. They lost to Ohio State in the 1960 championship game. After NewellGÇÖs departure, Cal didnGÇÖt win another conference title for 50 years...CalGÇÖs new womenGÇÖs basketball coach is Lindsay Gottlieb, who was hired in late April to replace Joanne Boyle. Gottlieb is a former Cal assistant who spent the last three seasons as UC Santa BarbaraGÇÖs head coach. Boyle, who was hired by Virginia, coached her final game for the Bears in Boulder in March in the WNIT. CU won 81-65...Baseball was put on the chopping block in September 2010, then reinstated in April after $9 million in pledges for the sport rescued it. The program's response? Cal advanced to 2011 College World Series, its first trip since 1992...On Sept. 11, 1982, CUGÇÖs Bill McCartney Era in football began with a 31-17 beating by Cal on a rainy afternoon in Boulder...CUGÇÖs second-ever soccer game was a 2-0 loss to Cal on Sep. 1, 1996...CalGÇÖs first sport was menGÇÖs crew (1868), with womenGÇÖs crew established in 1974. While the schoolGÇÖs rival in most sports is Stanford, Washington provides the chief rivalry in crew...CalGÇÖs Edwards Stadium (22,000-plus) is the largest track-and-field-only venue in the U.S. Quotable: GÇ£Only a miracle can save the Bears now.GÇ¥ GÇô Cal radio announcer Joe Starkey after a field goal with four seconds to play sent Stanford ahead 20-19 in 1982. Buffs vs. Golden Bears/By The Numbers: Football: Cal leads 3-2; M Basketball: Cal leads 9-8; W Basketball: CU leads 5-0; Volleyball: CU leads 2-0; Soccer: Cal leads 1-0: Tennis has never met. |
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Above: Colorado races to the 2006 NCAA men's championship. |
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Distance running and the Pac-10 go hand in hand. The conference has won the NCAA Championship six times since 1996, four of those titles coming from Stanford. The other two times came in 2007 and 08 when Oregon won the championship. The Cardinal and Ducks have been the top two programs in the conference over the last decade. Stanford was ranked first heading into the national championship in 2010, while Oregon was ranked third. SU finished fourth overall while the Ducks finished sixth. California moved into the national scene recently, placing 31st at the NCAA Championship in 2010. The Bears finished third at the conference championship behind Stanford and Oregon. Arizona State will host the Pac-12 championship in 2011. Classic CU: Buff Men Claim 2001 National Title |
CU In The Pac-12 . . . Cross Country Coach Mark WetmoreGÇÖs Take: GÇ£The Pac-10 has been a traditionally excellent cross country conference for men and women GÇô but so has the Big 12. With our move, it will make the Pac-12 the best cross country conference in the country. We have generally expected to be in the top two in the Big 12 and on a good day we can expect that again. But the Pac-12 will be a little deeper than what weGÇÖre used to and on a bad day we could be fourth or fifth. On the menGÇÖs side, Stanford and Oregon have been exchanging the Pac-10 title the past few years. On the womenGÇÖs side, there were four excellent teams this year GÇô Washington, Stanford, Oregon and Arizona. They traded victories when they met throughout the season; no one team dominated. And theyGÇÖll all be good teams next fall. I would guess, on paper, probably Oregon has a little edge. But we have an excellent team, too. I donGÇÖt see (Pac-12 membership) as a recruiting benefit, but IGÇÖm willing to accept the possibility that it may be. High school students may be more attracted to the Pac-12 than they were the Big 12. But again, we donGÇÖt have a conference schedule as say, volleyball or basketball, and so it changes where you go once in the fall, once in the winter and once in outdoor track. A recruit looking at our schedule wonGÇÖt see a very different looking schedule.GÇ¥ 2010 Pac-10 Men's Cross Country Championship Pac-12 Spotlight content provided by B.G. Brooks, CUBuffs.com Contributing Editor and the Colorado Sports Information Office. |
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| Photo Courtesy: John Todd/Stanford Photo
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