Colorado and Colorado State have agreed to continue their football series, but left undecided is where the games will be played.
The rival schools beat their self-imposed deadline by a week with an announcement Tuesday that they intend to keep playing beyond the 2010 game, which is scheduled for Fort Collins.
“This simply addressed the need for a commitment to play prior to Oct. 1 (the deadline),” CU athletic director Mike Bohn said. “We have a lot of work to do engaging Denver, Fort Collins, Boulder and all the entities involved. I’m not prepared to say it will be in Denver only. We have a lot of groups to visit with.”
CU has been amenable to playing the game at Invesco Field at Mile High as long as it has at least six games in Boulder on the schedule. That wasn’t the case for 2009, so Bohn elected to take the game back to Boulder.
CSU athletic director Paul Kowalczyk and coach Steve Fairchild have said they want the game in Denver every year. After Bohn announced earlier this month he would exercise CU’s option to have the game played at Folsom Field in 2009, CSU immediately announced it would play the 2010 game at Hughes Stadium.
CU coach Dan Hawkins prefers having the game at Folsom Field but was happy the sides agreed to extending the series.
“I think it’s great for the state. It brings a lot of attention to football in the state. From that standpoint, it’s really awesome,” Hawkins said.
The Denver Metro Sports Commission is trying to help bring the game back to Invesco.
“We need to get the groups together to sit down and see what kind of deal we and Denver can put on the table and entice them to bring the games here,” Commission president KieAnn Brownell said.
With a seating capacity in excess of 76,000 (compared to 53,750 in Boulder and 34,000 in Fort Collins) and opportunities for corporate sponsorship, games at Invesco provide bigger paydays to both schools, particularly to CSU.
There has been some subtle pressure from the state level in past contract extensions. After this year’s game, Colorado Gov. Bill Ritter said he hoped the series would continue in Denver. Bohn said he talked with Ritter on Thursday during CU’s overtime win against West Virginia and the governor inquired about progress in talks.
“I told him we’re both working hard to commit to keep playing,” Bohn said. “He’s certainly supportive.”
Kowalczyk said: “We’re extremely excited about continuing the series for the good of our respective institutions and the state. We look forward to working with the leadership of Denver as we get closer to finalizing the details of the agreement.”
The series, held sporadically from 1983-1992, has been played continuously since 1995. Since 1998, every game except 2004 and 2005 (both at Folsom Field) was played in Denver. The current agreement expires in 2010.
The rivalry assures CSU of an opponent beyond 2010 from a BCS conference. The Mountain West’s three teams in the top 25 (No. 11 BYU, No. 17 Utah and No. 24 TCU) are a combined 4-0 against BCS teams with two to go this weekend.
Natalie Meisler: 303-954-1295 or nmeisler@denverpost.com
