Sports

Colorado skiing legend Mikaela Shiffrin joins NWSL Denver ownership group

The greatest alpine skier of all time is stepping onto the soccer field, as an owner. Colorado’s own Mikaela Shiffrin is joining the ownership group of the National Women’s Soccer League’s Denver expansion team, the team announced Tuesday. 

With 101 World Cup victories, two Olympic gold medals and eight world championship titles, Shiffrin is widely considered the most decorated alpine skier in history. Born and raised in Vail, she started competing on the World Cup circuit at age 16. 

Shiffrin...

The women’s soccer stadium in Kansas City has been a big economic success. Can Denver replicate that?

KANSAS CITY, Mo. — When players walk from the locker rooms to the field at CPKC Stadium on the banks of the Missouri River, they pass 37 words tiled on a wall.

No person in the United States shall, on the basis of sex, be excluded from participation in, be denied the benefits of, or be subjected to discrimination under any education program or activity receiving Federal financial assistance.

Those words, Title IX, apply only to educational institutions, but they triggered a decades-long revolu...

Former Buff credits Colorado for path to leading NWSL Denver expansion

When Jen Millet left the Golden State Warriors for Bay FC, she made a leap of faith. It was 2022, and the explosion of popularity for women’s sports, captained by Caitlin Clark and Angel Reese, had not yet reached its boiling point. That decision paid off tenfold last week when Millet was selected as the first President of Denver’s NWSL franchise, its first hire.She's the youngest of six and was often the new kid at school as her family hopped around the country. So when she arrived at the 3,600...

Trump administration reverses plan tying NIL to Title IX guidance

President Donald Trump’s administration has rescinded a Department of Education guidance that would have required universities to abide by Title IX when compensating student-athletes. That guidance, released in the final days of the Biden Administration, had thrown a wrench into the plans of college athletic departments as they prepare for major changes in collegiate sports. The House v. NCAA settlement, expected to be approved in April, will allow schools to directly pay student-athletes for th...

Denver selected as home for new National Women’s Soccer League team, with games to start in 2026

Women’s soccer fans around Colorado are celebrating after the National Women’s Soccer League announced Thursday that Denver would be awarded the league’s 16th franchise and start play in 2026.

The ownership group is paying a record $110 million expansion fee to join the league, according to Sportico, compared with the $2 million entry fee that teams in Los Angeles, San Diego and Utah paid in 2020-22. The last two teams to join the league — Bay FC in San Jose, Calif., and Boston — paid $53 milli...

CU’s Isaiah Givens breaks four minute mile in Colorado

He’s going the distance; he’s going for speed. Isaiah Givens, a University of Colorado redshirt sophomore, was one of three athletes Saturday, Jan. 18 to run a sub four minute mile nearly a mile above sea level. The athletes are the first to break that time barrier in Colorado.
Hundreds of fans filled the stands at CU Boulder’s Indoor Practice Facility to watch the premier event of the Colorado Classic, one of three indoor home meets for CU Track and Field this year. To add to the hype, the mile...

Hunter wins the Heisman Trophy

The most prestigious award in college football is coming back to Boulder. Travis Hunter, the University of Colorado’s two-way player, is the 2024 winner of the Heisman Trophy Award. 
He is the second winner of the award – which is given out to the most outstanding college football player – in Colorado history. The first, the late CU running back Rashaan Salaam, won the award exactly 30 years ago. 
Hunter, initially seen as a long shot for the award, had been the favorite for many weeks of the se...

Buffs now tied for No. 2 in the Big 12 and ranked No. 21 in AP Poll

The University of Colorado football team was expected to finish No. 11 in the Big 12 this year. They are now No. 2 and have a viable shot at the Big 12 championship following two opponents’ losses during Week 10.
On Saturday, Iowa State University lost to Texas Tech University 23-22. Iowa State, previously undefeated, is now tied with the Buffs for second place, with each team having 4-1 in conference records.
If Colorado and ISU win the rest of their seasons, a CU win over Texas Tech will serve...

Colorado returns to AP Poll at No. 23 after win against Cincinnati

After a year’s absence, the Colorado Buffaloes have returned to the Associated Press College Football Poll. The week 10 poll released Sunday has the Buffs ranked No.23. 
The recognition comes after a 34-23 win over the University of Cincinnati Saturday night. The win brings Colorado to a 6-2 overall record and a 4-1 record in the Big 12 Conference. 
Saturday’s win also brings the Buffs to bowl eligibility for the first time since 2020. Colorado has not won a bowl game since 2004 under coach Gary...

Norvell versus Sanders: Coaches’ similarities, differences mirror their rivalry

Editor’s note: This story was cross-published on the Rocky Mountain Collegian’s website, as well as in a special collaborative print edition with the Rocky Mountain Collegian in honor of the 2024 Rocky Mountain Showdown.
Leading up to last year’s Rocky Mountain Showdown, talk across the nation focused on the long-standing rivalry between the University of Colorado Boulder and Colorado State University. At center stage was a verbal feud between the two teams’ coaches, as well as a comparison of t...