The Rocky Mountain Collegian

Issue date: 12/10/07 Section: Sports

Media Credit: Aaron Montoya CSU Athletics Director Paul Kowalczyk speaks to members of the media immediately following a press conference detailing former head coach Sonny Lubick's official step down from his 15 year position at CSU. The conference was held at Moby Arena at Colorado State University in Fort Collins, Colorado Tuesday night, November 27, 2007.

With all of the attention locked on CSU athletic department's anticipated announcement of a new head football coach and the unrest among some community members that followed the removal of 15-year coach Sonny Lubick, something has been lost.

Though the record books and community message boards may not reflect it, there have been several positive steps taken off the field by the CSU athletic program this year. Most visible to the average fan have been the athletic department's new school spirit and community outreach initiatives, spearheaded by athletic director Paul Kowalczyk.

Kowalczyk, whose search for a new football coach had no reported update Sunday night, has spent the last year and a half attacking the problematic lack of support for CSU athletics with a series of innovations and programs in the Fort Collins community.

The second year-director is hoping that with increased outreach into the community, more people will want to come to games, and ultimately, want to donate much needed money.

This year's attendance at home football games dropped nearly 10 percent (24,183 to 21,794), which was something Kowalczyk has said attributed to Lubick's firing Nov. 18.

"We've gone from the top of the Mountain West to the bottom because we've been in neutral while everyone else has been growing, and that's changing," Kowalczyk told the Collegian back in October.

Certainly one of the biggest changes will be whoever replaces Lubick.

Since his firing, boosters have pulled funds, former players are speaking out in support of their former coach and community members have been voicing their concerns in local newspapers and community message boards.

Continued...

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