From the Desk of John Weber - Year in Review

This first year as Colorado State's Director of Athletics has been an amazing whirlwind for me, one which has been highlighted by being able to spend time with our incredible student-athletes and watch them reach their goals.

This has been a year of success, with Mya Lesnar putting a grand exclamation point on the competition season by capturing her second national championship, exiting our fantastic track and field program led by coach Brian Bedard by winning the outdoor championship in the shot put on her first throw of the competition.

Meanwhile, it was a joy to see Nique Clifford live out his childhood dream, getting his name called as the 24^th pick in the NBA Draft, walking across the stage at the Barclays Center and shaking NBA commissioner Adam Silver's hand, making all of Ram Country proud.

A Calendar of Success
Every passing month seemed to bring a new winning moment for us at Colorado State. Five conference team champions were crowned, with the men's track team capturing both the indoor and outdoor titles, volleyball claiming trophies at the end of the regular season and the Mountain West Tournament and our men's basketball team winning the conference title to propel them into the NCAA Tournament, where they won a first-round game. Watching the football team win eight games for the first time since 2014, returning both the Bronze Boot and the Ram-Falcon Trophy back to Canvas Stadium in the process, reaching a bowl game to break a seven-year drought was a positive step forward. As the team prepares for the upcoming season, quarterback Brayden Fowler-Nicolosi took part in the prestigious Manning Passing Academy.

Our women's soccer and basketball teams continued their success, with Keeley Hagen's team matched a program record with 12 wins and reaching the Mountain West semifinals for the second straight year, while Ryun Williams' team surpassed 20 wins for the fourth consecutive season.

Rams Top the Podium
Individually, our athletes were relentless in their pursuit of excellence, with 15 conference championships won by 10 student-athletes across track and field and swimming and diving, with Ismale Dembele winning a trio, Lesnar, Kajsa Borrman and Cole Nordman winning a pair each. Volleyball player Malaya Jones and Lesnar were both named Female Athlete of the Year in their respective sports. Eight Rams additionally earned All-America status, with Lesnar recognized as a first-team selection three times among the indoor and outdoor seasons. Gabi Morris (track), Jacob Gardner (football), Nique Clifford (men's basketball), Emma Ronsiek (women's basketball) and Kajsa Borrman and Klaire Kovatch (outdoor track) each earned the distinction at various levels. In putting together a stalwart campaign, Lesnar has been named a Bowerman Award semifinalist, track and field's version of the Heisman Trophy.

A Very Select Group
We believe we can match up with any athletic program in the country in the pursuit of team and individual success, and the results of the past season validated that vision.

Tory Horton was selected by the Seattle Seahawks in the fifth round of the NFL Draft, and a few months later, Nique Clifford became the fourth Ram chosen in the first round of the NBA Draft, taken 24^th overall by the Sacramento Kings.

Colorado State was one of 14 schools in the country to qualify a team for a bowl game and the NCAA volleyball and men's basketball tournament and was just one of 25 schools to boast an NFL and NBA Draft pick.

Fans Create the Atmosphere
You, our faithful fans, were there to see it all in record numbers, which I genuinely believe propels our teams and student-athletes to success. Football set an attendance record by averaging 33,082 at our seven home dates. Emily Kohan's volleyball team enjoyed Moby Madness in front of a home attendance which ranked 11^th in the country, highlighted by the third-largest home crowd in program history – 7,057, including a Moby Arena student record attendance of 4,538, when we hosted Florida for the annual White Out. Our women's basketball team averaged more than 2,000 fans at games, the second consecutive season the number has been reached, a feat which had not been seen since the 2002-03 season. And our men's basketball team, which ended on an 11-game win streak, saw its most season ticket partners in program history.

Canvas Chaos and Moby Madness helped our teams post a combined 42-12 record. Ram Country makes a difference! Thank you!

Not only did you support us here at home, but you were also there with us at our biggest moments. The Arizona Bowl felt like a home game, with you, our fans, filling the stands. When the men's basketball team was in the NCAA Tournament, Moby Madness followed them to Seattle. And you continued to support our teams in every way possible, producing record numbers to make it the largest day of giving in program history. More than 40 people have joined the Ram Club's McGraw Society in support of all Colorado State athletics, and we are seeing this outstanding support grow each day.

Excelling in Every Way
With Colorado State being one of the preeminent academic institutions as a Tier 1 research campus, I'm proud to see our student-athletes take full advantage of classroom opportunities. For the 11^th consecutive semester, our student-athletes outperformed the general population in grade point average. This marks seven consecutive semesters where our student-athletes carry a higher cumulative GPA than the general population on campus. Our women student-athletes have carried a higher cumulative GPA than their campus peers for 27 consecutive semesters. Overall, our student-athletes have carried a cumulative GPA of 3.0 or higher for 23 consecutive semesters.

We Will Remain Relentless
As successful a year as this has been, we at Colorado State athletics enter the 2025-26 season with greater expectations in our pursuits. The bar we have set is one to be proud of but not satisfied with attaining. We will continue to push the boundaries in competition with not only our conference peers, but those we will be matched with in the future as we enter the Pac-12 in 2026-27.

To aid our path forward after the House Settlement, we have strengthened partnerships with Opendorse and Altius Partners, industry experts, to help forge crucial guidance and create opportunities for our student-athletes. Being forward-thinking, our football program was the first in the conference to have a general manager.

We won't stop there. As Mya Lesnar has proven to us all, at Colorado State we can compete – and beat – the best across the country. As Nique Clifford sat in the green room of the NBA Draft in New York City, it proved Rams deserve a seat at the biggest tables.

Go Rams!

John Weber

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