I was born and raised in SE Denver. I watched the Miracle at Michigan in my uncle's den, I remember seeing Salaam walking across the tarmac with his Heisman, I was there when CU beat NU 62-36, and I was there every game during Hawkin's last season. I now live in Chicago and being here you see there are huge political and institutional hurdles that CU has to clear up before they ever become relevant again (which is saying a lot because Illinois has some huge higher ed problems of its own), changing conferences isn't going to change a darn thing...might help in the very long run, but not immediately. Being here it's incredible to see how cutthroat it is to get into U of I. I understand that Chicago is close to triple the size of Denver, and Illinois is much larger than CO, but the desire for so many kids to attend U of I is insane. Changing admissions standards at CU to breed to more in-state love of CU won't be a game changer. I'm constantly reminded by folks here that CU is significantly behind U of I in academics and prestige - sad, but true. I grew up thinking CU was a "public Ivy" and the "Ivy of the Rockies"...spoiler alert: it's not. There are far greater institutional and political challenges, both internally and within the state of CO, that will prevent CU from becoming a household name even in the Rocky Mountain region at large IMO. If CU and CO can change that legislatively, maybe that drives greater interest in the school writ large. I keep going back to U of I, but it blows my mind that this school is better academically, sucks at most sports, but every Saturday people tune in, and gets way more attention across the board and with the national media. Maybe part of that's a function of being in Illinois and the B1G, but I think that's also a part of having a more devoted fanbase in a larger state and doesn't matter how lousy they are. I hope over time (maybe 20-30 years) that population and demographics change in CO and the Front Range to the point that CU can't be ignored, like U of I, or Indiana, or Wisconsin, and that the national media and the "super conferences" have to pay attention to it regardless of its athletic prowess but I think that point is way off on the horizon.
Which is all to say that after Mel Tucker kicked us in the crotch, and I stopped drinking the Kool-Aid, and my hangover wore off, I've come to realize that CU has been relegated. I don't know much about English soccer other than that crappy teams get relegated, and it's pretty clear that CU's been relegated. Maybe it was inevitable (See political and institutional limitations, above), I don't know. Maybe if Betsy Hoffman didn't ****-over the whole school and Barnett, maybe things would've turned out differently. Although, Barnett was also trending down after 2001 and I think his best years were behind him, but who knows. Point is, I've come to grips with reality and the fact that CU will never win another Natty. I also don't think that's the point anymore, save for a few select schools. I want them to be relevant, I will always root for CU football no matter what conference they play or who they're facing. As a sport I like basketball WAY MORE than football, but I just like watching CU football more and always will. Maybe we get added to the B1G some point down the road, but is that really going to change the trajectory of the football department or the athletics department...I don't think so if the structural limitations holding back CU don't change. Maybe we get Tad's equivalent of a football coach who knows who to recruit, how to develop talent, how to retain talent, how to coach, and can string together a bunch of quality seasons with a few extraordinary seasons every 2-3 years sprinkled in as kids develop. And maybe in the next 40-50 years this all happens (demographics change, laws change, CU gets promoted, and gets a good coach who actually wants to coach at CU) and CU catapults to the top...which would be sweet (but unlikely). But the reality is that CU is a bit-player now; it'll still be fun to watch on Saturday, I don't think it matters what conference we end up in, and I don't think what happens in the next year will alter the inevitable fact that until CO gets its act together on higher ed in general nothing will change. End.