There's Much More to Football in Colorado Than the Broncos
But are you ready to pay the price?
From the sheer cost of a ticket to other game-day essentials, such as parking, concessions and putting gas in the tank for the trip up Interstate 25, it’s just a simple fact that not everyone can afford the Broncos experience.
All is not lost, though.
Turn back your planner one day to Saturday. There are 10 other venues throughout the state of Colorado with college football programs, with each offering its own game-day experience chock full of pageantry, spirit and drama on the gridiron, no matter the level of competition.
And you won’t break the bank doing it.
Maybe you and your family are up for an afternoon (or night) out to witness the spectacle that is Falcon football at the United States Air Force Academy. Or perhaps it’s a day trip you’re after. Hit I-25 to start sojourns to Boulder (Colorado), Fort Collins (Colorado State), Greeley (Northern Colorado) or Pueblo (Colorado State-Pueblo). If it’s the back roads you want, games in Alamosa (Adams State), Gunnison (Western State) or Durango (Fort Lewis) are calling your name.
It’s the uniqueness, if anything, which makes each experience memorable in its own right.
Start with the Wings of Blue delivering the Air Force game ball with pinpoint precision, landing squarely on the Falcons logo at the 50-yard line, then soon after get blown away by the roar of the F-16s as they fly over during the end of the National Anthem.
"Falcon Stadium is a great place to be on game days," says 12th-season Falcons football coach Troy Calhoun, who himself graduated from the Academy in 1989. "There is no better pregame atmosphere in college football than seeing the cadet march-on, the Falcon performing, the flyovers and everything else that Falcon football offers. The football is pretty good too."
When you take your seat at Marv Kay Stadium at Campbell Field, home of the Colorado School of Mines, the game experience doubles as a history lesson. The site, home to the Orediggers since 1893, is the oldest football field west of the Mississippi River and was home to the first live football telecast in the Rockies on Nov. 1, 1952.
Want really thin air and a view of the brilliant foliage this fall? Mountaineer Bowl in Gunnison, home of Western State Colorado University, ranks as the highest college football field in the world at 7,750 feet, and the venue overlooks the Gunnison Valley toward the Curecanti National Recreation Area with breathtaking views of the state’s tallest peaks.
If it’s a crowd you want, then Folsom Field, where you can share the game with 53,749 friends – the most among college venues in Colorado – has you covered. Then there’s the wow factor, delivered by the brand-new Canvas Stadium in Fort Collins, which brought football back to campus at Colorado State in 2017 for the first time in a half century, and bills itself as the most exclusive venue in northern Colorado.
Traveling to watch a winning program is a plus, too.
At Air Force, Calhoun has led the Falcons to nine bowl games and seems poised to make big strides following a 5-7 ledger in 2017. Prior to that, the Falcons went 10-3, claimed the Commander-in-Chief’s Trophy for a record 20th time and won a bowl game for the second time in three seasons.
Meanwhile, Colorado has returned to national prominence under sixth-year coach Mike McIntyre, who in 2016 led the Buffaloes to their first 10-win season in 15 years, while Colorado State has earned bowl berths in all three seasons that Mike Bobo has been at the helm, the only Rams coach in program history to accomplish that feat.
In 2014, Colorado State-Pueblo put its program on the map in the biggest of ways when the ThunderWolves won the Division II national championship, beating Minnesota State, 13-0 in Kansas City, Kan.
And to coach John Wristen, who has led the program since it was restarted in 2008, the winning is just part of the formula that makes for the complete in-person experience.
"Over the past 10 years, we have created a great game-day atmosphere at CSU-Pueblo," Wristen says. "It’s become an event to come to the ThunderBowl. The tailgating has added to the special atmosphere, and people are having a lot of fun on a Saturday afternoon. We also created a tradition of winning."
The spectators win, too. With budget-friendly prices, you can plan that next trip to make even more memories.
ADAMS STATE
Location: Alamosa Academy
Nickname: Grizzlies
Home Stadium: Rex Field
Miles from Downtown Colorado Springs: 175
CAA Affiliation:
Division II
Conference: Rocky Mountain Athletic,
Home Games: Sept. 15 (Black Hills State), Sept. 29 (Fort Lewis), Oct. 6 (Chadron State), Oct. 20 (CSU-Pueblo), Nov. 10 (Dixie State)
More Information: asugrizzlies.com
AIR FORCE ACADEMY
Location: U.S. Air Force Nickname: Falcons
Home Stadium:
Falcon Stadium
Miles from Downtown Colorado Springs: 13
NCAA Affiliation: FBS Division I
Conference: Mountain West
Home Games: Sept. 1 (Stony Brook), Sept. 29 (Nevada), Oct. 6 (Navy), Oct. 27 (Boise State), Nov. 10 (New Mexico), Nov. 22 (Colorado State)
More Information: goairforcefalcons.com
COLORADO
Location: Boulder
Nickname: Buffaloes
Home Stadium: Folsom Field
Miles from Downtown Colorado Springs: 96
NCAA Affiliation:
FBS Division I
Conference: Pac-12
Home Games: Sept. 15 (New Hampshire), Sept. 28 (UCLA), Oct. 6 (Arizona State), Oct. 27 (Oregon State), Nov. 10 (Washington State), Nov. 17 (Utah)
More Information:
cubuffs.com
COLORADO MESA
Location: Grand Junction
Nickname: Mavericks
Home stadium: Stocker Stadium
Miles from
downtown Colorado Springs: 310
NCAA Affiliation:
Division II
Conference: Rocky Mountain Athletic
Home Games: Sept. 1 (South Dakota Mines), Sept. 22 (Chadron State), Oct. 13 (CSU-Pueblo), Oct. 27 (Dixie State), Nov. 3 (Adams State), Nov. 17 (Utah)
More Information: cmumavericks.com
COLORADO SCHOOL OF MINES
Location: Golden
Nickname: Orediggers
Home stadium:
Marv Kay Stadium at Campbell Field
Miles from Downtown Colorado Springs: 81
NCAA Affiliation:
Division II
Conference: Rocky Mountain Athletic
Home Games: Sept. 1 (Adams State), Sept. 15 (CSU-Pueblo), Sept. 29 (Colorado Mesa), Oct. 20 (Azusa Pacific), Oct. 27 (South Dakota Mines), Nov. 10 (Chadron State)
More Information: minesathletics.com
COLORADO STATE
Location: Fort Collins
Nickname: Rams
Home Stadium: Canvas Stadium
Miles from Downtown Colorado Springs: 132
NCAA Affiliation: FBS Division I
Conference:
Mountain West
Home games: Aug. 25 (Hawaii), Sept. 8 (Arkansas), Illinois State (Sept. 22), Oct. 13 (New Mexico), Oct. 26 (Wyoming), Nov. 17 (Utah State)
More Information: csurams.com
COLORADO STATE-PUEBLO
Location: Pueblo
Nickname: ThunderWolves
Home Stadium: Neta and Eddie DeRose ThunderBowl
Miles from Downtown Colorado Springs: 44
NCAA Affiliation: Division II
Conference: Rocky Mountain Athletic
Home Games: Sept. 1 (Dixie State), Sept. 8 (Chadron State), Sept. 29 (South Dakota Mines), Oct. 6 (New Mexico Highlands), Oct. 27 (Fort Lewis)
More Information: gothunderwolves.com
FORT LEWIS COLLEGE
Location: Durango
Nickname: Skyhawks
Home Stadium: Ray Dennison Memorial Field
Miles from Downtown Colorado Springs: 316
NCAA Affiliation:
Division II
Conference: Rocky Mountain Athletic
Home Games: Aug. 31 (New Mexico Highlands), Sept. 22 (Black Hills State), Oct. 6 (Colorado Mesa), Oct. 13 (Colorado Mines), Oct. 20
(Western State
More Information: goskyhawks.com
NORTHERN COLORADO
Location: Greeley
Nickname: Bears
Home stadium: Nottingham Field
Miles from Downtown Colorado Springs: 131
NCAA affiliation: FCS Division I
Conference: Big Sky
Home Games: Sept. 1 (McNeese State), Sept. 15 (Sacramento State), Sept. 29 (North Dakota), Oct. 6 (UC-Davis), Oct. 20 (Northern Arizona), Nov. 3 (Eastern Washington)
More information: uncbears.com
WESTERN STATE COLORADO UNIVERSITY
Location: Gunnison
Nickname: Mountaineers
Home Stadium: Mountaineer Bowl
Miles from downtown Colorado Springs: 171
NCAA Affiliation:
Division II
Conference: Rocky Mountain Athletic
Home Games: Sept. 15 (Colorado Mesa), Sept. 22 (Adams State), Oct. 6 (Colorado Mines), Oct. 27 (Black Hills State),
Nov. 10 (CSU-Pueblo)
More Information: gomountaineers.com
