The University of Colorado today announced the addition of 3 new varsity-level sports to the Buff's lineup, among them the long-awaited return of Men's Baseball.
"The University of Colorado and the Athletic department are very pleased and excited to announce the addition of these new Colorado intercollegiate sports teams," the video voice-over rings through the upper suites at Folsom Field. The glorious spring weather is hidden as the tinted windows are activated. The rooms goes dark and everyone quiets down.
*CRACK* a sound like lightning makes everyone jump... "Women's Ice Hockey!" the voice booms and we realize it's the sound of a puck hit off a stick. The still image of a girl in mid-shot fades. Dark again. *Pling...pling...pling... CRACK* again people jump: "Women's Gymnastics!" People nod in understanding as a video clip shows a gymnast bounding off the horse and sticking her landing perfectly.
People are ready for the sudden crack, but it doesn't come. Instead rumbling grows as the lights come back up to reveal Mike Bohn at the podium, "Men's Baseball!" he announces with a smile as the group springs up in applause and more than a few cheers.
"I'm very pleased to be able to announce the return of Men's NCAA baseball to Colorado's roster of sports teams. This is truly an exciting time to be a Buff" he smiles again as he dons a black baseball cap with the single block letter 'C' in gold on the front, an obvious nod to the traditional hat of baseball powerhouses like Cal and Texas...
Where will the baseball team play? What's inside their rally caps? Make the jump to find out!
For baseball, Bohn explains that they'd been working with architects to re-examine the Campus masterplan. "We wanted to maintain a cohesive on-campus stadium experience. That's why the new baseball stadium will be built on the southeast corner of Colorado Avenue and Regent Drive."
He points out the window where the sprawling college of engineering sits. "The College of Engineering will be relocated to the Research Park East Campus. They've already told us it will be a better, quieter environment for them." He's alluding to last-year's group-editorial from a dozen professors of engineering, complaining that the marching band practices were too loud for them to work in the engineering center 'any longer.'
After he leaves the podium, Bohn explains to a smaller group that adding gymnastics was always a condition of Colorado's move to the Pac-12. "They're as much a gymnastics conference as anything else. Gymnastics and rowing," he adds with a nod.
He explains that Larry Scott pleaded with him to bring both sports to Colorado, and Bohn retells his defense, "we were on the plane, and I told him, 'Look Lar, we just don't have enough water in Colorado to make this rowing stuff work. Maybe white-water rafting or kayaking, but that's it.' He was sad, but I think he's over it. I mean, Tad won the Pac-12 tournament, right?"
Elsewhere in the reception one of the Associate Athletic Directors retells how Women's Ice Hockey was chosen. "We got a football helmet up-side down, and filled it with all the women's sports on slips of paper. Then we had Ceal [Barry, Associate AD and former Women's Basketball Coach] reach in an grab one of the slips of paper."
"The first one was women's equestrian, which she said was stupid, so she went in for another. Since she can beat up most of us AD's, we didn't really stop her. Eventually she was satisfied with women's ice hockey as the third sport we're adding."
He laughs and then winces in pain as Ceal Barry comes over and shakes his shoulder, too hard apparently. "Happy april fool's day everyone," she says to the group, "now get back to work."
Go Buffs