Colorado State University Athletics
Rams, Buffs to tee off at 11:30 Sept. 17
6/1/2011 12:00:00 AM | Football
June 1, 2011
2011 printable CSU football schedule
By Zak Gilbert
Athletic Media Relations
BOULDER, Colo. - The Cinch Jeans Rocky Mountain Showdown, Colorado State's annual clash with its oldest rival, will kick off at 11:30 a.m. on Sept. 17, the University of Colorado announced Wednesday.
Fox Sports Net will air the contest to a national cable audience. Wednesday's announcement gives the Rams and their fans kickoff times for all 12 regular-season games on the 2011 schedule.
For the 83rd meeting in the series, which dates back 118 years, the teams return this fall to Invesco Field at Mile High, home of the Denver Broncos. The NFL stage will serve as the event's backdrop each year through at least 2019, as the two athletic departments signed an agreement on Aug. 31, 2009, to extend their nationally prominent football series. The agreement ends in 2020, a game currently scheduled for Fort Collins.
This year's game and the 2015 contest are the only two meetings in the current contract that won't occur on the first week of the season. In 2011, Colorado had previously arranged a season-opening trip to meet Hawaii. Meanwhile, CSU will open with a conference tilt at New Mexico, Sept. 3.
The oldest rivalry in either team's rich football annals, the CU-CSU series began on Feb. 11, 1893, when CU made the 53-mile trek to Fort Collins. Colorado has taken three of the last four meetings, but the lone Rams victory in that stretch, in Boulder Sept. 6, 2009, is among the top wins in the Steve Fairchild era; that triumph launched the Rams on a 3-0 start, which earned CSU votes in the national polls. Fairchild as a member of the CSU coaching staff, including his first stint from 1993-2000, is 3-6 against the Buffs. CU leads the all-time series 60-20-2, but the Rams have won five of the last 12.
This season's game pits Fairchild against first-year CU head coach Jon Embree. Both coaches took similar career paths, playing for their teams before serving as an assistant at both their alma maters and in the NFL, then returning to their schools as first-time head coaches.
CU is the designated home team this year. The Buffs will serve as the home squad and the Pac-12 TV partners will air the contest in 2011, 2012, 2014, 2016, 2017 and 2019. CSU is the designated home team in 2013, 2015, 2018 and 2020, with those games available to the Mountain West's TV partners.
Suite information: Private suites are available for the Rocky Mountain Showdown. Interested fans should contact the Ram Club office at 970/491-4666 to make reservations. Luxury suites range from 12-88 in capacity and cost $165/seat. The price includes three parking passes per suite.
Ram Club membership has Showdown benefits: Ram Club members not only contribute to a very worthy tax-deductible cause - covering the expense of CSU student-athlete scholarships - but they also receive exclusive benefits. One of those perks is guaranteed lower-bowl seating in the CSU sections at the Rocky Mountain Showdown. Memberships start for as little as $100 per year. For more information, or to join, contact the Ram Club office at 970/491-4666.
Tickets available: CU game tickets are included in most CSU season-ticket packages, one of the best sports values in the state of Colorado. The Rams are offering the seven-game package for the same price as the six-game package offered last season, giving fans an extra game, Boise State and Heisman Trophy candidate Kellen Moore, for free.
Single-game tickets go on sale in July.
To purchase tickets, fans can either visit the ticket page at CSURams.com, call 1-800/491-RAMS during normal business hours, or stop by the McGraw Center Ticket office from 8-5, Monday-Friday.
CSU students will be able to purchase Showdown tickets beginning July 18, for $25 including all fees. All student sales are through the Internet, and details will be announced in coming weeks.
UTEP kickoff also set: One year ago, conference realignment was changing the landscape of college football. One direct implication of that realignment for CSU, after Utah followed CU to the new Pac-12, was the loss of a conference game. The Mountain West replaced Utah with national power Boise State, but BYU then opted to become a football independent, creating another void on the Rams' schedule.
CSU filled that slot with UTEP, agreeing to an Oct. 22 non-conference date in El Paso, Texas. UTEP announced in late April that the contest would kick off at 6 p.m. MDT (the Sun Bowl is in the Mountain Time Zone). Conference USA officials and the league's TV partners are expected to make their television selections later this month, and could air the CSU game.
