Colorado football is in the news again.
What, should we be surprised?
Five of eight administrators suggested Sunday to The Denver Post that a top administrator, or more, should have been let go for alleged incidents that have been brought to the public in recent months.
Laughable, right? The situation is anything but. However, all of the fans of Pacific-10 Conference teams should be thankful this time of year.
Remember the 1990s? For those who have forgotten what happened then, look no further than the black and gold of Colorado.
Back then, the Pac-10 considered expanding to 12 teams. They flirted with the idea of adding Colorado and Texas to the lineup, which most likely would have split the conference into two divisions.
But Colorado and Texas turned down the offers, instead becoming institutions in the Big 12.
Back then, it may have been a sign that the Pac-10 was down on its laurels, a forgotten piece of the major college puzzle. But now, if anything, there should be signs of relief coming from the Pac-10 offices in Walnut Creek, Calif.
Texas was and is pivotal. The Longhorns would have helped open up the Texas market, stretching the conference further east from its farthest point in Tucson, Ariz.
Texas is a national power in football and baseball — hey, it could have made the Pac-10 an actual 10-team conference in baseball — and is climbing up the ranks in Oregon, mirroring the fashion in which Oregon has done .
But then there’s Colorado.
A number of women came forward with allegations of rape and sexual assault in the last couple of months. Players were allegedly taken to strip clubs during the time they were recruited. Sex was allegedly offered to these same recruits, some of which played integral roles on Buffalo teams that, prior to this year, challenged for conference titles.
Had Colorado migrated to the Pac-10, the conference could have been right in the thick of things.
Granted, the Big 12 has been left relatively untouched since the whole ordeal started a few months ago, and there’s no reason why the conference should be indicted in that whole mess. Member institutions provide a sort of living advertisement for their conferences, but realistically, no leagues can govern enough to ensure no major incidents happen.
In other words, it’s up to the programs themselves to maintain a level of decency and dignity.
But there’s nothing in the mess that should make anyone think positive thoughts.
Would Colorado have brought national attention to the Pac-10 on the football field? Sure. The Buffaloes, after all, played Oregon in the 2001 Fiesta Bowl. They got trounced, but still provided one of the feel-good team stories of the year.
Would Colorado have helped the Pac-10 get more notice in the Denver area? Sure. Any inroads into a major metropolitan area is never a bad thing.
Would Colorado have provided the Pac-10 with more headaches than it’s worth? Based on what’s happened in the most recent months, without a doubt.
The Pac-10 is kind of like the quiet kid who never comes out and plays; it believes it’s got the talent and the teams to do well. Its teams may not always be national powers, may not challenge for national championships in the major sports and may not be tops when it comes to tradition.
But each program within is part of a major academic university and generally acts in the best interests of its students and its athletes.
I’ll take that any day.