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An Open Letter to CU’s New Athletic Director Fernando Lovo
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Note … Below is a letter I am sending to CU’s new athletic director, Fernando Lovo, who took office January 1st. In August, 2013, I sent a similar letter to CU’s then new athletic director, Rick George. That letter, which you can read here, prompted a call from Rick (on his fourth day on the job. He now jokingly refers to our conversation as his “first interview”). I’ll let you know what response, if any, I receive from CU’s new athletic director ...
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Dear Mr. Lovo,
Welcome to the Buff Nation!
In your introductory press release, you correctly noted that “we are in a period of extraordinary change in collegiate athletics”.
This being the case, we don’t have the luxury of time to get to know you, or you us.
Of course, getting your young family settled into a new environment should and must be your top priority. Take all the time you need …
Done? Okay, then let’s get to work.
Here are some unsolicited pieces of advice from a longtime fan …
Land the Big Fish
I was pleased to see that you have an incentive clause in your contract for fundraising, and that you will receive a $200,000 bonus if you raise $25 million in your first six months as CU’s new athletic director.
It should go without saying that CU needs you to earn that bonus.
While money can’t buy you happiness, it can buy you wins. Indiana hadn’t won an outright Big Ten conference championship since 1945; Texas Tech’s last outright conference title came in 1955 as champions of the long-forgotten Border Conference … and now look at those two programs.
Granted, it takes quality “recruitment” of players, quality coaching, and excellent player development to get to the top. Phil Knight and Oregon have been trying to buy a title for 30 years. T. Boone Pickens tried and failed to bring a title to Oklahoma State.
But you can’t compete without players. And, it today’s world of collegiate athletics, you can’t get players without cash.
Everywhere you turn, there are stories of influxes of cash. I’m sure you don’t need schooling on what Utah is up to, or the huge cash commitments made at the likes of similarly situated programs like Kansas and Virginia Tech. Hell, Georgia Tech (CU’s first opponent in 2026) recently received two separate $10 million donations … and the story barely made the news.
You need to do whatever you need to do to make this happen. If ASU’s Kenny Dillingham can openly solicit a $20 million donation at a press conference, why can’t you?
I don’t know what your plan is to raise serious cash for the University of Colorado athletic department, but that’s Job 1. It is the sine qua non of your new job at CU.
Toward that end …
Take full advantage of having Rick George in the building
I’m sure that you are a self confident individual. You don’t make it to the position you are in at such a (relatively) young age without self-confidence and ambition.
But, for the sake of your new school … park your ego at the curb when it comes to fundraising.
Rick George was in a similar position when he took over as athletic director in August, 2013.
For years, CU had plans on the books for a major upgrade in facilities – which was, back then, the focus of the arms race in collegiate athletics.
But CU couldn’t raise the funds.
Enter Rick George.
At an athletic department which had never raised more than $15 million in a year, Rick raised $105 million – in three years – and got the Champions Center built.
CU is now in need of a similar financial miracle, and Rick can help you make that happen.
Most often, a new athletic director has to start fresh. You, though, have the benefit of having Rick on board to help. Rick has the Rolodex (an old man’s term – ask your parents) of CU donors. He has the relationships. He can make the introductions.
I’m not sure how well you and Rick will work together, or how you will define roles. But, as athletic director, you will have numerous other duties which will take up a great deal of your time, including introducing yourself to over 300 student-athletes, attending games and events, as well as an endless series of meetings.
Lean into Rick’s experience, and take advantage of his remaining time with the department.
John F. Kennedy once said: “Victory has a thousand fathers, but defeat is an orphan”.
You don’t need to do it all yourself. Take advantage of Rick’s experience and contacts to make your fundraising goals become realities.
While at the same time …
Be your own man
This may seem like a contradiction to the previous section, but you need to, while sharing the credit, need to make this job your own.
At New Mexico, you were in position to hire a new head football coach and a new men’s basketball coach.
At Colorado, you are inheriting two icons at that position.
Tad Boyle is CU’s all-time leader in wins. In CU’s men’s basketball history, the Buffs have posted 14 seasons with 20 or more victories – with ten of those 14 seasons coming under Tad Boyle. He owns 23 of CU’s 34 all-time conference tournament victories.
That said, CU has not been been competitive in its return to the Big 12.
But Tad has earned some grace.
Coach Prime, meanwhile, is Coach Prime.
When Coach Prime was hired, CU was the worst team in the FBS. Not just the worst team in the Power Five … the worst team in college football.
Coach Prime has restored Colorado football to relevance. He has made CU a national story; he has filled the stadium.
If you do your job and create a pool of dollars to buy CU a competitive roster, it will be up to Coach Prime to bring home victories.
I can’t imagine a coach doing a better job than has Coach Prime in bringing CU back from the brink. It’s now up to your partnership with Coach Prime to take CU to the next level.
But … It’s also important to remember that this is your athletic department … not his.
You have the permission of the Buff Nation to walk the short distance from your fifth floor office in the Champions Center to Coach Prime’s office.
Go ahead, you don’t need an appointment … you’re his boss.
You might open the conversation like this:
“I took over as athletic director on January 1st. On that date, you had a roster with no returning defensive tackles and no returning linebackers. This past season, 29 players played at least 30 snaps on Colorado’s defense. As of now, only six are slated to return (and just one of the top 17).
“You have been spotted on national television watching your son play in the NFL. Shedeur’s season is now over, so I’m trusting you will not put your full attention on fixing the program you were hired to lead. You made public comments at the end of last season that there would be changes, and that you had learned from your mistakes. To date, other than a good hire at offensive coordinator, it’s been a month of nothing but bad news for your constituents.
“You haven’t done an interview in the past month, explaining to the Buff Nation what your plans are to fix your 3-9 team. You don’t have to do that interview (though you should), but you do need to explain to me how you are going to put together a team which currently doesn’t even have enough players for a decent practice”.
Once you have gotten past your venting, and (hopefully) received satisfactory responses to your questions, you can turn your attention to learning about your new school …
Immerse yourself in all that is CU
I’m sure that as a student at the University of Florida, you were introduced to all manner of stories about The Swamp, and enjoyed Florida’s national championship runs in football and basketball.
Every school has its history.
While you were at Texas, I’m sure you had your fill of hearing “Hook ’em Horns!”. You also likely became well versed while at Ohio State in the edict never to mention “that team up north”.
The University of Colorado has its history as well.
In your adult life, CU has been terrible at football. It’s important that you learn, however, that this hasn’t always been the case. In fact, the last 20 years have been the exception, not the rule, for Colorado football:
- CU is one of only two dozen programs in the nation with a national championship and a Heisman trophy winner, and one of only three in the Big 12 (TCU and BYU being the others);
- Until recently, CU was in the top 25 in all-time wins and all-time winning percentage in college football history;
- In the 20th century, CU had at least one conference championship in every decade except the 1950s (when Bud Wilkinson and the Oklahoma Sooners dominated the Big Seven – and all of college football, for that matter).
You will find this surprising, but it’s true … Until the Buffs took a nose dive in the Pac-12, Colorado had not finished alone in last place, either in a division or a conference since 1915. You read that right … Not once, as a member of the Big Seven, Big Eight, or Big 12 has Colorado finished alone in last place (though the Buffs have Oklahoma State to thank for keeping them out of the basement this past year).
If you are going to win over the Buff Nation, you need to understand that we may be beaten down, but we are not defeated.
A winning season and a minor bowl bid is not, repeat not, the ceiling for this program. A winning season and a bowl bid must always be considered as the floor for success at CU, not the ceiling.
As a newly minted Buff, you will want to learn more about CU than just remembering the names of “Ralphie” and “Miss Peggy”. Fans you will meet will expect you to be conversant in “The Miracle at Michigan” and “The Fifth Down Game”. Scores like “20-10” and “62-36” are just as important to Buff fans as knowing the scores of Florida’s national championship games are to you.
It will be a steep learning curve, but a necessary one if you are to become one of us.
(If you ever need a CliffsNotes assist, may I humbly point you toward the CU at the Game Archives, where you can find a write up of every game CU has played since 1980).
We won’t be won over easily. Suffice it to say we are pretty jaded these days. You will have to be here several years – and have CU be successful on the field – for some Buff fans to believe that you are looking at this job as something more than just a stepping stone to get back to Florida and the SEC.
Getting to know us, and appreciate our history, will go a long way towards winning over the Buff Nation.
Now, once you get settled in …
CU Olympic Sports
The University of Colorado has 29 NCAA national championships. That’s good enough to be ranked 21st nationally in that category, 2nd only to Oklahoma State in the Big 12.
CU routinely competes for national championships in skiing and cross country. Find out what these programs need … and get them the resources to make it happen.
CU also has consistently put Top 25 teams on the field in women’s soccer, lacrosse, and basketball. Again, their success is your success.
Fan Experience
I can talk with you at length at your convenience about the rust at the feet of every fan in Folsom, the pregame band program which hasn’t been updated since the Reagan administration, the (still) dysfunctional sound system, the absurdity of still having “trough” urinals within the bowels of the stadium, or the inadequacies of Balch Fieldhouse and its press box … but those are needs/wants which are secondary to the need to field a competitive team.
I’ve gone on long enough. You have work to do.
I’m sure you’ve noticed on the wall downstairs the following quote from Bill McCartney: “The Pride and Tradition of the Colorado Buffaloes will not be entrusted to the timid or the weak”.
We’re putting our faith and trust in you to restore Colorado to its rightful place as a Top 25 national program.
Go Buffs!
Stuart Whitehair
CU Class of 1984 (B.A., History/Political Science); CU Class of 1987 (J.D.)
(406) 581-9714
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6 Replies to “An Open Letter to CU’s New Athletic Director”
I reached out to the buffs premier thing and never got an answer. I am not donating to a group that never answers back. I do think a small contribution plan could work at CU but it needs to be run and advertised much better.
That is what lovo is here to do. I have never been fond of their donation stuff at cubuffs.com, not super user friendly, but still works.
Go Buffs
Excellent letter Stuart. Hopefully AD Lovo takes your letter seriously. I am optimistic regarding this hire….. we’ll see how it goes.
Prime needs to understand that his charisma initially gave CU a huge boost in national attention, but he has squandered that and now the Buffs have quickly returned to the bad old days which preceded his arrival. He might salvage things somewhat if he puts in the necessary sweat work of
in-person recruiting, and serious time and effort into improving coaching skills such as clock management and making sound in game strategy decisions.
Finding big donors is part of the job in the current college football landscape, but demonstrating significant improvement in head coaching skills is absolutely necessary before fan support evaporates.
That’s great Stuart.
Well said Stu! Three additions from my perspective. First, Prime must make in home visits. Secondly, the coaches need to pay attention to visiting the local high schools. I have spoken with two coaches that have top 10 programs in the state and they have not been visited by CU staff. Between Creek and Valor the had roughly 10 players sign with D1 programs. Plus, instate tuition is cheaper than out of state. Rome wasn’t built in a day and it is going to take time to build those relationships. Sure some will leave, that is the nature of the beast. Transfer portal players are mercenaries at best, lousy players at worst. Just take a look at the 2025 bust of a transfer class.