While the men’s basketball team didn’t fare so well in its opening-round NCAA tournament game Thursday, Colorado State fans can find some solace knowing the Rams are still alive in the race for another national championship.
In fact, the school has already advanced beyond the preliminary round and into the “Sustainable 16” in a competition to find the top environmental studies program in the United States. Sponsored by Enviance Inc., an environmental data management company, and Environmental Leader, an energy and environment trade publication, the Rams still face stiff competition from the likes of Duke and Ohio State, who are known to have pretty good hoops teams too.
“Even though this came from SoGES (CSU’s School of Global Environmental Sustainability), we think it’s representative of the entire university,” said Kathy Galvin, SoGES’ associate director of Educational Programs. “And we tried to convey that in our application.”
CSU’s entry highlighted its environmental programs across the breadth of its campuses, including majors and degrees offered in the field, available classes, diversity and sustainability. In its application, CSU claimed it’s making an effort to have every student have at least one environmental “course, program or experience.”
“The minor in SoGES might be representative of what’s going on across the university,” Galvin said. “Our class in sustainability is full each semester, 150 students. There’s a huge demand out there, with students interested in the issues concerning the environment and sustainability.”
That demand will likely come into play during the next stage of the competition, with the remaining schools submitting new entries in the hope of advancing to the “Environmental Eight” and then possibly the Final Four. The announcement whittling the 16 remaining schools in half will come on March 26.
According to Patrick Canavan, SoGES’ Educational Coordinator, CSU is having students write essays touting its programs in the field, as well as uploading videos on YouTube highlighting the work being done as well as flooding other social media. And while the campaign may not be as direct as a one-on-one battle in the low post, it’s possible the Rams will have a much better outcome this time around.
“We’re excited about this,” Canavan said. “We’re hoping to go all the way.”
Anthony Cotton: 303-954-1292 or acotton@denverpost.com
