Rams, Buffs renew series

State rivals have met every season since 1991-92

FORT COLLINS» The men’s basketball rivalry between Colorado State and Colorado will continue.

The two instate rivals have agreed to renew their series, CSU coach Niko Medved said Friday. The two programs have met every season since 199192, but the streak was in jeopardy after their contract expired after last season’s game in Fort Collins.

“We’re going to renew the Colorado series, and that’s a good thing we were able to do that,” Medved said. “We’ll obviously start back in Boulder this year, and then they come back to CSU the following year. That’s a good thing for everybody.”

Medved did not say how long the new contract runs.

Citing concerns with recent attendance and RPI, CU coach Tad Boyle told the Boulder Daily Camera in April that renewing the series would require “some serious thought.”

After a string of four consecutive sellouts or near sellouts, CSU drew just 5,217 fans for the game this past December, just 60 percent of Moby Arena’s capacity. The Coors Events Center was 79 percent full (8,715) for the 2016 meeting in Boulder.

When it comes to RPI, however, Boyle might have been overreacting a bit following CSU’s worst season in more than a decade, a tumultuous campaign that concluded with the Rams ranked 235th. Prior to that, Colorado State finished with a better RPI than CU in five of seven seasons dating back to 201011.

The Buffaloes hold an 8938 advantage alltime against the Rams, but the rivalry has been competitive the past decadeplus with each team winning six of the past 12 matchups, including backtoback victories by CSU.

Other confirmed opponents for CSU’s nonconference schedule include Arkansas, New Mexico State and Southern Illinois.