Sudden Im-PACK-T: CSU-Pueblo athletics thriving

Addition of 3 Sports Has Athletics on the Upswing

By Jeff Letofsky, The Pueblo Chieftain

They have come a long way, baby.

A decision two years ago to bring back three sports has made quite an impact on the Colorado State University-Pueblo athletics department. So much so that excitement and enthusiasm on and off campus has reached its highest level in more than 20 years.

The return of football, wrestling and women's track during the 2008-2009 season has affected a myriad of areas including attendance, budget, enrollment, participation, revenue, scholarship monies, staff and salaries.

When the Colorado State University System Board of Governors approved the expansion of the athletics program at CSU-Pueblo in early May of 2007, the wheels began turning. No one knew at the time how much adding three sports -- football, wrestling and women's track -- would impact the athletics department, much less the entire school population and inject a fresh outlook.

In addition to expanding sports, the school has undergone a facilities face-lift with the construction of the Neta & Eddie DeRose ThunderBowl, a new student recreation center and student recreation field, the refurbishing of Massari Arena and the continued improvement of the Rawlings baseball, softball and soccer complexes. The numbers show just how much has changed -- in just one year.

The athletics budget has grown 57 percent from $2.3 million during the 2007-2008 year to $3.6 million during the 2008-2009 year.

Student-athlete enrollment has doubled, going from 190 participants to 385 participants last year.

Dorm students have nearly doubled, going from 385 to 769. And that number will continue to grow with the addition of new dorms that will be completed in the fall of 2009 and the fall of 2010.

Ticket sales for athletic events have more than tripled, going from $25,000 in 2007-2008 to $82,000 last year. And that doesn't include football season tickets.

Concessions and wearable sales have gone over the top from $8,000 to $65,000, an 812 percent increase.

The athletics staff has increased 45 percent in two years. Staff members totalled 31 during the 2006-2007 school year. This past year, 45 staff members were on board.

And corporate partnerships have risen 82 percent in a year from $110,000 to $200,000.

The influx of monies from a group called the Friends of Football spearheaded by the DeRose family, has made a major impact.

Friends of Football contributed $13.5 million for the startup of three new sports (football, wrestling and women's track) along with the construction of the ThunderBowl and fieldhouse. The university also receives $150,000 a year toward football scholarships from FOF.

"We're very pleased with the numbers and the growth," CSU-Pueblo President Joe Garcia said. "We knew it was a bit of a gamble to bring back football and the other sports. But the community, faculty and staff have been very supportive. This will only work if football can support itself and so far that's happened.

"We're very pleased with the increased interest from students in Pueblo, Southern Colorado and beyond. A lot of it is attributable to the programs we've added."

The revival has injected a new energy into the Belmont campus that has been missing for years.

Over a 16-year period, the athletics program at CSU-Pueblo was heading in a different direction. Football and five other sports were dropped in 1985. The men's and women's track programs followed suit in 1993 and wrestling was axed in 2001.

Slowly, the department has recovered from the elimination of sports.

Baseball returned in 1994 and two years later the team became the first Colorado school to land a berth in the NCAA Division II World Series. Head coach Stan Sanchez's club has annually earned berths to regional play -- seven times in the past 16 years.

"There's a sense of energy throughout our campus," said Sanchez, who enters his 17th season this fall. "Our program has been impacted because football has given our campus more of a collegiate life. Our players now can experience the Saturday football game. That's helped us in recruiting and we've been able to sell that." Sanchez also mentioned that he's open to someday landing a two-sport athlete who could play both football and baseball.

"Hopefully, down the road we'll run into a two-sport guy that could benefit both programs," he said. Other sports have joined in.

The women's basketball program under head coach Kip Drown has made it to regional play three times in the past four seasons.

"The biggest thing is the enthusiasm I sense in the community, particulary from football," said Drown, who has been at CSU-Pueblo for four seasons. "From my first couple years here there's a pride we may not have had prior. We used football (home) weekends for our recruiting weekends. All four of the kids we brought in signed.

"It's created a real buzz, a real energy both on campus and in the community. It's a boost to all the athletic teams that are going to benefit us for years to come."

The wound from the past is quickly healing.

CSU-Pueblo now boasts 15 intercollegiate sports -- seven on the men's side and eight on the women's side. The pinnacle was reached this past season (2008-2009) when five different programs qualified for NCAA Division II regional play -- baseball, men's golf, men's tennis, softball and women's basketball.

And now there's talk of adding a couple more sports in the near future -- possibly men's track and field and women's lacrosse.

CSU-Pueblo Athletic Director Joe Folda says the reason for the boon to the university is three-fold.

"President Joe Garcia's leadership, the generosity of community members and the addition of new sports are the primary reasons for the CSU-Pueblo enrollment growth," Folda said.

CSU-Pueblo enjoyed the largest freshman class (1,033) in history in 2008-2009, a 65 percent increase from the 2007-2008 year. The overall enrollment increase of the university was substantial -- from 4,142 to 4,610 -- or 11.3 percent.

"People are noticing for the first time that CSU-Pueblo is here and has something to offer," Garcia said. "Not all the new students are athletes or football fans but people are seeing things happening here that weren't happening before.

"It's fun to walk around this campus and feel the energy and see the greater numbers of active and engaged students. It feels a lot more like a traditional, residential campus."

And the future looks just as bright.

Projected new facilities projects include a renovation of the library and the renovation of the new classroom building/student center.

Also, new academic programs are in the works.

"We are adding and continue to add more graduate programs to meet demand," Garcia said. "We're also looking to add professional programs to serve economic programs in Southern Colorado."

letofsky@chieftain.com