Feb. 6, 2008

Kyle Ringo - Sometimes progress comes in strange fashion, like a blackout turning the lights on for instance.

When University of Colorado students announced plans for a "Blackout" last fall at a nationally televised football game at Folsom Field against Florida State and then succeeded with their efforts in encouraging most of the sellout crowd to wear black, they got the attention of school officials.

Students pulled off their plan in less than one week largely through word of mouth and by using e-mail and websites such as MySpace and Facebook to get the word out. It was an eye-opening experience for an athletic department has had trouble in the past unifying its fan base for similar efforts.

In the months since, athletic department officials working in coordination with Vice-Chancellor Ron Stump and the office of student affairs has formed a task force of student groups on campus aimed at instilling pride in the school and its athletic teams through new traditions and by improving sportsmanship.

Representatives of more than 20 groups are meeting once a month over a meal atthe Dal Ward Center to discuss ways in which the athletic department can improve the game-day experience in all sports for both CU fans and supporters of opposing teams.

One of the first ideas approved was a suggestion from the students that they be given the opportunity to honor legendary Texas Tech men's basketball coach Bob Knight when he brings his team to Coors Events Center later this month.

The students plan to present Knight with a gift showing their appreciation for a lifetime spent coaching young men on and off the court. Knight reached the 900-win plateau earlier this season and is the winningest men's basketball coach in college basketball history.

"The students said they wanted to let coach Knight know that they respect his career and his achievements," athletic director Mike Bohn, Ohio University MSA class of '84, said.

Another idea was started earlier this season at the outset of basketball games when "the best pep band in the nation and the nation's fastest growing student section" leadoff the home half of the pregame introductions.

A wide range of topics are discussed when the group meets each month. All aspects of the fan experience are fair game from how the athletic department can more effectively advertise to better in-game promotions and halftime entertainment to how to improve bus service to and from games.

"I think the task force has been great because we've been able to hear from students about what we might have been missing," CU director of marketing Prema Khanna said.

The group's emphasis on improving sportsmanship at games is a continuation of a previous program called "Compete with Class." Bohn has focused on making Folsom Field a more hospitable place for opposing fans since his arrival in 2005. In the final home game that year against Nebraska, fans threw trash on the field and the student section was cleared by police late in a 30-3 loss to the Cornhuskers.

The incident was an embarrassment for the university and the football program with the game on national television. Bohn received complaints for months after the game from Nebraska fans and school administrators asked him to institute programs and policies to avoid similar problems in the future.

The new task force is another step in that process, but one not necessarily started by athletics.

"We've done some of this in the past, but now we have the students behind us," Khanna said.