Boulder – Getting more involved in the Colorado basketball program has long been one of Chauncey Billups goals. Six weeks ago, CU athletic director Mike Bohn and men’s basketball coach Ricardo Patton approached Billups with an opportunity to do that. Thursday, it was announced that opportunity would come to fruition this season.
Chauncey’s Kids Roundup, an initiative designed to get more kids to CU basketball games, was made public.
“I remember before I left, we had that program really rockin’. It was loud in there,” Billups said. “We had a lot of kids in the building. When you’ve got kids in there, it makes it extra loud.”
Billups committed $100,000 over the next four years to pay for 10,000 tickets per season that will be given to kids to attend games. The program is a spinoff of the athletic department’s Ralphie’s Kids Roundup in which a group of boosters buys tickets that are used to bring kids to football games.
“This is the cornerstone of support for men’s basketball that is much-needed,” Bohn said. “It will create a huge shot in the arm for us.”
Bohn hopes with extra support, the atmosphere at the Coors Events Center can improve as well. He said that CU basketball hasn’t gotten the support it needs to be successful, and he’s working to change that.
A 25-foot-by-67-foot mural of Billups is expected to be unveiled on the southeast corner wall in the Coors Events Center as early as CU’s Feb. 11 home game against Texas Tech.
Billups, now with the NBA’s Detroit Pistons, also pledged to finish his degree. He left CU in good academic standing after his sophomore season in 1997 and has two years of work left.
CU-CSU series decision
Bohn said he and Colorado State athletic director Mark Driscoll should have an announcement on the continuation of the football series by no later than Valentine’s Day. Bohn said the new deal will be a “10-year or less” plan.
Colorado will still get a 55-45 split of the revenues from the game, but none of that comes from splitting money from each ticket. Money from a ticket bought through CU goes to CU. Money from a ticket bought through CSU goes to CSU.
In other scheduling news, CU will enter into a home-and- home series against Minnesota in 2012 and 2013. A series with Air Force is close to being finalized, with games most likely to be played in 2008 and 2012. Also, Florida State has agreed to move its 2007 game against CU in Boulder from Sept. 22 to Sept. 15 so CU doesn’t have to play the Seminoles and Oklahoma (Sept. 29) back to back. The Buffs have yet to fill the now open Sept. 22 slot.
In basketball scheduling, CU and Air Force will start what is expected to be an annual season opener next season.
Footnotes
Football coach Dan Hawkins has picked up a commitment from 6-foot-2, 250-pound linebacker Justin Nonu of San Diego. … Bohn said Colorado will honor the jerseys of men’s basketball standouts Scott Wedman, Jim Davis and Robert Jeangerard during CU’s Feb. 11 game. … Bohn said the football practice bubble project has received initial approval and is expected to be finished by October 2007.
