CU-CSU FOOTBALL GAME COULD BE CANCELED
Pac-12 expected to cut nonconference football games
Consider this year’s Rocky Mountain Showdown officially on life support after the latest seismic shift in college sports amid the coronavirus pandemic.
On Thursday, the Big Ten became the first Power Five athletic conference to announce it will not play nonconference football games this fall. Multiple reports indicated the Pac-12 will soon make the same decision, with the conference’s university presidents expected to meet Friday, per ESPN.
Spokesman Dave Hirsch said the conference has “not yet made a determination on fall sports.” But all signs point to the 92nd meeting between Colorado and Colorado State, and the rivalry’s debut at Canvas Stadium on Sept. 5, being in serious jeopardy of cancellation.
CSU athletic director Joe Parker told The Post on Thursday that the Mountain West had not engaged in “meaningful conversations” yet regarding the elimination of nonconference games, but Parker said he’s kept a steady dialogue with CU athletic director Rick George throughout the pandemic. George, previously expected to join a conference call this week, was not available for media requests.
“Rick and I have talked periodically throughout the last four months and probably little more intensively over the last two weeks,” Parker said. “We both want to play the game and Sept. 5 is an important weekend for college football in the state of Colorado.”
The Big Ten released a public statement Thursday to justify its cancellations. One section read: “By limiting competition to other Big Ten institutions, the Conference will have the greatest flexibility to adjust its own operations throughout the season and make quick decisions in real-time based on the most current evolving
medical advice and the fluid nature of the pandemic.”
Other reported factors were the growing concern over long-distance travel and testing capabilities among non-conference opponents. However, the Rocky Mountain Showdown requires the CU football team to drive just 45 miles by bus from Boulder to Fort Collins. Parker went another step further when he said the Buffs’ visit to Canvas Stadium would be “the least risky environment they would play in all year.”
“I’d argue our visiting team locker room is the best setup in the country,” Parker continued. “We’ve got an opportunity for teams to physically distance over four locker rooms. You don’t find that when you travel everywhere.”
A Pac-12 move to halt nonconference football this season would also cancel another marquee matchup: Colorado at Texas A&M on Sept. 19. Beyond the lure of Big 12 nostalgia, a healthy portion of the Buffaloes’ football roster grew up in the Lone Star State. CU is also scheduled to host Fresno State on Sept. 12.
“I really was looking forward to that Texas A&M game, a big SEC game,” said Terrance Lang, a junior CU defensive end. “Right now, I just want to play football, so I’m not complaining.”
At CSU, the athletic department had already braced for the financial fallout of a reduced-capacity Rocky Mountain Showdown crowd. It now appears the Rams’ deficit will grow larger.
The good news for CSU, though, is that none of its four nonconference matchups — CU, at Oregon State (Sept. 12), vs. Northern Colorado (Sept. 19), at Vanderbilt (Sept. 26) — are “guarantee games” in which smaller programs receive massive payouts. Meaning the Rams won’t lose out on extra millions beyond lost game revenue.
It still paints a dire picture for college football in Colorado this season.
“We’re still focused on playing our existing schedule of 12 games,” Parker said. “But, obviously, as we have seen over the last four months, new change occurs sometimes every 24 hours — or even less.”