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BOULDER - Andy LeRoy, who was an Olympian, All-American, and individual national champion while a student-athlete at the University of Colorado, has been named the fifth head ski coach since the sport became coed in 1983 for the Buffaloes, athletic director Rick George announced Thursday.
LeRoy will succeed Richard Rokos, 70, who is retiring this spring after 35 years with the university, the last 31 as head coach, one of the longest tenure of any head coach in NCAA skiing as well as the third-longest head coaching reign in CU athletic history. LeRoy will officially take over the program on Friday, March 19.
Rokos recruited LeRoy to Colorado as a student-athlete, where he was an All-American and individual NCAA champion; he was the co-recipient of CU's Male Athlete of the Year honors in 2000. This will be LeRoy's third stint at Colorado, as he was also Rokos' assistant alpine coach in 2002.
"I am so excited for this opportunity, for myself as a professional and for my family," LeRoy said. "I know the gravity of this position and the history of CU, I can't wait to get my hands dirty and to raise the level of college ski racing to heights never seen before. To have the full support of such an outstanding administration and alumni network, we are going to do some amazing things in the years to come."
LeRoy, 45, returns to CU from the University of Denver, where he led the alpine team and was the head coach for the past 15 seasons, leading the Pioneers to six NCAA championships in his tenure. With Rokos' retirement, LeRoy becomes the leader for NCAA championships won among active collegiate head coaches. Rokos coached the Buffaloes to eight NCAA championships during his 31 seasons, including in his very first year in 1991.
"I'm happy to announce that Andy LeRoy will be the new head coach of the CU Ski Team," George said. "Andy has had great success at the University of Denver and we're ecstatic he has decided to come home to Colorado and will no longer be competing against us. As a former Buff, Andy is very familiar with our program as both a student-athlete and a coach. We're excited to welcome him, his wife Julie, and their two kids Andrew and Lydia to the CU family."
LeRoy's six titles rank fifth all-time in the NCAA, behind only Denver's Willie Schaeffler (13), Utah's Pat Miller (nine), and two CU coaches, Rokos and Bill Marolt (seven). Since the sport went coed in 1983, LeRoy's crown count is third, behind only Miller and Rokos.
Among active head coaches, LeRoy is four ahead of any other coach, as another former Rokos assistant coach, Fredrik Landstedt, is next with two, including leading Utah to the 2021 title last week. Cami Thompson Graves (Dartmouth, 2007) and Bill Reichelt (Vermont, 2012) are the only other active coaches to lead their teams to an NCAA championship.
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Direct link to article - https://cubuffs.com/news/2021/3/18/skiing-andy-leroy-named-head-ski-coach-at-colorado.aspx
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