Thorburn: CU Buffs create different 2010 plan

[Buffnik]

Very solid piece by Thorburn, even if it was tough to read in spots.

He rehashes Tharp's 10-year plan that had been unveiled in 2000 that had some very lofty goals for all our programs... and how it went wrong.

Tharp resigned in November of 2004 in the aftermath of a football recruiting scandal and Title IX lawsuit, which also led to the departure of CU's president (Betsy Hoffman) and chancellor (Richard Byyny).

If nothing else, Tharp dared to dream big. His vision for 2010 included vaulting CU to the level of "one of the top five academic-athletic institutions in the country."

One of the stated goals of Athletics 2010 was for the Buffs to compete for a Big 12 championship in every sport.

Another goal was for all of CU's programs to be ranked consistently in the top-20 and to be in a position to compete for a national championship.

Another goal was to win the Sears Directors Cup.

The article goes on to give the actual performances of the various CU athletic programs. Obviously, this is a mostly difficult read. But it does end on a high note, listing the major accomplishments and stating that CU athletics looks to be poised for some major steps forward.

There is a golden opportunity for the CU athletic department to reinvent itself in 2011 with a fresh start in the Pac-12.

http://www.buffzone.com/ci_16977238

Thoughts?

I think it was fair. Solid, candid opinion piece. I'm looking forward to reading Thorburn as our local CU Football writer in 2011. Already liking his style more than Woelk's.

 

[Mick Ronson]

i seem to recall part of Vision 2010 was a top 15 basketball program.

well, we got the practice facility. and Tharpe had a few martini lunches at the former Dolan's, too.

 

[Del]

I think we could start to see some of these original results come to fruition in 2020 total athletic program and facilities wise but not sooner since we are looking at a 15 million dollar shortfall in revenue. The Football team could reach a top 20 finish in 3-4 years. We've made some progress but still have a long way to go.