GLENDALE — Colorado State athletic director Jack Graham stood just below the stands on the Infinity Park concourse Friday night and gazed at the football team going through drills on a special night.
“This is a successful event for us,” he said. “And we’re going to be back every year.”
It’s the easiest decision he has made since taking the job last December.
“We’re committed to this,” he said. “I couldn’t have said that three hours ago. Now that I’m here, I’ve seen this facility, we’re back every year. If Glendale will have us, if Infinity Park will have us, we’re coming back.”
In this, what CSU is dubbing the Bold New Era in athletics, we’ll call this the start of the Infinity Park Era of spring practice. There are 43,000 Rams alumni living in Denver, and if Graham has his way, he’ll get all of them revved up and involved in the future of the athletic department, and by extension, the university.
The Rams held spring practice at what is normally the home of the Colorado Raptors rugby club. About 1,000 fans dropped by to check out the new-look football team headed by first-year coach Jim McElwain.
From a Ram Club dinner prior to practice to a gathering of former players afterward, Colorado State did exactly what it set out to do on a brisk Friday evening at Infinity Park — connect with alums and fans.
“Well, this is a big part of our future,” Graham said. “Such a significant part of our alumni base lives in the Denver metro area. So we need to connect with our alums. That’s our mission, that’s at the core of our mission. And so, showing up in Denver in the middle of spring practice and having this kind of a practice in this kind of a facility makes a great statement.
“They appreciate the opportunity to not have to drive to Fort Collins to see a spring practice. It’s one thing to drive to a football game in the fall, everybody is willing to make that journey. But to come see a spring practice, it’s a bit of a stretch. So for us to come back here shows them the commitment to connect with our alums in Denver. So we’re very pleased.”
McElwain treated the 90-minute trip from Fort Collins as a chance to do a bit of a dry run as if it were a road game.
“It was good focus in the meetings, and hit the bus right on time,” McElwain said. “They do know that if they are not five minutes ahead of schedule there’s a good chance the bus is leaving without them anyway.”
And as for the practice, a two-hour affair that ended with pseudo-scrimmage work, Mc-Ewain wasn’t blown away by the execution, but was satisfied.
“Once we got out here and kind of bounced around a bit, I think the guys got some energy,” he said. “And I think this was outstanding. It was a good practice — you know, too many drops, horrible coming out, there are certain things that are going to happen, but those are all teachable moments.”
Center Weston Richburg left practice about halfway through with a sprained right ankle. The severity is yet to be determined, but there is a chance, McElwain said, that the rising junior could miss the remainder of spring ball. There are four practices remaining, including the spring game next Saturday.
“I really think this is something that should become a tradition,” McElwain said. “The fact that we have over 42,000 alums here in Denver, an opportunity to come out on a great night, guys kind of enjoyed getting under the lights, had a little spark. … I thought it was good. Got a lot of work done, a lot of situational work and that’s what we were looking to do.”
A practice in front of fans was also good for the players, who have been behind closed doors all spring.
“We love getting out in front of fans, showing them how much we’re improving, showing them that we’re a different team than last year,” quarterback Garrett Grayson said. “That was the main focus. We just want to become a different team. We don’t ever want to go 3-9 again.”
Christopher Dempsey: 303-954-1279 or cdempsey@denverpost.com
