This was one of the questions I had when I decided to become a Buffs fan. Certainly a fun topic, if not off-season worthy. If I was the CU athletic department, here's how I'd see it.
Caveat emptor: this is my perception and supposition. I cite no references and offer nothing as verified. I created more verbiage than intended.
For starters, set expectations correctly. I don't see an opportunity for CU to develop a top-tier in-conf rival (e.g. UNC/Duke, Alabama/Auburn, OU/Texas, Michigan/OSU). Large western distances and short Pac conference legacy are not working for us here. We don't have an in-state Pac partner, so OU/OSU and AU/ASU are not a good model either. We need to focus on starting multiple next-tier rivalries. Drive towards a goal of having about 1/2 the games being "special" rivalry/trophy games.
The nine game Pac schedule puts some constraints, but non-conf rivalries still have their place, so let's start there.
Legacy rivalries:
Nebraska -- This is the top choice and should be fostered above all other non-conf rivalries. Keep this back on the football schedule so each four year class plays at least once (i.e. the series breaks no longer than three years). NU isn't getting traction with B1G rivalries the way did with old Big 8, but they will (Wisconsin). Both schools' ADs would be well-served to keep fuel on this rivalry fire. I think NU should continue to build rivalries and relationships in their new conference, but I also think CU/NU can be the next Clemson/Auburn type rivalry.
Kansas -- recall how big of a game this was in hoops two years ago. Note that Kansas has gotta be feeling a bit of "out on an island" in the XII, and I have to believe that the Jayhawks make a lot of sense to build with. Schedule Kansas in hoops as much as possible, and get them on the long rotation in football.
Missouri -- the SEC owns the college football market, and leveraging that makes some sense. SEC adopted a "only one non-BCS" scheduling policy in football, so building a relationship w/ CU may be attractive to the Tigers. There's certainly plenty of Missouri transplants out here.
Oklahoma -- border state, awesome football tradition, but they're a bit hung up with Texas and flirting with the B1G; I doubt they're interested.
In-state rivalries:
CSU -- I think this game should be played annually in all varsity sports. I think playing football at Mile High should happen every 4 years, with the majority of the games on campus. there's a recruiting advantage to playing a game in an NFL stadium, and both school's alumni bases are in Denver. Many Buffs see the Rams as beneath them, I realize, but I'm a proponent of elevating the sport of college football in the state, and I believe that the CU/CSU rivalry is the best means of doing so.
Air Force -- this will never be a real rivalry, but it should be a recurring game on the football schedule. I'd advocate for AFA getting on a routine like NU, playing 2 years in a row, taking three off. In basketball, this should continue to be an annual game and CU fans should respect it as such. In a perfect situation, CU becomes the P5 school that Air Force guys cheer for.
Now, what to do with the Pac12 situation?
Sure, we'd all like USC, Stanford or Oregon to hate us, but unless CU starts competing with one of them for conference titles on a recurring basis, those rivalries are unlikely to form. Besides, USC and Stanford are enamored with their cross-town conference partners.
These Pac 12 partners, however, do have potential. Listed in order of "liklihood of developing a rivalry with CU":
Final note: it's the western-US distances that make this hard. I believe that rivalries are fueled primarily by fans attending the actual fucjking games. I knew many people at VT, and a few at Wisconsin and NCSU, who had one or more years they attended every football game (home and away) while being students. That's just not feasible out here on a typical student budget.
Caveat emptor: this is my perception and supposition. I cite no references and offer nothing as verified. I created more verbiage than intended.
For starters, set expectations correctly. I don't see an opportunity for CU to develop a top-tier in-conf rival (e.g. UNC/Duke, Alabama/Auburn, OU/Texas, Michigan/OSU). Large western distances and short Pac conference legacy are not working for us here. We don't have an in-state Pac partner, so OU/OSU and AU/ASU are not a good model either. We need to focus on starting multiple next-tier rivalries. Drive towards a goal of having about 1/2 the games being "special" rivalry/trophy games.
The nine game Pac schedule puts some constraints, but non-conf rivalries still have their place, so let's start there.
Legacy rivalries:
Nebraska -- This is the top choice and should be fostered above all other non-conf rivalries. Keep this back on the football schedule so each four year class plays at least once (i.e. the series breaks no longer than three years). NU isn't getting traction with B1G rivalries the way did with old Big 8, but they will (Wisconsin). Both schools' ADs would be well-served to keep fuel on this rivalry fire. I think NU should continue to build rivalries and relationships in their new conference, but I also think CU/NU can be the next Clemson/Auburn type rivalry.
Kansas -- recall how big of a game this was in hoops two years ago. Note that Kansas has gotta be feeling a bit of "out on an island" in the XII, and I have to believe that the Jayhawks make a lot of sense to build with. Schedule Kansas in hoops as much as possible, and get them on the long rotation in football.
Missouri -- the SEC owns the college football market, and leveraging that makes some sense. SEC adopted a "only one non-BCS" scheduling policy in football, so building a relationship w/ CU may be attractive to the Tigers. There's certainly plenty of Missouri transplants out here.
Oklahoma -- border state, awesome football tradition, but they're a bit hung up with Texas and flirting with the B1G; I doubt they're interested.
In-state rivalries:
CSU -- I think this game should be played annually in all varsity sports. I think playing football at Mile High should happen every 4 years, with the majority of the games on campus. there's a recruiting advantage to playing a game in an NFL stadium, and both school's alumni bases are in Denver. Many Buffs see the Rams as beneath them, I realize, but I'm a proponent of elevating the sport of college football in the state, and I believe that the CU/CSU rivalry is the best means of doing so.
Air Force -- this will never be a real rivalry, but it should be a recurring game on the football schedule. I'd advocate for AFA getting on a routine like NU, playing 2 years in a row, taking three off. In basketball, this should continue to be an annual game and CU fans should respect it as such. In a perfect situation, CU becomes the P5 school that Air Force guys cheer for.
Now, what to do with the Pac12 situation?
Sure, we'd all like USC, Stanford or Oregon to hate us, but unless CU starts competing with one of them for conference titles on a recurring basis, those rivalries are unlikely to form. Besides, USC and Stanford are enamored with their cross-town conference partners.
These Pac 12 partners, however, do have potential. Listed in order of "liklihood of developing a rivalry with CU":
- Utah -- same division (playing them every year builds rivalries the quickest in absence of championship competition). Benefit of the Pac 12 marketing the Rumble in the Rockies; Schools came into the Pac together and have that link in national perception; states are both tourist destinations for the ski and national park crowds; contrast of stereotypes between the Mormons w/ the hippies too fun to ignore. Most importantly, this is the only Pac road trip < 8 hours (i.e. most feasible road trip for most students)
- Arizona -- WUE. corner/border state. but a long-ass road trip. I'm genuinely not sure how Arizona fans feel about football, and in hoops, they're going to look down at us until the Buffs win the Pac12 a few more times, so this rivalry could take a while to develop. Man, if ever these schools developed a real rivalry and both "got good" in either football or hoops, it could be huge.
- ASU -- lots of Colorado kids seem to leverage the WUE to make ASU a safety school which helps build a rivalry. Cheap flights from PHX <--> DIA can usually be obtained, but the road trip is > 13 hours. Seems like there's already a healthy hatred of ASU fans and their coaches and they'd likely love to have a top rival out of state. Besides, if the "pole dancer U" talking point has any reality behind it, this could be a really, really fun rivalry.
- Cal -- battle of the hippies and all that. We could give the Bears a state school rival (can't speak for the Cali schools, but I suspect UCLA fans are more focused on USC). With Cal's history and hear-term prospects though, I don't see this exciting many.
- Washington -- I see a lot of commonality between UW-West and CU: similar academically profile, similar histories, both near large metro areas which are decidedly "pro-sports towns". Gotta believe UW-West would like a Pac 12 rival besides WSU, but Oregon is probably in the front of that race.
- WSU and Oregon State? no, we should be focusing on 'flagship' schools, not "- State" schools.
- UCLA. too much legacy football and hoops, and a rivalry with USC. they won't pay attention to us until we routinely compete for conference championships, in both sports.
- Stanford, Oregon and USC I already mentioned -- not a realistic scenario unless CU "gets good" at the same time and competes with them for conference championships.
Final note: it's the western-US distances that make this hard. I believe that rivalries are fueled primarily by fans attending the actual fucjking games. I knew many people at VT, and a few at Wisconsin and NCSU, who had one or more years they attended every football game (home and away) while being students. That's just not feasible out here on a typical student budget.
