Word out of Ft. Collins is that the President will be recommending a new stadium for the Sheep to the Board of Regents or whatever they are called down south. If the Big XII gets left out of the playoff and if one of the reasons is thought to tie to a lack of a conference championship game, I would not be surprised to see "CSU to the Big XII" start to take hold. I would also not be surprised to see them nab Boise or someone else. CSU is doubling down on athletics and are potent in football, basketball, women's basketball and volleyball. To me, it is becoming an eerily similar circumstance to the precursors that lead Utah to leave - granted in a much less volatile environment in college football.
My concern is that the ask to build UW will come when coal is faltering, natural gas is at rock bottom and oil is tanking (no pun intended). Do we have institutional relationships established to maintain, no less build, athletics and the broader University? There are vacancies all over the place in the leadership of the University, not the least of which persists in the President's Office. We have few permanent deans. CSU, on the other hand, is building (in terms of the physical plant and academic front) in what should have been a recessionary period for them, with declining help from the state. Largely, Wyoming has kept pace with state derived mineral revenues, but what happens when they taper? With our negative nellie Legislature and UW's posture relative to the Legislature (not overly great), they will find other places to put the money. Unless there is a compelling story at UW, there is little to say "invest in us, we have our crap together."
So here are my thoughts:
(1) start a true President search yesterday and find someone that looks at the University holistically
(2) start to hire deans and pay them
(3) retain quality faculty (have a read of WyoFile's article on the loss of faculty and you should have concern)
(4) finish the AA the right way
(5) give Bohl what he needs for training table, study space, training, etc.
(6) quit polishing the turd that is War Memorial Stadium
(7) continue to invest in men's basketball, women's basketball, wrestling, and volleyball
As to my point #6, I think that UW made a potentially fatal mistake when they fixed the upper decks of the War several years ago as the concrete was literally falling apart. They should have noted that the facility was a wreck. Instead, they invested millions there, added more millions onto the facade on the east side with the Wildcatter and painted the other press box. We added a couple more million replacing the turf. Meanwhile, my brother in law tells me that the facilities folks literally had to stay at the War until 4:00 in the morning after the BSU game to "drain" the crappers (I think from the Press Boxes). The whole west side is a wreck. The video boards need replaced. Concessions, even on the east side, are subpar. The press box on the west side needs replaced.
We all talk about what improvements need to be made to the War - I say, start with everything but the Wildcatter and the turf. Every other change that has been made has been functional lipstick on a pig. Unfortunately, we are now in over $50 or so million in sunk costs (maybe a bit shy of that) and we still have a facility that is failing in many, many ways. The AA renovation is a true renovation - and to a facility that wasn't over 50 years old that was more amenable to a facelift. The "facelifts" to the War are the equivalent of many of Phyllis Diller's surgeries...
I actually am of double mind on the CSU stadium - if we respond, I love it. If we continue to languish in mediocrity and continue to accept it, we should just move our football program to FCS and triple down on basketball...because we will be there soon enough if only through passive neglect and apathy.
Which brings me back to where I started - CSU is going to build an on campus stadium. They will retain their coach and they will continue to build. When I asked DC about the possibility of a new CSU stadium several years ago - he said he hoped they would go forward as they would go broke paying for it. I think that was the wrong answer and reflective of the traditional Wyoming pessimism that I have grown to despise. The question is, will we ever find the right answer?
My concern is that the ask to build UW will come when coal is faltering, natural gas is at rock bottom and oil is tanking (no pun intended). Do we have institutional relationships established to maintain, no less build, athletics and the broader University? There are vacancies all over the place in the leadership of the University, not the least of which persists in the President's Office. We have few permanent deans. CSU, on the other hand, is building (in terms of the physical plant and academic front) in what should have been a recessionary period for them, with declining help from the state. Largely, Wyoming has kept pace with state derived mineral revenues, but what happens when they taper? With our negative nellie Legislature and UW's posture relative to the Legislature (not overly great), they will find other places to put the money. Unless there is a compelling story at UW, there is little to say "invest in us, we have our crap together."
So here are my thoughts:
(1) start a true President search yesterday and find someone that looks at the University holistically
(2) start to hire deans and pay them
(3) retain quality faculty (have a read of WyoFile's article on the loss of faculty and you should have concern)
(4) finish the AA the right way
(5) give Bohl what he needs for training table, study space, training, etc.
(6) quit polishing the turd that is War Memorial Stadium
(7) continue to invest in men's basketball, women's basketball, wrestling, and volleyball
As to my point #6, I think that UW made a potentially fatal mistake when they fixed the upper decks of the War several years ago as the concrete was literally falling apart. They should have noted that the facility was a wreck. Instead, they invested millions there, added more millions onto the facade on the east side with the Wildcatter and painted the other press box. We added a couple more million replacing the turf. Meanwhile, my brother in law tells me that the facilities folks literally had to stay at the War until 4:00 in the morning after the BSU game to "drain" the crappers (I think from the Press Boxes). The whole west side is a wreck. The video boards need replaced. Concessions, even on the east side, are subpar. The press box on the west side needs replaced.
We all talk about what improvements need to be made to the War - I say, start with everything but the Wildcatter and the turf. Every other change that has been made has been functional lipstick on a pig. Unfortunately, we are now in over $50 or so million in sunk costs (maybe a bit shy of that) and we still have a facility that is failing in many, many ways. The AA renovation is a true renovation - and to a facility that wasn't over 50 years old that was more amenable to a facelift. The "facelifts" to the War are the equivalent of many of Phyllis Diller's surgeries...
I actually am of double mind on the CSU stadium - if we respond, I love it. If we continue to languish in mediocrity and continue to accept it, we should just move our football program to FCS and triple down on basketball...because we will be there soon enough if only through passive neglect and apathy.
Which brings me back to where I started - CSU is going to build an on campus stadium. They will retain their coach and they will continue to build. When I asked DC about the possibility of a new CSU stadium several years ago - he said he hoped they would go forward as they would go broke paying for it. I think that was the wrong answer and reflective of the traditional Wyoming pessimism that I have grown to despise. The question is, will we ever find the right answer?
