Bring back Colorado Buffs men's tennis!

[Golden_state_of_mind]

This used to be a good Big 12 program with a good facility in a great location with a nice elevation advantage! Their last season in 2006, CU finished the season ranked #23. They should bring the program back and get going in the Pac 12. Look at Arizona State and how successful their program rebirth has been. Plus former coach Sam Winterbotham is available and I bet he is itching to get back into the game. Colorado only has 6 (only 2 of which are good spectator sports) men's sports and has 9 women's sports.

Who is with me!?

 

[Oddyssey]

This used to be a good Big 12 program with a good facility in a great location with a nice elevation advantage! Their last season in 2006, CU finished the season ranked #23. They should bring the program back and get going in the Pac 12. Look at Arizona State and how successful their program rebirth has been. Plus former coach Sam Winterbotham is available and I bet he is itching to get back into the game. Colorado only has 6 (only 2 of which are good spectator sports) men's sports and has 9 women's sports.

Who is with me!?

It's time.

 

[chris-swede]

i think all the big conferences needing all programs
Big12 is real Trouble, as both Kansas have no Tennis and WVU als not

 

[Golden_state_of_mind]

i think all the big conferences needing all programs
Big12 is real Trouble, as both Kansas have no Tennis and WVU als not

Of course but Colorado has had more recent and successful programs than those schools. Also it just fits better. WVU has wrestling and men's soccer so they don't really have more men's scholarships to give.

 

[Nacho]

This used to be a good Big 12 program with a good facility in a great location with a nice elevation advantage! Their last season in 2006, CU finished the season ranked #23. They should bring the program back and get going in the Pac 12. Look at Arizona State and how successful their program rebirth has been. Plus former coach Sam Winterbotham is available and I bet he is itching to get back into the game. Colorado only has 6 (only 2 of which are good spectator sports) men's sports and has 9 women's sports.

Who is with me!?

Colorado, Kansas, and even WVA and Pitt have had good teams in the past, and dumped their programs over the last 20 years.

Hope you took notice that Colorado has a women's Lacrosse team, and a women's soccer team. Why? Good question, because they can balance out the sport participation and scholarship opportunities with mens sports Football and Baseball because those are women's sports, which require a large team, aren't expensive to maintain and can attract some donations/money through concessions. Also, the PAC-12 requires members have at least 6 mens sports, and 10 womens sports. So, when Colorado wanted to join the PAC-12 thinking it would bolster their football and basketball numbers, they took the steps to right size in that direction; which is part of why you saw the tennis team get cut. Oh the budgets of having to carry so many teams to meet the NCAA and conference requirements. Colorado also has to have certain amenities with their Cash sports football and basketball in order to meet the revenue sharing within the conference. They are essentially keeping up with the Joneses: UCLA, Stanford, USC; it costs money and funds. Additionally, the Big-12 had a loose'r restriction on minimums for mens sports but the same sort of thing for women's and high demands for their football stadiums during the conference expansion races of the late 2000's. So, schools like Kansas and Colorado, Kansas State, cut their mens teams, held on to women's in order to hang on to their conference requirements, demands for TV packages, and to not get booted out by former mid majors looking to get in the power conference game (Rutgers, WVA-both which also have no T-team, and now UCF, Memphis, Tulsa)

Common theme in all these schools losing their tennis teams: budgets, wanting to change conferences, lots of eggs in the football program, carrying of extra women's sports. And to the athletic directors, tennis is a low level Olympic sport, played by Internationals and with no income into the program. Athletic directors such as Colorado's at that time (2005) Jack Lengyel, a former football player and lacrosse booster.

Its a bummer, agree with you they had a great team back in the day.

My list of schools that should have a mens tennis team and don't:

Syracuse
Pitt
Colorado
Washington State
Oregon State
West Virginia
Missouri
Kansas

 

[Clemson_tennis]

Would be nice for sure. And you're right about Colorado not having great men's sports. They don't have the men's version of; tennis, baseball, soccer, hockey, wrestling or lacrosse. All of which are popular for spectators. They are certainly missing some opportunities there.

 

[Nacho]

Would be nice for sure. And you're right about Colorado not having great men's sports. They don't have the men's version of; tennis, baseball, soccer, hockey, wrestling or lacrosse. All of which are popular for spectators. They are certainly missing some opportunities there.

Glad you mentioned Wrestling it has it worse then tennis....Almost a non existent sport in college now. Used to be a supplemental sport for good athletes from football but has been almost completely eliminated. Its a comparable sport to tennis from a mental aspect and set up, and an individual sport.

 

[Gemini]

Would be nice for sure. And you're right about Colorado not having great men's sports. They don't have the men's version of; tennis, baseball, soccer, hockey, wrestling or lacrosse. All of which are popular for spectators. They are certainly missing some opportunities there.

The fact that they don't have hockey is absurd.

 

[Nacho]

The fact that they don't have hockey is absurd.

Especially with an over billion dollar endowment, bigger then 6 other schools in the conference....wonder where that money goes

 

[skiracer55]

"[CU Boulder Men's Tennis] used to be a good Big 12 program with a good facility in a great location with a nice elevation advantage! Their last season in 2006, CU finished the season ranked #23. They should bring the program back and get going in the Pac 12. Look at Arizona State and how successful their program rebirth has been. Plus former coach Sam Winterbotham is available and I bet he is itching to get back into the game. Colorado only has 6 (only 2 of which are good spectator sports) men's sports and has 9 women's sports.

Who is with me!?

Golden_state_of_mind"

Agreed. Per what Nacho says, it looks like CU has plenty of $$$$, so why not bring back tennis and maybe add hockey and some other stuff?

I'd say it's up to the regents and CU AD Rick George...but it looks like fundraising, facilities expansion, and (you guessed it) football are his major accomplishments to date:

https://www.denverpost.com/2016/06/...-extension-for-athletic-director-rick-george/

Just to give you the backstory and some numbers on the demise of CU Men's tennis, a bunch of supporters got together and raised $200,000 to help fund the program for the next season. Then AD Mike Bohn said he would need $600,000 for 3 seasons...and the regents, of course, agreed. Doesn't sound like much money, does it? And yes, Sam was a great coach at CU...I know, because he coached me on the side for two summers...and I'm sure he's even better now.

 

[Nacho]

$730,000 a year salary....Second among PAC 12 Athletic Directors, plus bonuses for goals, all separate bonuses. To point out, one bonus is $150,000 if he meets fundraising goals. Another is based on revenue from sponsorships. Think a tennis team will get him there?

New indoor....you got it..."practice" facility for the football team; they just paid 77 million to upgrade the stadium a few years back.

Want to point out that all this money they are spending on football, isn't getting them any money. 2014 the athletic department took a loss, and has just broken even since. So, football gets you a big budget, but not money. And in the case of many MAC schools, a big budget, and huge losses which is why none of them have tennis teams.

Oh, and Rick George: Football player at Illinois in the 80's, Director of Football operations at Colorado before this....His contract is predicated on nothing but driving fundraising and sponsorships. So, he is going to be hyper focused on the mens football and basketball programs, and maintaining women's programs because he has too. Tennis has a perception from a lot of these type of AD's as a sissy sport played by a couple of old people at the local park....

Whole thing makes me ill, but it is what it is....

Look at Arizona State

P.S., forgot to comment on this. I have to find the article, but essentially the only reason ASU got a team again was because the ITA decided to move the headquarters from Princeton to Scottsdale (because of some ties the ITA head has there, he is a former college professor at ASU). The ITA was in Princeton before because it was started by a coach there who wanted to organize college coaches to support the needs of college tennis, why it was previously called the ITCA. The ITA then got a bunch of grief about being based at a school with only a women's team. So, they helped get a big endowment from a couple of families and Adidas to the tune of 1.4$ million to get a mens team back....So yea, of course ASU brought it back and is doing well, should never have not had it; and any school can have a tennis team for that amount of money.

 

[andfor]

$730,000 a year salary....Second among PAC 12 Athletic Directors, plus bonuses for goals, all separate bonuses. To point out, one bonus is $150,000 if he meets fundraising goals. Another is based on revenue from sponsorships. Think a tennis team will get him there?

New indoor....you got it..."practice" facility for the football team; they just paid 77 million to upgrade the stadium a few years back.

Want to point out that all this money they are spending on football, isn't getting them any money. 2014 the athletic department took a loss, and has just broken even since. So, football gets you a big budget, but not money. And in the case of many MAC schools, a big budget, and huge losses which is why none of them have tennis teams.

Oh, and Rick George: Football player at Illinois in the 80's, Director of Football operations at Colorado before this....His contract is predicated on nothing but driving fundraising and sponsorships. So, he is going to be hyper focused on the mens football and basketball programs, and maintaining women's programs because he has too. Tennis has a perception from a lot of these type of AD's as a sissy sport played by a couple of old people at the local park....

Whole thing makes me ill, but it is what it is....



P.S., forgot to comment on this. I have to find the article, but essentially the only reason ASU got a team again was because the ITA decided to move the headquarters from Princeton to Scottsdale (because of some ties the ITA head has there, he is a former college professor at ASU). The ITA was in Princeton before because it was started by a coach there who wanted to organize college coaches to support the needs of college tennis, why it was previously called the ITCA. The ITA then got a bunch of grief about being based at a school with only a women's team. So, they helped get a big endowment from a couple of families and Adidas to the tune of 1.4$ million to get a mens team back....So yea, of course ASU brought it back and is doing well, should never have not had it; and any school can have a tennis team for that amount of money.

There’s been a group of ASU boosters who had raised $1M + to bring back men’s tennis. They’ve been doing this for years before the ITA decided to move there.


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[Nacho]

There’s been a group of ASU boosters who had raised $1M + to bring back men’s tennis. They’ve been doing this for years before the ITA decided to move there.


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According to this article it was through a lead gift from one benefactor, with additional funds raised through boosters and Adidas

http://thesundevils.com/news/2016/5/4/210929941.aspx

And to quote the article:

"In total, Arizona State has raised $5M to support upstart of the program, with a goal of $10M total needed to sustain the addition of men's tennis. Sun Devil Athletics has launched a campaign, today, to raise the remaining $5M needed to fully support the men's tennis program. Individuals interested in playing a part in the reinstatement of men's tennis and contributing to the program can CLICK HERE to give."

YIKES! 5 million isn't enough?

 

[andfor]

I may have told the ASU men’s tennis story before. But the $5 million originally raised was the amount supposedly set by the ASU AD to restart men’s tennis. Story has it when the boosters came back to the AD with the 5 million, the bar was then raised to 10 million. About 6-12 months later the ITF move to Tempe came along.


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[Nacho]

I may have told the ASU men’s tennis story before. But the $5 million originally raised was the amount supposedly set by the ASU AD to restart men’s tennis. Story has it when the boosters came back to the AD with the 5 million, the bar was then raised to 10 million. About 6-12 months later the ITF move to Tempe came along.


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Sounds probably right, I just have a few articles to go off of but defer to your inside scoop. Whats crazy to me is the cost! Its not like they had to get a new facility with scoreboards and stadium seating. But we have already dissected that in the past. Just goes to show how out of reach restarting a team is. I bet this was painful for the ASU AD to concede

 

[andfor]

Admittedly my scoop is secondhand, however close to the source no pulitzer for me. [emoji23] If my memory and sources remain correct, the extra 5 million 10 million total would help fully endow for years to come both men’s and women’s tennis.


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