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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Daniel Action this foil was fast and furious, especially on Saturday afternoons. Clockwise, from right, ttpossing took on new meaning lost football season as o bevy of fun-Ioving students learned that not oil palms are soft. Quarterback Bill Solomon won the job of directing the Buffs' erratic offense, and pool shork Jack White regoled his UMC audience with his quick wit and rozor-shorp tongue. A hoggord Bill Mallory, opposite page, gives some sideline advice. Qonorroe The five-gome streak featured bizarre partici- pation from the University students, who devised their own game in the stonds-possing people up and down the stadium rows. Even Governor Richard Lomm got in the act, costing his rigid body to the throng in o brazen show of home- spun politicking. Tragedy struck the athletic department September 22 when Lady Buff tennis star Allison Mocotee was killed in a freak auto accident just prior to her first collegiate motch. Her loss left 0 major void in the women's program. Pool shork Jack White entertained students at the UMC Connection in early October with his quick wit and trick shots. The portly billiards master gave on exhibition in pool hall finesse and street-smort chatter, regoiing his fans with tales of triumph and the following bombastic statement: It's great being great. Humble pie'wos not on White's menu. While home proved sweet for the football team, the road proved disastrous. The Buffs left Folsom Field after five straight wins for Stillwoter. Oklahoma, where they dropped their first deci- sion to surprising Oklahoma State, 24-20. The grid- ders come home licking their wounds and Mol- Iory's critics began chirping, but the following week was when the boo-birds would surface en mosse. The Big Red Jinx, the Nebraska Cornhuskers,