It'll be just like starting over for CSU-Pueblo

After 23 years without football, CSU-Pueblo building from scratch

Pat Rooney, Special To The Rocky

Published September 17, 2007 at midnight

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There is no visible evidence of what will be returning to the campus of Colorado State University-Pueblo in about a year, except for maybe a few football-shaped clouds looming over the picturesque horizon.

There are no players getting ready for game day, no cheerleaders practicing their routines. There isn't even a stadium, at least not yet, and ThunderWolves fans only can imagine the cheers that soon will echo across campus.

Yet that is just a shortlist of the few things, though essential, still missing. For football fans in Pueblo waiting with dwindling patience for the kickoff of the 2008 season, their dreams are based in a joyous reality many feared never would arrive.

Next year, for the first time in 24 years, college football will return to the football-mad city of Pueblo. Thanks to a major fundraising effort by the booster club Friends of Football, the ThunderWolves will don pads and knock helmets for the first time since a budget crunch led to elimination of the program after the 1984 season.

"I think the unique thing about it is that you can start your own tradition," said John Wristen, 45, a former standout quarterback for the ThunderWolves who was hired as head coach in early July.

"You can be in on the foundation and say you helped start something. It will be a tremendous opportunity for young guys to come in and play. Plus, I think we've got a great degree to sell here. We've got a Colorado State University degree. With those combinations of things here, I think we've got untapped potential that we're excited to help cultivate."

The long road home

Joe Folda has been CSU-Pueblo's athletic director since 2003, but he has been a fixture at the school since he became the men's basketball coach in 1987, three years after the football program was dropped. Almost immediately, Folda could sense something vital was missing from ThunderWolves athletics.

"There still were a couple (football) assistants still coaching track, and there was disappointment there," Folda said. "Throughout the community . . . I don't want to say people were talking about it all over the place, but through the years you would bump into somebody and it would always be, 'When are you bringing back football?' Especially whenever we had alumni gatherings, which would include former football players. Then it came up loud."

Those pangs of disappointment, though, were not enough to cut through the bottom line. Budgetary concerns forced the school to drop football, and those shortcomings continued to keep the program sidelined for more than two decades until Friends of Football essentially said, "Enough is enough."

Friends of Football, formed in early 2006, originally was made up of 14 people, several of whom played football at CSU-Pueblo (the institution was called Southern Colorado until July 2003). Getting the hometown team back in pads was not the only reason the group desperately wanted to see college football return to Pueblo.

As alumni, they were alarmed by slowly declining enrollment and knew a successful football program not only could attract a broader scope of students, but also could enrich campus life. As successful businessmen, Friends of Football also realized bringing back football could help the local economy.

"(Friends of Football) are just hardworking guys that want to give back to the university and the community," said Dan DeRose, president of the organization. "Our vision is a lot more than just the athletic program. We think this is going to kick- start a growth, an epidemic if you will, at the university. We'd like to see the university get to (7,000), 8,000 (enrollment), maybe even 10,000, over the next five to 10 years."

The group got its feet wet by hosting the Colorado Classic last season, inviting Western State and Adams State to Dutch Clark Stadium to play the first college football game in Pueblo since 1984.

Earlier this year, Friends of Football presented the university with $7 million to bring back not only football, but also wrestling and women's track.

Since the school approved expanding the athletic program in May, Friends of Football has begun helping CSU-Pueblo get a new stadium constructed in time for the football program's relaunch Sept. 6, 2008, against Oklahoma Panhandle State.

"We were going to play at Dutch Clark, but with further discussions with the university and in our group, we all just felt it was vital we play on campus," DeRose said. "We want to have a first-class facility that will bring people out to the institution and help with recruiting and everything else. So we've embarked upon a second campaign of $6 million, which will be a total of $13 million."

All he needs is players

By force of habit, Wristen occasionally still refers to his team as "Southern Colorado."

"I slip every once in awhile," he said and laughed.

The error is understandable. Wristen remains prominent in the ThunderWolves' record books for his passing exploits in the early 1980s.

Wristen, a former assistant at the University of Colorado who was the special-teams coach at UCLA last season, has roots in the Pueblo community - he graduated from Pueblo South High School - and made plenty of contacts along the Front Range recruiting trail during his tenure at CU.

With a staff in place and a stadium on the way, all Wristen needs now is players, something that won't happen officially until national signing day in February.

"There's not too many times in education or coaching where you get to start something from the ground level on up," Wristen said. "I needed that challenge in my lifetime. I really was looking forward to having the opportunity to build it, to put our stamp on it, to make sure I was able to give back to the university a little bit and try to take us to a different level. It is a dream job for me."

Wristen hopes his team can compete immediately in the NCAA Division II Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference, but he admits it will take a few seasons to get the program primed.

The RMAC allows 28 full football scholarships, but Wristen doesn't expect to reach that level for about three years, so he can build a roster that is balanced and deep. This fall will be spent darting between high school practices and games while also watching Saturday contests involving his future RMAC rivals.

By culling players from the junior-college ranks, Wristen has set a lofty goal of having "anywhere from 30 to 60 kids on campus in January" so he can begin to shake the dust off the program in spring practice.

Wristen also has hit the public speaking circuit in Pueblo, further stirring interest and excitement that already was bubbling, but his primary focus has been to mine a Colorado recruiting ground he already has been hounding for the better part of two decades.

"A few weeks ago (defensive coordinator) Hunter Hughes came into town and we met with six guys that are coming who are really good football players," Wristen said. "Our challenge to them was to be the pillars of the foundation we want to build on. We've had interest from kids in California to St. Louis to the state of Washington. And I think once the name gets out, we're going to hear from more. But our primary goal is to be able to recruit the kids from Colorado, and the interest we've received has been awesome."

Helping hands

CSU-Pueblo coach John Wristen, holder of the school record for passing yards in a season (1,141 in 1983) and a career (3,283) already has hired three assistant coaches for his fledging program, all of whom have Colorado ties.

• Tom Miller will serve as assistant head coach after spending 23 years as an assistant at Air Force under Fisher DeBerry.

• Hunter Hughes is defensive coordinator. He spent four seasons as a defensive graduate assistant at the University of Colorado.

• Mike Moschetti, a former CU quarterback, is offensive coordinator.

Wanted: players

Want to be one of the Thunderwolves? On Wednesday at Dutch Clark Stadium in Pueblo, Wristen will oversee an open tryout for those wanting to be part of his first team. Players are required to have had a physical in the past six months and need to have completed their high school eligibility.

Anyone attending a different college this year needs to obtain a release from their school to participate. Registration will take place from 10 a.m. to noon, with tryouts to follow.

Wanted: creativity

Not quite ready to don pads but eager to make your mark on the new program? Wristen and the athletic department are sponsoring a contest to design the team's new helmets and uniforms. Winners will receive either $250 in cash or a $1,000 scholarship. For information and to find an entry form: twolves.colostate-pueblo.edu.

More new sports

Football isn't the only sport returning to CSU-Pueblo, thanks to the $7 million endowment made by the organization Friends of Football. Wrestling and women's track also will return during the 2008-09 school year.

• Wrestling was eliminated in 2001 but will be revived by new coach Dax Charles. Charles was a three-time All-American at CSU-Pueblo and won the 1992 Division II National Championship in the 150-pound division.

• Chad Perry has been hired as the women's track coach.

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