Fancy fine with Bu≠s
CU football team now has palatial locker room to call home
boulder» Mike MacIntyre has a problem. You can file this one under dilemmas that won’t keep him up at night.
Colorado’s third-year head football coach might have to set a curfew for when players have to be out of the locker room at night. The Buffs are so thrilled with their new digs, some of them don’t want to return to their dorms or apartments.
The Buffs finally were allowed to move into their new locker room and team lounge Sunday in the new Champions Center. While there is still plenty of work to do to complete Colorado’s massive new athletic department home and indoor facility, the football team is getting accustomed to having all the amenities it could possibly want before and after practices as preseason camp proceeds.
“We’ve been waiting all summer to get in there and (Sunday) night was ... guys were jumping around and super excited,” senior wide receiver Nelson Spruce said. “It’s awesome. I get one semester here, but I’m going to enjoy it.”
MacIntyre watched as the Buffs explored the locker room and lounge, which includes a theater where players can play video games or watch movies, pingpong and pool tables, a snack area, a barbershop and more. Each locker includes charging stations for cellphones and iPads as well as aerated, stainless-steel shoe compartments that help guard against athlete’s foot.
“It’s just unbelievable,” MacIntyre said. “They thought of everything in there. A lot of them told me they weren’t ever going to go home; they were just going to stay in there.”
MacIntyre then led the Buffs in the fight song for the first time in their new home. He noted that players had extra energy during Monday’s morning practice at Folsom Field, right outside the locker room door.
Players had to carry their belongings and some of their equipment in backpacks and use the student recreation center to shower after workouts all summer because of construction on the new and old locker rooms. The old football locker room in the Dal Ward Center is being converted into a locker room for some of CU’s female Olympic-sports athletes.
“It was really awesome, it really was,” MacIntyre said of the football team’s new locker room. “I told them up there and they were kind of excited and we showed them a video of where everything was. When we went in there, it just takes your breath away. They were jumping around and hugging each other and screaming and yelling and we had to kick them out of there. They just wanted to keep staying in there in the lounge and everything. It was exciting and they really love it.”
Defensive back Chidobe Awuzie said his favorite part of the new locker room is the pingpong table, and safety Ryan Moeller said his favorite aspect is simply having room to spread out and feel comfortable.