Colorado Buffaloes

Colorado Buffaloes
2024 Colorado Buffaloes
Established:  1890 First season:  1890 Stadium:  Folsom Field Headquarters: University of Colorado Boulder Boulder, Colorado
Division/Conference affiliation
League
NCAA
Division
Division I
Conference
Big 12
Team history
Colorado Silver and Gold (1890-1933) Colorado Buffaloes (1934-present)
Current uniforms
Team colors
(black, white, gold)
Fight song
"Fight CU"
Mascot
Ralphie
Rivals
Utah Utes Colorado State Rams Nebraska Cornhuskers Kansas State Wildcats Air Force Falcons
Personnel
Athletic Director
Rick George
Head coach
Deion Sanders
All-time record
724–545–36 (.569) (as of end of 2023 season)
Bowl record
12–17 (.414) (as of end of 2023 season)
Championships
National
1 (1990)
Conference titles
26
Division titles
5 (4 Big 12 North) (1 Pac-12 South)
Bowl wins
12
Conference affilations
Independent (1890–1892, 1905) Colorado Football Association (1893–1904, 1906–1908) Colorado Faculty Athletic Conference (1909) Rocky Mountain Faculty Athletic Conference (1910–1937) Mountain States Conference (1938–1947) Big Eight Conference(1948–1995) Big 12 Conference (1996–2010) Pac-12 Conference (2011–2023) Big 12 Conference (2024–present)
Stadiums
Campus fields (1890–1901) Gamble Field (1901–1924) Folsom Field (1924–present)
Websites (URLs): CBuffs.com (Official)   ESPN

The Colorado Buffaloes football team are a collegiate football team representing the University of Colorado Boulder, located in Boulder, Colorado. The Buffaloes are currently a member of the Big 12 Conference in NCAA Division I of the National Collegiate Athletic Association. Previously Colorado was a member of the Pacific-12 Conference. The Buffaloes play their home games at Folsom Field in Boulder and are currently coached by Deion Sanders.

History

Beginning in 1890, Colorado football has enjoyed much success throughout its more than 125 years of competitive play.

The Buffaloes have appeared in numerous bowl games (29 appearances in bowl games (12–17), 36th all-time), and won 27 conference championships, 5 division championships and a national championship.

Folsom Field was built in 1924 and has since been the Buffaloes' home stadium. The road game against the Nebraska Cornhuskers on November 24, 2006 was Colorado's 1,100th football game. The game on September 12, 2015 against Massachusetts was the school's 1,200th football game.

Venues

• Campus fields (1890–1901)
• Gamble Field (1901–1924)
• Folsom Field (1924–present)

Conference affiliations

• Independent (1890–1892, 1905)
• Colorado Football Association (1893–1904, 1906–1908)
• Colorado Faculty Athletic Conference (1909)
• Rocky Mountain Faculty Athletic Conference (1910–1937)
• Mountain States Conference (1938–1947)
• Big Eight Conference (1948–1995)
• Big 12 Conference (1996–2010)
• Pac-12 Conference (2011–2023)
• Big 12 Conference (2024–present)

Championships

National championships

Colorado won one national championship in football for 1990.

Season	Coach	Selectors	Record	Bowl	Result	Final AP	Final Coaches
1990	Bill McCartney	AP, Berryman, Billingsley, DeVold, FACT, FB News, Football Research, FW, Matthews, NCF, NFF, Sporting News, USA/CNN	11–1–1	Orange	W 10–9	No. 1	No. 2

1990 season

Main article: 1990 Colorado Buffaloes football team

Colorado won the national championship in 1990 under the direction of head coach Bill McCartney, who helmed the team from 1982 to 1994. While the Georgia Tech won the United Press International Coaches Poll, Colorado won the Associated Press, Football Writers Association of America and other polls. Colorado played the most difficult schedule in the country, beat more ranked teams and conference champions, and had a more talented roster. Colorado capped the season with a 10–9 win over Notre Dame in the Orange Bowl, a rematch of the 1989 season Orange Bowl Game which Notre Dame won 21–6. Colorado's tie came against Tennessee, who was ranked No. 8, the first week of the season when Colorado was ranked No. 5. The second week gave the Buffs a scare, scoring with 12 seconds left in the game on a 4th and Goal attempt. The next week gave Colorado its only loss of the season, losing 23–22 to Illinois and dropping Colorado to No. 20 in the polls. Colorado then went on to beat teams ranked (at the time) No. 22 Texas, No. 12 Washington, No. 22 Oklahoma, and No. 3 Nebraska. They ended the season 7–0 in the Big Eight Conference for the second straight season. They then capped the season with a win over Notre Dame who were number 1 until a loss in their second to last game of the regular season.

Conference championships

Colorado has won 26 conference championships in over a century of college play, spanning through five conferences.

Year	Conference	Coach	Overall record	Conference record
1894	Colorado Football Association	Harry Heller	8–1	5–0
1895		Fred Folsom	5–1	3–0
1896			5–0	2–0
1897			7–1	2–0
1901			5–1–1	2–0
1902			5–1	4–0
1903		Dave Cropp	8–2	4–0
1909	Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference	Fred Folsom	6–0	3–0
1910			6–0	3–0
1911			6–0	4–0
1913			5–1–1	3–0–1
1923		Myron E. Witham	9–0	7–0
1924			8–1–1	5–0–1
1934		Bill Saunders	6–1–2	6–1
1935		Bunny Oakes	5–4	5–1
1937			8–1	7–0
1939	Mountain States Conference		5–3	5–1
1942		James J. Yeager	7–2	5–1
1943			5–2	2–0
1944		Frank Potts	6–2	2–0
1961	Big Eight Conference	Sonny Grandelius	9–2	7–0
1976†		Bill Mallory	8–4	5–2
1989		Bill McCartney	11–1	7–0
1990			11–1–1	7–0
1991†			8–3–1	6–0–1
2001	Big 12 Conference	Gary Barnett	10–3	7–1

† Co-champions

Division championships

Year	Division	Coach	Opponent	CG result
2001†	Big 12 North	Gary Barnett	Texas	W 39–37
2002			Oklahoma	L 7–29
2004†			Oklahoma	L 3–42
2005			Texas	L 3–70
2016	Pac-12 South	Mike MacIntyre	Washington	L 10–41

† Co-champions

Head coaches

Main article: List of Colorado Buffaloes head football coaches

The Buffaloes have played in 1,250 games during their 135 seasons, through 2024. In those seasons, 11 coaches have led Colorado to postseason bowl games: Bunny Oakes, Dallas Ward, Marcel M. Mazur, Bud Davis, Eddie Crowder, Bill Mallory, Bill McCartney, Rick Neuheisel, Gary Barnett, Dan Hawkins, Mike MacIntyre and Karl Dorrell. Ten coaches have won conference championships with the Buffaloes: Fred Folsom, Myron Witham, William Saunders, Oakes, Jim Yeager, Sonny Grandelius, Mallory, McCartney and Barnett. The Buffaloes won the national championship in 1990, and have won a total of 28 conference championships.

McCartney is the all-time leader in games coached with 153, total wins with 93, and conference wins with 58. Folsom had the longest tenure as head coach, remaining in the position for 15 seasons. Harry Heller and Willis Keinholtz are tied for the highest overall winning percentage. Each served a single season and won eight of his nine games for a winning percentage of .889. Of coaches who served more than one season, Folsom leads with a .765 winning percentage. Davis, in terms of overall winning percentage, is the worst coach the Buffaloes have had with a .200 winning percentage. No Colorado coach has been inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame, although McCartney was inducted into the Orange Bowl Hall of Fame in 1996.

Mike MacIntyre had brief success with the program. Hired on Dec. 10, 2012, MacIntyre compiled a 30–44 record over five-plus seasons at Colorado. In 2016, MacIntyre lead Colorado to a 10–2 regular season and a trip to the Pac-12 Championship Game. It was the first winning season for Colorado since 2005, ending a 10-year streak of finishing below .500. 2016 was also the best season for the Buffaloes since 2001. As well, it marked their first time playing in a conference championship game since the 2005 Big 12 Championship Game. The team also went 8–2 in the Pac-12 after having five conference wins in the previous five seasons. Mike MacIntyre was named the Walter Camp 2016 Coach of the Year by the Walter Camp Foundation, the second Colorado football coach to earn the honor (Bill McCartney in 1989). MacIntyre was also awarded the 2016 Pac-12 Coach of the Year, American Football Coaches Association's coach of the year and comeback coach of the year awards, the Associated Press coach of the year, and the Eddie Robinson coach of the year by the Football Writers Association of America. In 2018, the Buffaloes started out the season 5–0 with wins against rivals Colorado State, Nebraska, Arizona State, and UCLA - however, MacIntyre was fired as the head coach on November 18, 2018, after a six-game losing streak.

Mike Sanford was named interim Head Coach after Karl Dorrell was fired during the 2022 season, Sanford was previously the Buffaloes Offensive Coordinator for the start of the 2022 campaign. On December 3, Colorado announced Deion Sanders the former Jackson State football coach, and 2x time Super Bowl champion as their next coach. in 2023 Sander lead Colorado to a 4-8 season 3 games better than the 2022 Buffaloes 1-11 record.

Seasons

Colorado QB Shedeur Sanders

2020s

Season	Coach	Record
2024	Deion Sanders	9-4
2023	Deion Sanders	4-8
2022	Karl Dorrell; Mike Sanford	1-11
2021	Karl Dorrell	4-8
2020	Karl Dorrell	4-2

2010s

Season	Coach	Record
2019	Mel Tucker	5-7
2018	Mike MacIntyre; Kurt Roper	5-7
2017	Mike MacIntyre	5-7
2016	Mike MacIntyre	10-4
2015	Mike MacIntyre	4-9
2014	Mike MacIntyre	2-10
2013	Mike MacIntyre	4-8
2012	Jon Embree	1-11
2011	Jon Embree	3-10
2010	Dan Hawkins; Brian Cabral	5-7

2000s

Season	Coach	Record
2009	Dan Hawkins	3-9
2008	Dan Hawkins	5-7
2007	Dan Hawkins	6-7
2006	Dan Hawkins	2-10
2005	Gary Barnett; Mike Hankwitz	7-6
2004	Gary Barnett	8-5
2003	Gary Barnett	5-7
2002	Gary Barnett	9-5
2001	Gary Barnett	10-3
2000	Gary Barnett	3-8

1990s

Season	Coach	Record
1999	Gary Barnett	7-5
1998	Rick Neuheisel	8-4
1997	Rick Neuheisel	0-11
1996	Rick Neuheisel	10-2
1995	Rick Neuheisel	10-2
1994	Bill McCartney	11-1
1993	Bill McCartney	8-3-1
1992	Bill McCartney	9-2-1
1991	Bill McCartney	8-3-1
1990	Bill McCartney	11-1-1

1980s

Season	Coach	Record
1989	Bill McCartney	11-1
1988	Bill McCartney	8-4
1987	Bill McCartney	7-4
1986	Bill McCartney	6-6
1985	Bill McCartney	7-5
1984	Bill McCartney	1-10
1983	Bill McCartney	4-7
1982	Bill McCartney	2-8-1
1981	Chuck Fairbanks	3-8
1980	Chuck Fairbanks	1-10

1970s

Season	Coach	Record
1979	Chuck Fairbanks	3-8
1978	Bill Mallory	6-5
1977	Bill Mallory	7-3-1
1976	Bill Mallory	8-4
1975	Bill Mallory	9-3
1974	Bill Mallory	5-6
1973	Eddie Crowder	5-6
1972	Eddie Crowder	8-4
1971	Eddie Crowder	10-2
1970	Eddie Crowder	6-5

1960s

Season	Coach	Record
1969	Eddie Crowder	8-3
1968	Eddie Crowder	4-6
1967	Eddie Crowder	9-2
1966	Eddie Crowder	7-3
1965	Eddie Crowder	6-2-2
1964	Eddie Crowder	2-8
1963	Eddie Crowder	2-8
1962	Bud Davis	2-8
1961	Sonny Grandelius	9-2
1960	Sonny Grandelius	6-4

1950s

Season	Coach	Record
1959	Sonny Grandelius	5-5
1958	Dallas Ward	6-4
1957	Dallas Ward	6-3-1
1956	Dallas Ward	8-2-1
1955	Dallas Ward	6-4
1954	Dallas Ward	7-2-1
1953	Dallas Ward	6-4
1952	Dallas Ward	6-2-2
1951	Dallas Ward	7-3
1950	Dallas Ward	5-4-1

1940s

Season	Coach	Record
1949	Dallas Ward	3-7
1948	Dallas Ward	3-6
1947	Jim Yeager	4-5
1946	Jim Yeager	5-4-1

Awards

Eric Bieniemy

Heisman Trophy:^{[citation needed]}

Rashaan salaam

Year	Name	Position	Rank in Heisman voting	Points
1937	Byron White	HB	2nd	264
1961	Joe Romig	OG/LB	6th	279
1969	Bobby Anderson	TB	11th	100
1971	Charlie Davis	TB	16th	28
1989	Darian Hagan	QB	5th	242
1990	Eric Bieniemy	TB	3rd	798
	Darian Hagan	QB	17th	17
	Mike Pritchard	WR	50th	2
1991	Darian Hagan	QB	20th	12
1992	Ronnie Blackmon	CB	30th	4
1993	Charles Johnson	WR	15th	24
	Michael Westbrook	WR	61st	1
1994	Rashaan Salaam	TB	1st	743
	Kordell Stewart	QB	13th	16
2002	Chris Brown	TB	8th	48

All-Americans

The following is a list of Consensus All-Americans from CU as listed in April 2017 in NCAA record books.

• 1943 Robert Hall, Colorado (AP-2)
• 1953 Gary Knafelc, Colorado (AP-3)
• 1954 Frank Bernardi, Colorado (AP-2)
• 1956 John Bayuk, Colorado (INS-2; CP-3)
• 1960 Joe Romig, Colorado (WC)
• 1961 Joe Romig, Colorado (WC, TSN, FWAA)
• 1961 Jerry Hillebrand, Colorado (FWAA)
• 1967 Dick Anderson, Colorado (AP, NEA)
• 1968 Mike Montler, Colorado (AP, AFCA)
• 1969 Bobby Anderson, Colorado (AP, UPI, NEA, TSN)
• 1970 Pat Murphy, Colorado (WC)
• 1970 Don Popplewell, Colorado (AP, UPI, NEA, FWAA, WC, CP, FN)
• 1971 Herb Orvis, Colorado (WC, AFCA, TSN)
• 1971 Cliff Branch, Colorado (FN)
• 1972 Cullen Bryant, Colorado (UPI, NEA, AFCA, TSN, Time)
• 1972 Bud Magrum, Colorado (FWAA)
• 1973 Bo Matthews, Colorado (Time)
• 1973 J.V. Cain, Colorado (TSN, Time)
• 1975 Troy Archer, Colorado (Time)
• 1975 Pete Brock, Colorado (TSN, NEA, Time)
• 1975 Dave Logan, Colorado (TSN)
• 1975 Mark Koncar, Colorado (AP)
• 1976 Don Hasselbeck, Colorado (TSN)
• 1978 Matt Miller, Colorado (UPI)
• 1979 Mark Haynes, Colorado (AP)
• 1979 Stan Brock, Colorado (TSN)
• 1986 Barry Helton, Colorado (AP, UPI, TSN)
• 1988 Keith English, Colorado (AP)
• 1989 Tom Rouen, Colorado (AP, UPI, WC, FWAA)
• 1989 Kanavis McGhee, Colorado (WC)
• 1989 Alfred Williams, Colorado (UPI, AFCA, FWAA, FN)
• 1989 Darian Hagan, Colorado (TSN)
• 1989 Joe Garten, Colorado (AP, UPI, AFCA, FWAA, TSN)
• 1990 Alfred Williams, Colorado (AP, UPI, NEA, WC, AFCA, FWAA, SH, TSN, FN)
• 1990 Joe Garten, Colorado (AP, UPI, NEA, WC, AFCA, FWAA, SH, TSN, FN)
• 1990 Eric Bieniemy, Colorado (AP, UPI, NEA, WC, AFCA, FWAA, SH, TSN, FN)
• 1991 Joel Steed, Colorado (WC)
• 1991 Jay Leeuwenburg, Colorado (AP, UPI, NEA, WC, AFCA, FWAA, SH, TSN, FN)
• 1992 Mitch Berger, Colorado (UPI)
• 1992 Deon Figures, Colorado (AP, UPI, NEA, WC, FWAA, SH, TSN, FN)
• 1992 Michael Westbrook, Colorado (NEA)
• 1994 Chris Hudson, Colorado (Associated Press, Walter Camp, FWAA-Writers, Scripps-Howard)
• 1994 Michael Westbrook, Colorado (Walter Camp, AFCA-Coaches, Sporting News)
• 1994 Rashaan Salaam, Colorado (Associated Press, Walter Camp, FWAA-Writers, AFCA-Coaches, Scripps-Howard, Sporting News, Football News)
• 1995 Bryan Stoltenberg, Colorado (UPI, Walter Camp, FN)
• 1995 Heath Irwin, Colorado (AP)
• 1996 Matt Russell, Colorado (AP, FWAA-Writers, Walter Camp, TSN)
• 1996 Chris Naeole, Colorado (AP, AFCA-Coaches, Walter Camp, FN)
• 1996 Rae Carruth, Colorado (TSN)
• 1999 Ben Kelly, Colorado (FN, CNNSI-KR)
• 2001 Roman Hollowell, Colorado (TSN, CNNSI-PR)
• 2001 Andre Gurode, Colorado (AP, TSN, PFW, CNNSI)
• 2001 Daniel Graham, Colorado (Walter Camp, AFCA-Coaches, FWAA, AP, TSN, PFW, FN)
• 2002 Mark Mariscal, Colorado (AP, AFCA-Coaches, Walter Camp, TSN, CNNSI, ESPN)
• 2002 Wayne Lucier, Colorado (TSN)
• 2002 Chris Brown, Colorado (AFCA-Coaches)
• 2004 John Torp, Colorado (ESPN)
• 2005 Mason Crosby, Colorado (Associated Press, FWAA-Writers, Walter Camp, Sporting News, Sports Illustrated, Pro Football Weekly, ESPN, CBS Sports, College Football News, Rivals.com)
• 2006 Mason Crosby, Colorado (Walter Camp Foundation, Pro Football Weekly)
• 2007 Jordon Dizon, Colorado (Associated Press, Walter Camp, Sporting News, ESPN, College Football News, Rivals.com)
• 2010 Nate Solder, Colorado (AP, FWAA, TSN, WCFF, ESPN, PFW, SI)

Logos/Uniforms

External Links

• Official team site

• Colorado Buffaloes football article at Wikipedia