University of Colorado - Coloradan Yearbook (Boulder, CO)

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The Colorado Sporting Scene: A YEAR OF CHANGE by Chance Conner It all began with the Board of Regents approv- ing the sale of beer at home football games. And it all ended with the Buff baseball team playing doubleheaders in a drizzle and near-freezing temperatures at Prentup Field. The year in sports at Colorado was a quirky one. It was one of steady change and surprises. There was drama both on the field and in the court- rooms, and successes and failures in both the men's and women's programs. Above all, it was an interesting year to observe. There will never be another one quite like it. From the beginning in September it seemed like Colorado athletics were sitting squarely in the public eye. The nouveau riche women's athletic department merged with the men's and immedi- ately flexed its muscles thanks to Title IX. Rene Portland was hired away from St. Joseph's in Philadelphia to become the new Lady Buff basketball coach, and her Colorado salary and benefits were widely reported nationally. The Big Eight football wars finally took their toll on Bill Mallory and he was fired in November by athletic director Eddie Crowder after compiling a sub-par 6-5 record. Soon, Crowder and the rest of the University community would learn about true national exposure when the Chuck Fairbanks at- fair began in mid-December. Colorado's efforts to hire Fairbanks were halted by the New England Patriots, the coach's former team, and a four- month-long legal battle was fought before Fair- banks would officially become the new head coach of the Buffaloes. The Flatirons Club, a foot- ball booster organization, paid $200,000 to the Patriots to settle the feud, and Fairbanks inked his name to a contract just days before spring drills began. Colorado's unpredictable year of sports began in September as the Buff footballers won their first five games-all at Folsom Field-and appeared to be a viable force in the Big Eight when they downed Kansas 17-7 before a sunsplashed Homecomina audience.

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everyone there ins? fe' be Where the c: L L L because they really were interested? is the mood 7;, next ysee 3 student body knows for s ,9

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