FORT COLLINS, Colo. — Inside Moby Arena on the campus of Colorado State University (CSU), current players and alumni squared off Thursday ahead of the annual alumni basketball game.
“The campus brings back a lot of good memories,” said former CSU standout and retired NBA player Jason Smith. “Coming back into the gym, even more good memories.”
“Former players on campus for a week, and they’re training here. It’s just a great opportunity to interact,” said CSU head basketball coach Niko Medved.
But this year feels different to many at CSU and in Fort Collins.
“We’re using this as a catalyst to reengage our alumni base and reinvigorate that now that we have a solid basketball program. The football program is really trending in a beautiful direction. Good things are happening here,” said CSU alumni and local business owner Ben Morgan. “There’s a lot of talk down south about things going on down there, but I think we’re kind of the dark horse up here, and I’m okay with that.”
With much of the focus on the University of Colorado Boulder and new head football coach Deion Sanders, just 50 miles north of Boulder, CSU continues its quiet yet somewhat urgent push toward a possible invitation to join a Power Five conference.
“Canvas Stadium, that’s the crown jewel of CSU athletics,” said John Weber, who spearheads the Green and Gold Guard — CSU’s name, image and likeness collective.
Since opening a new on-campus football stadium in 2017, CSU has also added new locker room facilities for men’s and women’s basketball and new soccer fields.
“I think the competition level is right there. I think the facilities are right there,” Smith said. "Good things happening here. Are you kidding me? Have you seen the new basketball locker rooms?"
“I would love to see CSU go Power Five, if possible,” said former CSU point guard Derrick Stevens, who coached in the NBA G League. “I think we have the amenities for it. The campus is beautiful. Fort Collins is nice. So, I think we embody all the qualities to be a Power Five school, if you ask me.”
“The investment that we’ve made in facilities, in coaches, in academics — this is a place that is set for tremendous growth,” Weber said.
The university, particularly the athletics department, has a focus on the future with their feet firmly planted in a plan for success.
“You hear it. You understand the landscape of college athletics,” Medved said. “It’s changed unbelievably here in the last couple years. But the way I look at it is — the best thing that you can do is be the best at where you are right now."
