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Colorado High School Football Participation – Before and After 2010

February 11, 2016November 13, 2016 horvath Leave a comment

Has Colorado high school football suffered because of the concussion crisis in college and professional football?

For years the National Football League denied that head trauma could have long-term consequences on its athletes. Finally in 2010, the NFL publicly admitted that many of its former players were suffering from chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE). In 2014, Boston University release a study showing that almost all of the brains studied tested positive for CTE.

Over the past decade the increased awareness of brain trauma and concussions has resulted in the establishment of protocol to identify when athletes have received a concussion. These protocols apply to all sports and all levels of play. As well they would apply to situations off the courts and playing fields.

In some places, reports have indicated that participation in football has resulted in a reduction in the number of football players.

Data from the NFHS shows that the concussion crisis had no impact on the number of Colorado schools with football teams. This data is for the 13 academic years beginning in 2002/2003 and ending 2014/2015. There were 215 teams in 2002/2003 and 211 teams in 2014/2015. This data does not include 8-man football teams. (The program data for 2006/2007 and 2007/2008 appears to be an aberration).

Most years, the average number of participants per program was about 70.

The number of participations reached almost 18,000 in 2007/2008, but declined sharply the next two year. In has since been in the 15,000 to 16,000 range. The fear of concussion on the number of participants appears to be temporary and minimal at this point.

The NFHS data also reported that there were about 50 girls who play high school boys football each year. On average, this means there is about one girl for every four programs.

In 2013/2015, 216 girls participated in the boys programs. The following year, that number dropped back to 35.

Despite the concussion crisis, Colorado high school football continues to be the king of adolescent sports. Its popularity will likely increase with the recent Super Bowl win by the Denver Broncos.

CU Buffs Football Attendance Up in 2015

November 28, 2015December 21, 2015 horvath Leave a comment

The hard cold facts about college football are that every Saturday half the teams are losers. And the CU Buffs are doing their best to make their opponents feel good about themselves on the weekends.

Over the past decade the abysmal win-loss record of the CU Buffs football team has given fans a reason to find other things to do on Saturday afternoons than support the black and gold.

The problems began over a decade ago. The Buffs finished the 2004 and 2005 seasons with 7-5 records. In 2004 they were 4-4 in the Big 12 and in 2005 they were 5-3. Oklahoma beat them 42-3 in the 2004 Big 12 Championships and Texas thumped them 70-3 the following year.

Many viewed these drubbings in the championships as a sign that CU was not capable of participating in the D1 football race to see which program could spend the most money. The CU administration viewed the losses differently. They used them as justification for hiring a new coach.

In retrospect, those days of getting slaughtered in the Big 12 championships were the good old days. The Buffs football team has not had a winning season since 2005.

In 2011, dollar signs flashed in front of the CU administrators and CU jumped from the Big 12 to the PAC-12 conference. Unfortunately the Buffs found out the PAC-12 also had teams that knew how to play football.

Since 2011, the Buffs have had five conference wins – three on the road and two at home. Details follow:

Year	Conference Record	Comments
2011	2-7 conference record	Home win over Arizona and a road win against Utah.
2012	1-8 conference record	Road win over Washington State.
2013	1-8 conference record	Home win over California.
2014	0-9 conference record	Ugh!
2015	1-8 conference record	17-13 squeaker in Corvallis

Unfortunately, the Buffs conference home attendance has paralleled the number of wins on the field.

2011
The Buffs were 1-4 at home in conference play.
• 9/10 49,532 California
• 10/1 51,928 Washington State
• 10/22 52,123 Oregon
• 11/4 50,083 Southern California
• 11/22 48,111 Arizona.
Average conference home attendance 50,355.

2012
The Buffs were 0-5 at home in conference play.
• 9/29 46,893 UCLA
• 10/11 45,161 Arizona State
• 10/27 44,138 Stanford
• 11/17 43,148 Washington
• 11/23 46,052 Utah.
Average conference home attendance 45,078.

2013
The Buffs were 1-3 at home in conference play.
• 10/5 45,944 Oregon
• 10/26 38,679 Arizona
• 11/16 38,252 California
• 11/23 36,005 Southern California.
Average conference home attendance 39,720.

2014
The Buffs were 0-5 at home in conference play.
• 9/13 38,547 Arizona State
• 10/04 36,415 Oregon State
• 10/24 37,442 UCLA
• 11/1 35,633 Washington
• 11/29 39,155 Utah
Fewer than 40,000 people attended every home game and average conference home attendance was 37,438.

2015
The Buffs were 0-5 at home in conference play.
10/3 46,222 Oregon
10/17 39,666 Arizona
10/31 51,508 UCLA
11/13 37,905 USC
11/28 45,823 Utah
The downward trend in attendance has been reversed. Average home attendance for the 2015 home conference games was 42,225 and Buffs fans were usually treated to a good show. Even though they were 0-5, they lost the five home games by a total of only 37 points.

Buff fans have to be the most loyal in the country. Despite going 2-22 at home since joining the PAC-12, they still keep showing up. Here’s to a better 2016! The CU Athletic Department needs fans in the seats to provide better funding for the Olympic sports.

Buffs Waiting for a Bowl Berth?

November 18, 2015December 21, 2015 horvath Leave a comment

On November 16th the Daily Camera sports department ran an article titled, “Buffs Clinging to Dim Hope for a Bowl Berth.” Excerpts from the article follow.

A whopping 80 bowl game spots are available this year. Of the 128 teams in the FBS, 62 teams have already earned bowl eligibility, while 34 have no chance of getting to the magic number of six wins.

Among the other 32 teams, 18 are just a win away from the six-win mark.

That leaves 14 other long shots that haven’t had good seasons to this point, yet still cling to hope.

Colorado is among the 14.

CU’s hope, however, stems from the fact that there might actually be a shortage of bowl eligible teams this season. If that’s the case, a 6-7 CU team could slip in through the back door and go bowling.

With all due respect to the players, coaches, and program – the Buffs don’t deserve a bid to a bowl. The team made progress this season, but they are a losing program that finds new and exciting ways to continuing being a losing program. It is actually sad.

At this point in the season the Buffs are 4-7. They started off the season 3-1, with wins over Massachusetts (2-8), CSU (5-5), Nicholls State (2-8), and Oregon State (2-8). Combined these four teams have won only 11 games while losing 29. Ouch!

The story gets worse.
• Massachusetts had wins over Eastern Michigan (1-9) and FIU (5-6) – total 6-15.
• CSU beat Savannah State (1-8), University of Texas San Antonio (2-8), Air Force (7-3), Wyoming (1-9), and UNLV (3-7) – total 14-39.
• Nicholls State beat Lamar (5-5) and Houston Baptist (2-8) – total 7-13.
• Oregon State beat Weber State (5-5) and San Jose State (4-6) – total 9-11.
These four schools won 11 games. Only one of their opponents had a winning season (CSU beat Air Force). The combined record of these programs was 36-78.

In other words, CU was only able to beat teams that were capable of defeating only really weak programs.

This season will cap off a decade of losing seasons, although things were only slightly better in 2005 when they were 7-6. In the past nine seasons the Buffs were 31-79.

Here’s to a better season in 2016. The athletic program need a winning football team to generate more revenue to provide greater support for the minor sports.

Football, Basketball, and Track – Top Sports in Colorado

October 31, 2015November 13, 2016 horvath Leave a comment

What were the top sports in Colorado for boys in high school during the 2014 season?

Data from the National Federal of State High School Athletic Associations (NFHS), https://www.nfhs.org/, shows that the most popular sports, from an athletic director’s perspective, for boys are basketball, track and field, baseball, wrestling, and cross-country, and soccer. More than 300 Colorado schools have basketball programs. While just under 300 have track and field and baseball. If all levels of football (6, 8, and 11 player) are combined, then football is the third most popular sport.

Sport	Number of Schools with Programs
Basketball	330
Track and Field — Outdoor	299
Baseball	279
Wrestling	240
Cross Country	230
Football — 11-Player	211
Soccer	211
Golf	189
Tennis	130
Swimming & Diving	118
Lacrosse	113
Ice Hockey	64
Football — 8-player	49
Football — 6-player	35
Skiing — Alpine	14
Skiing — Cross Country	14

At the bottom of the list are alpine and cross-country ski programs.

From the athlete’s perspective the ranking is much different. Despite concerns about concussions, football is overwhelmingly the most popular sport. It is followed by track and field, basketball, baseball, and soccer. At that point there is a significant drop to wrestling, cross-country, and lacrosse.

Sport	Number of Participants
Football — 11-Player	14,917
Track and Field — Outdoor	9,597
Basketball	8,764
Baseball	8,248
Soccer	7,770
Wrestling	4,978
Cross Country	4,068
Lacrosse	3,787
Tennis	2,868
Golf	2,145
Swimming & Diving	2,066
Football — 8-player	859
Ice Hockey	644
Football — 6-player	453
Competitive Spirit Squad	172
Skiing — Alpine	140
Skiing — Cross Country	117

Competitive spirit squad and alpine and cross-country ski programs are clearly at the bottom.

Highest Price Television Advertising – Sunday Night Football

November 7, 2014November 13, 2016 horvath Leave a comment

Advertising Age recently released the results of its annual survey of the cost of prime time ads on the major networks. Because actual prices vary based on inventory levels and advertisers have different relationships with the network, the listed prices should be considered estimates.

At the top of the list, by a long shot is Sunday Night Football. The highest price television advertising is a 30 second ad on Sunday Night Football. The cost is $627,300. Thursday Night Football is a distant second place at $483,333.

The following information is from a September 25 post by Jeanine Poggi. It shows the leaders by network.

Sunday
ABC – 8:00 Resurrection $140,378.
CBS – 7:00 60 Minutes $98,280.
NBC – 8:00 Sunday Night Football $627,300.
Fox – 8:00 The Simpsons $189,933.

Monday
ABC – 10:00 Castle $141,560.
CBS – 9:00 Big Bang Theory $344,827.
NBC- 10:00 The Blacklist $282,975.
Fox – 9:00 Sleepy Hollow $202,500.

Tuesday
ABC – 9:00 Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. $157,254.
CBS – 8:00 NCIS $170,948.
NBC – 9:00 The Voice $253,840.
Fox – 9:00 New Girl $187,050.

Wednesday
ABC – 9:00 Modern Family $239,650.
CBS – 9:00 Criminal Minds $135,789.
NBC – 10:00 Chicago P.D. $122,000.
Fox – 9:00 Red Band Society $118,025.

Thursday
ABC – 9:00 Scandal $217,546.
CBS – 8:00 Thursday Night Football $483,333.
NBC – 9:00 Bad Judge $204,667.
Fox – 9:00 Gracepoint $170,275.

Friday
ABC 9:00 Shark Tank $109,878.
CBS 10:00 Blue Bloods $79,370.
NBC 9:00 Grimm $118,818.
Fox 8:00 Masterchef Junior $100,400.

Saturday
ABC 8:00 Saturday Night Football N/A.
CBS – 10:00 48 Hours $33,500.
NBC – Encores N/A.
Fox – Fox Sports Saturday N/A.

Despite the challenges the sport has faced off the field, the highest priced television advertising is for football. The sport remains at the top of the pile when it comes to capturing the top dollar.

Talk of Bowl Game for CU Buffs

November 1, 2014November 3, 2014 horvath Leave a comment

Brian Howell, Sports Writer for the Daily Camera is a homer (and there is nothing wrong with that.) On August 23 he wrote an editorial entitled, “Talk of bowl game for CU Buffs has merit this season.”

Howell began the article with the following comments:
“During fall camp this month, a handful of media members stood just outside of the practice fields and discussed the possibilities for the 2014 Colorado football team.
‘Am I crazy to think this team could get to a bowl game?’ one of them asked.
No, believe it or not, it’s not crazy.”
Later he added “Without question, this team is going to need some good fortune along the way to reach bowl eligibility, but no, it’s not crazy to think they can get there.”

Howell thought it was possible the Buffs could sweep the non-conference slate. He was correct until they played the CSU Rams in the season opener. Oops! Thank goodness the Buffs found a way to sneak past Hawaii and UMass. Both Buff opponents are 2-7 at this point in the season.

Later in his article Howell stated, “And, don’t think the Buffs are going to be happy with showing progress by turning blowout losses into narrow losses.”

Howell indicated possible conference wins might come against the following teams:
• California – Buffs lost 59-56 in OT
• Arizona State – Buffs lost 38-24.
• Oregon State – Buffs lost 36-31
• The Buffs will play Arizona on November 8th and Utah on November 29th.
With today’s loss to Washington, the Buffs bubble burst and they dropped to 2-7.With a little luck they will end the year 4-7. Most likely it will be 3-8 or 2-9.

The good news is the Buffs were stronger and they had greater entertainment value this season. From an academic perspective the Buffs will also have an opportunity to focus on their studies this December, while other teams have to focus on winning bowl games. And to top it off, they are blessed with a local sports writer is a homer (and there is nothing wrong with that).

On the downside, there are no moral victories when you play football in the big time. The Buffs are still the doormats of the PAC-12 and ticket sales have reportedly continued on a downward path. Thank goodness CU is playing in the PAC-12. Things would be even worse if they were in one of the top two conferences, the SEC, or the Big 12.

As is the case with the Chicago Cubs, there is always next season.

Fans Find Better Things to Do than Watch Buffs Football

December 3, 2013November 13, 2016 horvath Leave a comment

The primary goal of all Division I football teams is to put fannies in the seats and make donors want to contribute to the university.

The best way to accomplish this is to produce a winning team. The hard cold facts are that half the teams that play every Saturday are losers. Fans don’t support losing programs and Buffs football fans have found better things to do on Saturday afternoons than support the black and gold.

The Buffs finished the 2004 and 2005 seasons with 7-5 records. In 2004 they were 4-4 in the Big 12 and in 2005 they were 5-3. Oklahoma beat them 42-3 in the 2004 Big 12 Championships and Texas thumped them 70-3 the following year.

Many viewed these drubbings in the championships as a sign that CU was not capable of participating in the D1 football arms race without a sugar daddy. The CU administration viewed the losses differently. They used them as justification for hiring a new coach.

The Buffs football team has not had a winning season since 2005. Since then, they have had a 29-67 record, i.e. they have won only 30% of their games.

In 2011, the University of Colorado made a decision to move to the PAC 12 conference. Unfortunately the switch to a tougher conference did not positively impact the Buff’s performance on the field.

Their conference record for the past three seasons follows:

2011

2-7 conference record
Home win over Arizona and a road win against Utah.

2012

1-8 conference record
Road win over Washington State

2013

1-8 conference record.
Home win over California.

The points for/against Buffs football for the past three seasons follow:

2011

5 home games 127 points for 183 points against
4 away games 51 points for 193 points against
9 total games 178 points for 376 points against
For every point scored by the Buffs, the opponents scored 2.11 points

2012

5 home games 69 points for 221 points against
4 away games 86 points for 210 points against
9 total games 155 points for 431 points against
For every point scored by the Buffs, the opponents scored 2.78 points

2013

4 home games 106 points for 172 points against
5 away games 77 points for 226 points against
9 total games 183 points for 398 points against
For every point scored by the Buffs, the opponents scored 2.11 points

Most Buffs football fans supported CU’s move to the PAC 12, they are less supportive of the product being rolled out at Folsom Field. In the past three years, the Buffs have won 2 of 14 home games and been outscored 2 to 1.

The Buffs conference home attendance for the past three seasons follows:

2011

The Buffs were 1-4 at home in conference play.

9/10 49,532 California
10/1 51,928 Washington State
10/22 52,123 Oregon
11/4 50,083 Southern California
11/22 48,111 Arizona.

Average conference home attendance 50,355.

2012
The Buffs were 0-5 at home in conference play.

9/29 46,893 UCLA
10/11 45,161 Arizona State
10/27 44,138 Stanford
11/17 43,148 Washington
11/23 46,052 Utah.

Average conference home attendance 45,078.

2013
The Buffs were 1-3 at home in conference play.

10/5 45,944 Oregon
10/26 38,679 Arizona
11/16 38,252 California
11/23 36,005 Southern California.

Average conference home attendance 39,720.

Hopefully, the most recent change in coaches bodes well for the Buffs football program!

Bowl Not Likely for CU Buffs!

October 23, 2013November 13, 2016 horvath Leave a comment

Spin makes a bowling ball travel into the pocket for a strike, it makes a tennis serve curve into the court for an ace, and it allows media writers and sports information directors to say nice things when the home town team is losing.

Such was the case in Boulder this past weekend after the 3-3 CU Buffs downed Charleston Southern. The media reported, “3 more wins and the Buffs go bowling.”

The optimism was refreshing but, such foolishness belonged on the comics page.

Last year there was a chasm between the Buffs and their PAC-12 opponents. A year later the Golden Buffs have shown signs of improvement, but they still aren’t ready for Prime Time in the PAC 12.

Realistically, a respectable showing in the last six games will be great and a win against a solid PAC-12 team would be a major step forward. A road win would be stellar! Three wins are out of the picture. The Punch Bowl is the only bowl Chip and his football Buffs will see this season.

More importantly, the improving CU Buffs have not increased the number of fannies in the seats. After all, the financial bottom line is the most important part of major collegiate football programs. Go Buffs!

CU Buffs

Another Financially Draining Season for the CU Buffs

October 13, 2013November 13, 2016 horvath Leave a comment

The CU Buffs natives are restless.

This past Saturday, the following conversation was heard between two University of Colorado football fans at the Flatirons Mall.

The first fan looked at his cell phone and said “I just received an update of the score for the game between Arizona State and CU. The Buffs are only down 47-6 at half.”

The second fan quipped “The Sun Devils will be starting the second string cheerleaders in the second half.”

To which the first fan responded, “It sounds like the second string cheerleaders might have started the game for ASU. Didn’t you hear me say that CU scored 6 points in the second quarter?”

It is going to be another long and financially draining football season for CU Athletics.

Is a Division II Championship on Tap for the Campus in the Sky

August 24, 2013November 13, 2016 horvath Leave a comment

This past football season marked the 49th year that Fort Lewis College fielded a football team as a four-year college. Over that period they have won one conference championship and were victors in 32%, 152-322-3, of their games. On the field, they are the Chicago Cubs of Colorado football.

Earlier this year school leaders decided that it was time to enter the college athletics arms race by hiring former Arkansas football coach John L. Smith to head their program. Smith is reportedly being paid $67,000 a year to hunt, fish, ski, and coach football in Durango. (This is in line with FLC’s unofficial tagline, “Ski FLC and get a degree on the side”.)

This past summer Smith was interviewed for an article, “Mr. Smith Comes to Durango,” in The FLC Foundation Report – Summer 2013. In that piece Smith, outlined his three-step blueprint for bringing a Division 2 National Championship to the Campus in the Sky. The steps are:

Recruit players from all of Colorado and parts of New Mexico, Utah, and Arizona. Oh, and don’t forget to include Amarillo and Dallas. He also plans to focus on Native American tribes across the country. The coach indicated that it is important to recruit from within the region, so parents can get to Durango easily to watch their kids play.
Provide a stable base for players by maintaining a quality and consistent coaching staff.
Refine and upgrade facilities, in particular a an artificial turf, better stadium lights, and more weight rooms. FLC’s stadium holds 3,000 people and historically has more empty seats than spectators.

Smith pointed to the importance of academics because Division II players have a smaller chance of playing professionally. In other words, the need for a degree is much greater for FLC athletes than those at Division I schools.

The article sounds like spin that has been manufactured to justify the decision to hire Smith. Hopefully it will prove to be a decision that benefits the students and the college. Go Skyhawks!