Boulder – If Colorado athletic director Mike Bohn’s first four months on the job were described in football terms, he would be out to a 14-0 lead after the first quarter.
Fast start? Yes. But there are three quarters to go.
Since Bohn’s arrival at CU in April, much has changed in the athletic department. He has added staff, including former CU quarterback Charles Johnson, to help rebuild and develop community relations.
There already have been more club seats sold than last season. CU established a two-day, single-game record for tickets sold when it moved more than 10,000 tickets Aug. 1 and 2, the first two days of sales.
Bohn has mended fences with many fans and has changed attitudes within the athletic department.
In terms of competition, Bohn has moved the women’s soccer team from its off-campus home at the Pleasant View Soccer Complex to a more fan-friendly on-campus venue, complete with new playing surface. He plans on upgrading the weight room and intends to move the men’s and women’s basketball offices to the Coors Events Center by next summer.
There are plans for an indoor practice facility for the football team that Bohn says will also be used for intramural and club sports, as well as community activities. A new field house, including an attached parking structure, is also in the works.
Raising money to fund those projects is the key. Bohn set an initial fundraising goal of $3.7 million by Sept. 1. The department has raised just less than $2 million.
“Certainly the goal to be at $3.7 million by Sept. 1 was incredibly ambitious, but we’ve made great progress,” Bohn said. “We have not achieved our goal yet, but we have another couple of weeks to go and we’ll announce where we are.”
Asked what he’s most pleased with in his first four months on the job, Bohn said, “I’d have to say I’m encouraged by the tremendous passion and affection our donors, alumni, friends and season ticket-holders have for the University of Colorado. They desperately want us to be successful and do things the right way.”
Bohn’s early days were defined by his town hall meetings, designed to open up the athletic department to the community, field questions and listen to concerns. What he heard in the forums has helped shape his early list of priorities.
That list has had to coexist with budget issues. Bohn also has been faced with deciding whether to renew the contracts of football coach Gary Barnett and men’s basketball coach Ricardo Patton.
“We have numerous key initiatives right now that we need to be successful in, every one of them,” Bohn said. “We’re juggling a lot of different balls right now, and some of them are glass. We cannot drop a glass ball right now.”
Those glass balls?
“Season-ticket sales, suite sales, club seats, donations, scholarship commitments and vendor agreements with all of our partners,” Bohn said. “Internal policies and procedures. Teamwork.
“Those are a lot of glass balls.”
Scrimmage report
After going back and forth on the idea, Barnett decided to hold a small scrimmage on a rain-soaked Saturday. The second, third and fourth teams got the most combined work, and quarterbacks James Cox, Bernard Jackson, Brian White and Mack Brown were live.
“It was tough footing, but sometimes you get less injuries on days like this,” Barnett said. “We had a lot of enthusiasm, good hits. The execution wasn’t where you wanted it to be. We debated on whether or not to scrimmage.
“But you never know where you are until you scrimmage.”
The first team was on the field for about 30 plays, Barnett said. The second team had about 26 plays, and the third team crept close to 20 plays.
Meanwhile, linebacker Jordon Dizon returned to practice but was held out of contact. He is expected to resume contact Monday. Safety Tom Hubbard did not participate in an effort to rest sore knees, Barnett said.
Chris Dempsey can be reached at 303-820-5455 or cdempsey@denverpost.com.
