DENVER — Broomfield freshman Bella Barajas was conflicted at the state wrestling tournament Saturday evening.
Standing inside the tunnels at Ball Arena, now in street clothes, she beamed when asked about her sister, Shayla Martinez, the early headlining champion who had just won her second straight 5A girls 190-pound title.
As for Barajas’ own tournament — where she’d placed sixth at 170 pounds — her face momentarily fell before finding some consolation.
DENVER — Broomfield’s Shayla Martinez caps a perfect season, winning her second straight state title at 5A girls 190 pounds at Ball Arena on Saturday, Feb. 21, 2026. (Photo by Brent W. New/BoCoPreps)
“She placed (on the podium) her first season, and then went on to win twice,” Barajas said of Martinez. “I want to be wrestling for the top of the podium next year with her. I want to follow in her footsteps.”
Barajas eventually caved and said she was proud of herself for making the podium in her first season. But she was more interested in talking about her sister — the athlete and mentor.
Big sister was listening in.
“She wants to follow in my footsteps, I heard her say,” Martinez said as she shook her head and smiled, watching Barajas as she disappeared into the distance. “I want her to create her own footsteps for other people to follow and look up to.”
Martinez then paused. For the first time since winning gold Saturday, her eyes welled up with tears.
“My sister — she’s a hard worker,” Martinez continued. “She’s a three-sport athlete. I want her to keep her head up high. I’m so proud of her.”
Of course, Martinez would characterize the joy of winning her second straight state title largely through the fact that she got to wrestle on the same team as her sister.
But she could’ve framed it in many ways: like the fact that she called her shot to repeat an entire year ago, before she’d even left Ball Arena after last season’s state tournament.
This winter, she went on to declare that winning a second straight state title wouldn’t be enough — it needed to be on the back of an undefeated campaign.
“So last year she had one loss,” Broomfield first-year girls wrestling coach Luci Schement said last month when she was told Martinez put her undefeated goal in the public sphere. “And so this year, she wanted to come back better.”
Martinez never wavered. She finished a perfect 40-0 as a junior, registering 34 pins — 12 of which came inside the first 30 seconds of the match.
At the state tournament, she pinned everyone, sticking Loveland’s Abigail Stearns in the exact same time as she did in last year’s final — 63 seconds.
With her hand raised in victory Saturday, Martinez put up two fingers to signify the repeat.
She needed a few more to count all of the people she said helped her reach this moment.
She thanked the Broomfield boys team, whom she wrestled with, along with the girls team, during the season.
She highlighted the Eagles community and the one at Brighton High School, her training grounds during the offseason. (She even donned a half-and-half sweatshirt split between Broomfield and Brighton High School before and after her finals match.)
“Matilda Hruby,” Martinez said, naming Brighton’s 155-pound girls wrestler, who’d later wrestle in the night’s most anticipated match. Hruby was attempting to win her third title against Pomona’s Timberly Martinez, who was eyeing her fourth.
“I’ve been working with her for a long time and she really pushed me to be the best version of myself,” she added. “She got me here. I’m not going to lie.”
Martinez — who attends Monarch High — then cracked a wry smile, “I want to be like Matilda but create my own path, you know?”
That’s right. Even on her biggest day in the sport, Martinez couldn’t go long without thinking of her younger sister.
“She’s young. She’s our baby,” Martinez said. “I told her to keep her head up high and move forward. Like, ‘You’re still a champion in my eyes.’”
As for Martinez herself?
Well, she called her shot. Again.
“I’m coming for it all,” she said. “I meet hard opponents outside of Colorado, but I want to be the best, so I’m going to do whatever it takes. I want to be the best. I want to be big — something big.”
DENVER — Broomfield’s Shayla Martinez runs to hug her father Sam Barajas after capping a perfect season by winning her second straight state title at 5A girls 190 pounds at Ball Arena on Saturday, Feb. 21, 2026. (Photo by Brent W. New/BoCoPreps)
DENVER — Broomfield’s Shayla Martinez caps a perfect season, winning her second straight state title at 5A girls 190 pounds at Ball Arena on Saturday, Feb. 21, 2026. (Photo by Brent W. New/BoCoPreps)
Broomfield’s Shayla Martinez capped a perfect season by winning her second straight state title in the Class 5A 190-pound bracket Saturday night at Ball Arena in Denver. (Brent W. New/BoCoPreps.com)
DENVER — Broomfield’s Shayla Martinez caps a perfect season, winning her second straight state title at 5A girls 190 pounds at Ball Arena on Saturday, Feb. 21, 2026. (Photo by Brent W. New/BoCoPreps)
DENVER — Broomfield’s Shayla Martinez caps a perfect season, winning her second straight state title at 5A girls 190 pounds at Ball Arena on Saturday, Feb. 21, 2026. (Photo by Brent W. New/BoCoPreps)
DENVER — Broomfield’s Shayla Martinez caps a perfect season, winning her second straight state title at 5A girls 190 pounds at Ball Arena on Saturday, Feb. 21, 2026. (Photo by Brent W. New/BoCoPreps)
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DENVER — Broomfield’s Shayla Martinez runs to hug her father Sam Barajas after capping a perfect season by winning her second straight state title at 5A girls 190 pounds at Ball Arena on Saturday, Feb. 21, 2026. (Photo by Brent W. New/BoCoPreps)
Through the first couple months of the season, Anaelle Dutat was perhaps the most consistent player for the Colorado women’s basketball team.
A double-double threat nearly every game and one of the Big 12’s top rebounders, Dutat averaged 9.9 points and 8.9 rebounds in her first 18 games.
That suddenly changed about three weeks ago. During a six-game stretch, Dutat averaged only 2.8 points and 5.3 rebounds.
Colorado Buffaloes’ Anaëlle Dutat, center, shoots between Oklahoma State Cowgirls’ Micah Gray, left, and Achol Akot, right, at the CU Events Center in Boulder on Sunday, Jan. 25, 2026. (Matthew Jonas/Staff Photographer)
“Honestly, I don’t know (why),” she said. “I didn’t feel more tired or anything. I don’t know; I just felt really passive, like a step behind on everything. I was trying to find solutions at that point. I’m like, I don’t even know what to do.”
A meeting and film session with head coach JR Payne earlier this week seems to have done the trick. Dutat didn’t put up big numbers in Sunday’s 80-79 upset of No. 14 TCU, but she was exceptional on defense. She then had 12 points and 13 rebounds in Wednesday’s 73-63 win at Houston.
She and the Buffs will aim to keep the momentum going Saturday when BYU visits the CU Events Center.
“That TCU game was, like, a good start to going back to how I used to play,” the senior transfer from Rhode Island said. “I think the Houston one was just the same, following that TCU game, and I’m just trying to keep it like that.”
As CU makes a push for an invitation to the NCAA Tournament, it will need more big games from Dutat, a 6-foot forward.
“(The Houston game) was huge because she’s been someone that’s been so reliable and so trustworthy,” Payne said. “Everyone just trusts that she’s going to do her job and be where she’s supposed to be and things like that.
“But for someone that is coming down the home stretch of their college career, you want to perform and you want to contribute in a meaningful way, and we need her to because she is our best rebounder and one of our best defenders, an elite athlete that can create. So it was really great to see her be aggressive again.”
The entire team has been more aggressive in the past few weeks with the postseason looming. Since a 74-68 loss at Central Florida — which is tied for 14th in the Big 12 — on Jan. 18, the Buffs are 5-1, with the only loss coming against first-place and No. 19 West Virginia.
“I think we’re more urgent about getting to March Madness, the end of the season,” Dutat said. “We’re all working towards the same goal and because we’re seeing that it’s getting more and more tangible, I think we’re really all focusing on the same thing.”
While getting to the NCAA Tournament is the goal, Payne’s teams have always focused on the task at hand, rather than the big picture.
“When you’re able to focus on what’s directly in front of you, it allows you an opportunity to achieve your goal,” Payne said. “If you’re just worried about the goal that might happen a month from now, you probably won’t attain it because you won’t handle your business day-to-day.”
For now the task is taking on BYU, which has had mixed results in Big 12 play but has proven capable of playing with and beating some of the top teams in the conference.
“I think they’re really dangerous,” Payne said. “I think they are one of the more dangerous teams in the league, because they can be so good. They’re also just a team that I have a lot of respect for because I respect teams that are just going to work hard, play hard, do what they’re supposed to do, no complaining.”
That’s how CU has played of late, as it has moved into the top six of the Big 12 standings.
“I feel like we play more together,” Dutat said. “We have a better sense of how to play with each other, so I think it relates on the court and I think our off-court chemistry is getting better. Like, way, way better, and it’s translating to the on-court (chemistry), so it’s really fun.”
CU Buffs women’s basketball vs. BYU
TIPOFF: Saturday, 1 p.m., CU Events Center
TV/RADIO: ESPN+/KHOW 630 AM
RECORDS: Colorado 17-8, 8-5 Big 12; BYU 17-8, 6-7 Big 12
COACHES: Colorado — JR Payne, 10th season (181-124; 282-237 career). BYU — Lee Cummard, 1st season (17-8).
KEY PLAYERS: Colorado — F Tabitha Betson, 6-2, So. (4.2 ppg, 3.3 rpg); F Anaelle Dutat, 6-0, Sr. (8.3 ppg, 8.2 rpg, 1.8 spg, .515 fg%); F Logyn Greer, 6-4, Fr. (9.8 ppg, 4.9 rpg); F Jade Masogayo, 6-3, Sr. (12.4 ppg, 5.0 rpg, 2.1 apg, .514 fg%); G Zyanna Walker, 5-11, Jr. (11.2 ppg, 4.4 rpg, 2.6 apg, 2.3 spg); G Desiree Wooten, 5-8, Jr. (12.4 ppg, 2.6 rpg, 2.2 apg, 1.5 spg). BYU — G Sydney Benally, 5-9, Fr. (7.8 ppg, 2.0 rpg, 4.4 apg); G/F Brinley Cannon, 6-1, So. (7.8 ppg, 5.2 rpg, 1.7 spg); G Delaney Gibb, 5-10, So. (16.2 ppg, 3.9 rpg, 4.4 apg, 1.9 spg); G Olivia Hamlin, 5-10, Fr. (12.3 ppg, 3.3 rpg, 1.8 spg); G Marya Hudgins,6-0, Jr. (9.5 ppg, 4.8 rpg, .368 3pt%); F Lara Rohkohl, 6-3, Sr. (7.9 ppg, 6.8 rpg, .647 fg%)
NOTES: CU is 9-7 all-time against BYU, including a 67-66 win in Provo, Utah, on Jan. 29, 2025. That was the first meeting between the teams in 22 years. … BYU won the first six meetings with CU, all from 1975-80, but CU has won nine of the last 10, including seven in a row. … The Buffs are 12-2 at home. BYU is 4-4 in true road games. … In conference play, CU is ninth in the Big 12 in scoring (67.2 points per game), and BYU is 10th (67.1). Defensively, the Buffs are seventh (allowing 64.5 per game) and BYU is 10th (69.5). … In the past three games, Masogayo is 22-of-24 (.917) from the free throw line. … As of Friday, CU was No. 47 in the NET rankings, while BYU was at No. 56. … Cummard was an assistant at BYU from 2019 to 2025 before being promoted for this season. He played for BYU from 2005 to 2009, earning All-American honors. … CU great Shelley Sheetz, who starred for the Buffs from 1991-95, will be recognized Saturday as she will be added to the Buffs’ Wall of Honor. Sheetz, now an assistant coach for the Buffs, was CU’s first-ever Associated Press All-American, in 1995.
There are just 16 Flock Safety cameras in Thornton.
But those electronic eyes, mounted to poles at intersections throughout this city of nearly 150,000, brought out dozens of people to the Thornton Community Center for a discussion on how the controversial license plate-reading cameras are being used — and whether they should be used at all.
Law enforcement agencies cite the automatic license-plate readers, or ALPRs, as a powerful tool that bolsters their ability to locate and stop suspects who may be on their way to committing their next assault or robbery.
But Meg Moore, a six-year resident of the city who is helping spearhead opposition to Flock cameras, said she worries about how the rapidly spreading surveillance system is impacting residents’ privacy and Fourth Amendment protections against unreasonable searches and seizures. Thornton’s Flock camera data can be seen by more than 1,600 other law enforcement agencies across the country.
“We want to make sure this is truly safe and effective,” she said in an interview.
The debate over Atlanta-based Flock Safety’s cameras, which not only can record license plate numbers but can search for the specific characteristics of a vehicle linked to an alleged crime, has been picking up steam in recent years. The discussions have largely played out in metro Denver and Front Range cities in recent months, but this year they reached the state Capitol, where lawmakers are pitching a couple of bills to tighten up rules around surveillance.
In Denver, Mayor Mike Johnston has been butting heads with the City Council over the issue. Johnston is so convinced of Flock’s value in combating crime that in October, he extended the contract with the company against the wishes of much of the council. Denver has 111 Flock cameras.
In Longmont, elected leaders took a different approach. Its City Council voted in December to pause all sharing of Flock Safety data with other municipalities, declined an expansion of its contract with the company and began searching for an alternative.
Louisville beat its Boulder County neighbor to the punch by several months, disabling its Flock cameras at the end of June and removing them by the start of October. City spokesman Derek Cosson said privacy concerns from residents largely drove the city’s decision.
Steve Mathias, a Thornton resident for nearly a decade, would like to see Flock’s cameras gone from his city. Short of that, he said, reliable controls on how the streetside data is collected, stored and shared are paramount.
“In our rush to make our community safe, we’re not getting the full picture of the risks we’re facing,” he said. “We’re making ourselves safe in some ways by making ourselves less safe in others.”
The hot-button debate in Thornton played out at last month’s community meeting and continued at a City Council meeting last week, where the city’s Police Department gave a presentation on the Flock system.
Cmdr. Chad Parker laid out several examples of Flock’s cameras being instrumental in apprehending bad actors — in cases ranging from homicide to sex assault to child exploitation to a $5,700 theft at a Nike store.
As recently as Monday, Thornton police announced on X that investigators had tracked down a man suspected of hitting and killing a 14-year-old boy who was riding a small motorized bike over the weekend. The agency said a Flock camera in Thornton gave officers a “strong lead” in identifying the hit-and-run suspect within 24 hours.
At the Feb. 3 council study session, police Chief Jim Baird described Flock’s camera system as “one of the best tools I’ve seen in 32 years of law enforcement.”
But that doesn’t sway those in Thornton who are wary of the camera network.
“I’m not a fan of building toward a surveillance state,” Mathias said.
The hazards of a system like Flock, he said, lie not just in the pervasive data-collection methods the company uses but also in who eventually might get to see and use that data — be it a rogue law enforcement officer or a hacker who manages to break into Flock’s database.
“A person who wants us to do us harm with this system will have as much capability as the police have to do good,” he said.
A Flock Safety license plate recognition camera is seen on a street light post on Ken Pratt Boulevard near the intersection with U.S. 287 in Longmont on Dec. 10, 2025. (Matthew Jonas/Daily Camera)
Crime-fighting tool or prone to misuse?
In November, a Columbine Valley police officer was disciplined after he accused a Denver woman of theft based in large part on evidence from Flock cameras, according to reporting from Fox31. The officer mistakenly claimed the woman had stolen a $25 package in a nearby town and said he’d used Flock cameras to track her car.
“It’s putting too much trust in the hands of people who don’t know what they’re doing,” DeFlock’s Will Freeman said of so many police agencies’ adoption of the technology.
Last summer, 9News reported that the Loveland Police Department had shared access to its Flock camera system with U.S. Border Patrol. That came two months after the station reported that the department gave the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives access to its account, which ATF agents then used to conduct searches for Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
Parker, the Thornton police commander, said any searches connected to immigration cases or to women from out of state who are seeking an abortion in Colorado — another scenario that’s been raised — “won’t ever touch our system.” State laws restrict cooperation with federal immigration authorities and with other states’ abortion-related investigations.
“Any situation I feel uncomfortable about or that might be in conflict with our policies or with Colorado law, I will revoke their access — no problem,” he said.
Thornton deputy city attorney Adam Stephens said motorists’ Fourth Amendment rights are not being violated by the city’s Flock camera network. During last week’s meeting, he cited several recent court cases that, in essence, determined that there is no right to privacy while driving down a public roadway.
In an interview, Stephens said Thornton was “in compliance with the law.”
Flock spokesman Paris Lewbel wrote in an email that the company was “proud to partner with the Thornton Police Department to provide technology used to investigate and solve crimes and to help locate missing persons.”
Lewbel provided links to two news stories about minor children who were abducted and then found with the help of Flock’s cameras in Thornton and elsewhere.
At the council’s study session last week, Parker provided more examples of Flock’s role in fighting crime and finding missing people in Thornton. They included police nabbing a suspect who had hit and killed a pedestrian, locating a burglar who was suspected of robbing several dispensaries, and tracking down an 89-year-old man with dementia who had gotten into his car and gotten lost.
“It allows us to find vehicles in a manner we weren’t able to previously,” Parker said of the camera network.
Thornton installed its first 10 Flock cameras in 2022 and then added five more — plus a mobile unit — two years later. The initial deployment was in response to a spike in auto thefts in the city, which peaked at 1,205 in 2022 (amid an overall surge in Colorado). Thornton recorded 536 auto thefts last year.
The city says Flock cameras have been involved in 200 cases that resulted in an arrest or a warrant application in Thornton over the last three years.
Thornton police have access to nearly 2,200 other agencies’ Flock systems across the United States, while nearly 1,650 law enforcement agencies can access Thornton’s Flock data, according to data provided by the city.
For Anaya Robinson, the public policy director for the American Civil Liberties Union of Colorado, the networked nature of Flock cameras across wide geographies is a big part of the problem. By linking one police agency’s Flock technology with that of thousands of other police departments, it “creates a surveillance environment that could violate the Fourth Amendment.”
The sweeping nature of Flock’s surveillance is also worrisome, Robinson said.
“You’re not just collecting the data of vehicles that ping (a police department’s) hot list (of suspicious vehicles), you’re collecting the data of every vehicle that is caught on a Flock camera,” he said.
And because the technology is relatively inexpensive — Thornton pays $48,500 to Flock annually for its system — it’s an affordable crime-fighting tool for most communities. But that doesn’t mean it should be deployed, DeFlock’s Freeman said.
Fight remains a largely local one
State lawmakers are crafting bills this session to limit the reach of surveillance technologies like Flock’s.
Senate Bill 70 would put limits on access to databases and the sharing of information. It would prohibit a government from accessing a database that reveals an individual’s or a vehicle’s historical location information, and it would prohibit sharing that information with third parties or with government agencies outside the controlling entity’s jurisdiction. Certain exceptions would apply.
Senate Bill 71 would direct a “law enforcement agency to use surveillance technology only for lawful purposes directly related to public safety or for an active investigation.” It also would forbid the use of facial-recognition technology without a warrant and would place limits on the amount of time data can be retained.
Both bills await their first committee hearings.
Thornton says it doesn’t use facial recognition technology. Its Flock data is retained for 30 days.
Regardless of what passes at the state Capitol, the real fight over license plate readers of any type will likely continue to happen at the local level. Thornton’s council plans further discussions on Flock next month.
For Moore, the resident who is leading the charge against the cameras, potential surveillance of the immigrant community is what troubles her the most.
“We want to make sure we’re operating this so that it’s safe for all of our residents,” she said. “Getting rid of the cameras altogether is a tough sell. But there needs to be a conversation about guardrails.”
Mayor Pro Tem Roberta Ayala, a Thornton native, said she has heard a wide array of opinions from her constituents about the advantages and potential downsides of the technology.
“Could it be misused? Yes. Do we want to stop that? Yes,” she said.
But as a victim of crime herself, Ayala also knows the immense damage and disruption that crime causes victims and their families, be it a stolen vehicle or something much worse. And as a teacher, Ayala is concerned about achieving justice for the families of children who are harmed or abused.
“If it can save even five kids,” she said, “I want the cameras.”
The Buffs’ Jade Masogayo makes a shot and draws a foul from TCU’s Kennedy Basham on Sunday in Boulder. (AAron Ontiveroz/The Denver Post)
Fast break
Why the Buffs won: They had one of their most efficient offensive performances of the season, hitting 49.2% of their shots from the field, 88.9% from the free throw line and committing just eight turnovers.
Three stars:
1. CU’s Jade Masogayo: Scored a season-high 23 points while hitting 9-of-10 free throws. Also had three rebounds and two assists.
2. TCU’s Olivia Miles: Tied her season high with 31 points, and also had five rebounds and two steals.
3. CU’s Logyn Greer: The freshman had one of her best games, with 17 points and five rebounds.
Up next: The Buffs will play at Houston on Wednesday (5:30 p.m. MT, ESPN+).
After missing a free throw with 58.3 seconds to play Sunday, Colorado’s Jade Masogayo couldn’t help but think back a week.
On Feb. 1, Masogayo missed five consecutive free throws in the final three minutes of regulation during a tight game at Kansas that the Buffs eventually won in overtime.
Fortunately for her and the Colorado women’s basketball team, there wasn’t a repeat of the previous Sunday.
Masogayo was clutch down the stretch this time around and converted a three-point play with 2.1 seconds left to lift the Buffaloes to an 80-79 upset of No. 14 TCU at the CU Events Center.
The senior forward, who finished with a season-high 23 points, tied the game with a layup while drawing a foul. She then stepped to the line and hit what proved to be the game-winning free throw.
“I said, ‘This going in right here, right now,’” she said. “’I don’t got no other choice. This going in right now.’”
TCU star Olivia Miles, who scored 31 points, hit the side of the backboard with a last-second 3-point attempt, sparking a CU celebration after its second win over an Associated Press ranked opponent this season.
“I mean, wow,” CU head coach JR Payne said. “What a resilient group we have here to take a team like that down the stretch, down eight two separate times. Our execution and aggressive mindset and ability to make big plays, so many people made big plays tonight.”
Masogayo in particular. She was fouled with 58.3 seconds to go and the Buffs trailing 76-74. She missed the first shot, though.
“Yeah, definitely on the one that I missed, I was pretty much taken back to Kansas,” Masogayo said.
She was 8-for-8 at the line against Kansas before going 1-for-7 in the last 3:29 of the fourth quarter that day, which led to the game going to overtime.
BOULDER , CO – FEBRUARY 8: Zyanna Walker (1) of the Colorado Buffaloes drives on Taylor Bigby (1) of the TCU Horned Frogs during the fourth quarter of the Buffs’ 80-79 win at the CU Events Center in Boulder, Colorado on Sunday, February 8, 2026. (Photo by AAron Ontiveroz/The Denver Post)
“I was just telling myself on the line, like, ‘Jade, we’re not going to do this again,’” she said. “’Like, come on, let’s just finish it.’ That was pretty much my mentality.”
She finished this time, hitting the second one, then tying the game with two free throws with 24.2 seconds left and winning it with her free throw at the 2.1-second mark. She went 9-for-10 at the line for the day.
“Jade was obviously incredible down the stretch,” Payne said.
It was hardly a solo effort.
Freshman Logyn Greer had her best game in Big 12 play, scoring 17 points and pulling down five rebounds. She had 10 of her points in third quarter, after CU had fallen behind by eight.
Desiree Wooten energized the Buffs with 12 first-quarter points before finishing with 19. Zyanna Walker had 15 points and four steals while locking down on defense.
Anaelle Dutat and Tabitha Betson combined for just six points, but those all came in the fourth quarter, cutting TCU’s eight-point lead to four.
“Lots of different people made winning plays tonight, offensively and defensively,” Payne said, while praising the defensive efforts by Dutat, Walker and Betson. “Just great team effort. I’m really, really happy about this one.”
CU led by 11 in the first quarter and never trailed in the first half. Then, TCU’s Donovyn Hunter and Miles got hot, sparking a 13-5 surge to start the third quarter.
Miles drilled a 3-pointer with 5:46 to play in the third to put the Horned Frogs up 47-39, prompting Payne to call a timeout. The TCU senior was hit with a technical foul for taunting, though, and CU capitalized. Wooten hit the ensuing two free throws and Walker a quick jumper to slice the deficit to 47-43 in just nine seconds.
“We thought we could get a four-point swing out of it, and we did,” Payne said. “So that was really important. Good execution by the team.”
TCU got the lead back to eight, 74-68, with 6:55 to go, but Dutat and Betson hit some big shots, while the Horned Frogs lost two of their key players in the paint. Marta Suarez, a 6-foot-3 forward who finished with 20 points, fouled out with 4:02 to go. Then, 6-foot-7 Clara Silva fouled out with 58.3 to go.
That all helped CU, sparked by a lively crowd of 2,240, to close the game on a 10-3 run over the last 2:35.
“I thought the energy in the arena was so good,” she said. “I think anyone that comes to watch us play sees that it’s really fun. It’s a really fun couple of hours. So, I just hope we can really get great crowds the last few games.”
BOULDER , CO – FEBRUARY 8: Desiree Wooten (3) of the Colorado Buffaloes drives on Clara Bielefeld (16) of the TCU Horned Frogs during the fourth quarter of the Buffs’ 80-79 win at the CU Events Center in Boulder, Colorado on Sunday, February 8, 2026. (Photo by AAron Ontiveroz/The Denver Post)
Notable
CU’s previous ranked win came against then-No. 19 Iowa State, 68-62, on Jan. 14. … The Buffs have 18 wins against AP Top 25 teams under Payne, including 15 in the past five seasons. … TCU leads the conference in scoring defense, allowing just 55.3 points per game. CU was the first team to reach the 80-point mark against the Horned Frogs in regulation. Only Utah scored more overall, beating TCU 87-77 in overtime on Jan. 3. … The Buffs were just 4-of-19 from 3-point range in the previous two games, but went 4-for-6 in the first quarter Sunday and finished 6-for-13.
Colorado’s Tabitha Betson, right, shoots Wednesday against West Virginia. (Matthew Jonas/Staff Photographer)
There are no easy game days in Big 12 women’s basketball, which is how Zyanna Walker likes it.
“I like how competitive it is,” the Colorado guard said of playing in the Big 12. “You’ve got to show up every night, no matter who you’re playing. Top or bottom of the conference, you’ve got to be up, ready to play, especially on the road.”
On Sunday, the Buffs face perhaps their biggest challenge on the Big 12 slate when No. 14-ranked TCU visits the CU Events Center. The defending league champion Horned Frogs are tied atop the conference standings coming into Sunday.
“Oh, I love it,” Walker said. “When you’re a competitor, you like to play with the best of the best. They’re on top of the conference, so we know that we have an opportunity to play with them on our home floor, so we’re going to take that.”
The Buffs had a three-game win streak snapped with a 61-55 loss to No. 20 West Virginia on Wednesday and look to get back on track. It was the sixth loss by seven points or less, with each one containing correctable mistakes.
“I think when we turn on the film, we’re going to see that there was a lot of really missed opportunities that were (on) us,” head coach JR Payne said.
This has been a team that’s shown the ability to make quick corrections, however.
“I think we’re a pretty coachable group,” Payne said. “When we’re coachable like that, it allows us to grow. … I think that we’ll see something, we’ll say, ‘Yeah, that was my fault,’ and be better next time.”
Being coachable has allowed the Buffs to rebound from losses at Louisville, at Arizona State, at Oklahoma State and at UCF. After each of those losses, the Buffs were locked in and won the next game.
“I think it’s amazing,” sophomore Tabitha Betson said. “Honestly, being a part of a group that is willing to learn and willing to listen to each other and the coaches and willing to grow is really special. It’s not super common. I think us also being young, as well, means that everyone’s ready to soak up information and ready to fix and change and move on. So I think it’s great.”
The Buffs will put that to the test against TCU, which leads the Big 12 in scoring defense, allowing just 54.3 points per game, while ranking third in scoring offense, at 80.3. The Horned Frogs are also second in the conference in rebounding margin (plus-9.1).
TCU is led by national player of the year candidate Olivia Miles, who is averaging 19.0 points, 7.0 assists and 6.9 rebounds per game. She’s the only player in the country averaging at least 14.0 points, 6.0 assists and 6.0 rebounds.
Payne said the Buffs have to have better organization than they did against West Virginia. If they do, they’ve got a chance to pick up a big win.
“It’s just important that you lock in for every game because you’ll see somebody get upset every other night, every week (in the Big 12),” Walker said. “It’s just important that you lock in and focus on the game that’s ahead.”
Colorado Buffaloes’ Logyn Greer, left, puts up a shot past West Virginia Mountaineers’ Riley Makalusky, right, at the CU Events Center in Boulder on Wednesday, Feb. 4, 2026. (Matthew Jonas/Staff Photographer)
CU Buffs women’s basketball vs. No. 14 TCU
TIPOFF: Sunday, 1 p.m. MT, CU Events Center in Boulder
TV/RADIO: ESPN+/KHOW 630 AM
RECORDS: Colorado 15-8, 6-5 Big 12; TCU 21-3, 9-2 Big 12
COACHES: Colorado — JR Payne, 10th season (179-124; 280-237 career). TCU — Mark Campbell, 3rd season (76-19; 115-43 career).
KEY PLAYERS: Colorado — F Tabitha Betson, 6-2, So. (4.5 ppg, 3.4 rpg, .364 3pt%); F Anaelle Dutat, 6-0, Sr. (8.3 ppg, 8.3 rpg, 1.8 spg, .517 fg%); F Logyn Greer, 6-4, Fr. (9.4 ppg, 4.9 rpg); F Jade Masogayo, 6-3, Sr. (11.5 ppg, 5.2 rpg, 2.1 apg, .492 fg%); G Zyanna Walker, 5-11, Jr. (11.2 ppg, 4.6 rpg, 2.7 apg, 2.3 spg); G Desiree Wooten, 5-8, Jr. (12.1 ppg, 2.7 rpg, 2.0 apg, 1.6 spg). TCU — G Taylor Bigby, 6-1, Sr. (7.1 ppg, 2.1 rpg, .380 3pt%); G Donovyn Hunter, 6-0, Jr. (12.2 ppg, 2.9 rpg, 2.5 apg, .371 3pt%); G Olivia Miles, 5-10, Sr. (19.2 ppg, 6.9 rpg, 7.0 apg, .508 fg%); G Maddie Scherr, 5-10, Sr. (5.6 ppg, 3.3 rpg, 3.1 apg, .389 3pt%); C Clara Silva, 6-7, So. (10.0 ppg, 7.8 rpg, .615 fg%); F Marta Suarez, 6-3, Sr. (15.7 ppg, 6.9 rpg, 2.4 apg).
NOTES: CU is 1-3 against Associated Press Top 25 opponents this year, with the win coming against then-No. 19 Iowa State, 68-62, on Jan. 14. … The Buffs are 11-2 at home this year and 26-5 in the last two years. TCU is 4-2 on the road, with losses at Utah and Texas Tech. … CU leads the series 4-2, including victories in the WNIT in 2008 and 2014. TCU won both of last year’s matchups, 63-50 in Fort Worth and 69-62 in the Big 12 Tournament. … This will be TCU’s first visit to Boulder since March 19, 2014, in the WNIT. … Through the first six Big 12 games, Dutat was averaging 10.3 points and 10.2 rebounds. In the last five games, however, she’s averaged just 2.6 points and 5.8 rebounds. … Miles has posted four triple-doubles this season. CU has four in its 52-season history. … TCU ranks second in the Big 12 with 9.1 made 3-pointers per game and second in 3-point percentage (.360). CU is 15th in the league with 4.0 made 3s per game and last with a .259 3-point percentage.
Two Front Range cities are eyeing more oversight for their police departments.
Lakewood’s City Council voted last week to “work toward the establishment” of an independent civilian oversight board for the city’s police department. And in Aurora, the city set aside about $330,000 this year to fund an Office of Police Accountability — even as city officials say they are still considering how oversight should be structured.
The creation of an independent oversight board in Lakewood would put the city into the company of just a handful of Front Range cities with such boards, including Denver and Boulder. The push for more oversight came to a head in Lakewood after the death of Jax Gratton, a 34-year-old transgender woman who disappeared in April and was found dead in June.
Lakewood police faced criticism for their handling of the case, including for announcing Gratton’s death by using her deadname and, later, for a lack of transparency about the investigation. Gratton’s case spurred the move toward an oversight committee, but the push is also rooted in wider issues around trust between police and community, Lakewood Councilwoman Isabel Cruz said.
“Although this specific incident really brought this to the fore, and the demands of community activists really pushed us, it is rooted in a lot of different conversations,” she said.
City Council members overwhelmingly voted Jan. 26 to create a 12-month committee to work toward the creation of a permanent oversight board. The temporary committee will have access to police records, completed internal affairs investigations and body-worn camera footage, and will be able to review complaints submitted to the police department.
At the end of the 12-month period, the committee will report to the City Council about how a permanent police oversight committee would be staffed and structured, among other recommendations.
Council members will then have the power to move forward with the permanent board or end the oversight effort.
Lakewood Police Department spokesman John Romero declined to comment on the push for oversight. About three dozen police officers packed last week’s council meeting, where Lakewood police Agent Quinn Pratt-Cordova, an executive board member of the Fraternal Order of Police Lodge 21, spoke against independent oversight.
An oversight board would be redundant, he said, and could damage officers’ trust in the city. Such oversight might “deter top talent,” from the police department, Pratt-Cordova said.
“Civilian oversight boards are rare and often follow severe systemic issues like those in other cities, issues that the majority of you don’t agree exist in the local police department,” Pratt-Cordova told council members. “The unnecessary creation of an oversight board attempts to apply an unwarranted national narrative to Lakewood PD.”
Lakewood Mayor Wendi Strom said she hopes any permanent effort will be aimed at improving police-community relations in ways that go beyond traditional independent oversight.
“The oversight word, I think, it is a big sticking point and one that — especially for folks within the public safety realm — has a very specific meaning,” she said in an interview. “So what we end up with, it is hard to tell. But for me, and I think City Council has been pretty clear on this in multiple conversations over the last month, the end goal is ultimately to help our community members feel more comfortable reaching out when there is a need.”
In Aurora, the police department entered into a consent decree — court-ordered reforms overseen by an independent monitor — after the 2019 killing of Elijah McClain, a 23-year-old Black man who died after Aurora police officers violently restrained him and paramedics injected him with a too-large dose of a powerful sedative.
McClain’s death was part of a pattern of racial bias and excessive force within the Aurora Police Department, state officials later found.
Aurora City Manager Jason Batchelor hopes the city’s two-person Office of Police Accountability will serve as an independent monitor for the police department when police exit the consent decree and are no longer under the supervision of the court-ordered monitor. The creation of such a position is a requirement of the consent decree.
The new office would report to the city manager, Batchelor said, but would be created with built-in protections aimed at ensuring its independence, including putting into city ordinance the office’s right to have free and unfettered access to information and budgetary safeguards to ensure it could not be defunded by the city manager. The protections would mirror Aurora’s approach to its internal auditor, which operates independently and would work in tandem with the new office, Batchelor said.
“I don’t get to tell the internal auditor, ‘That might make me look bad, don’t publish that,’” Batchelor said. “That can’t happen.”
The Office of Police Accountability, which Batchelor hopes to be ready to hire for in a few months, would have “contemporaneous oversight” of any city investigation, he said. The office would not oversee police discipline and would not conduct its own investigations into police misconduct. Instead, the employees would be able to flag problems or concerns about such investigations to Batchelor, the City Council or to the public.
Aurora Councilwoman Amy Wiles, who has helped to organize community meetings to discuss police oversight as recently as this week, said residents need a neutral place to report police misconduct.
“Right now, if you want to report something — you had a poor interaction with a police officer or you feel something wasn’t right — to call and report that is a bit invasive. You have to call the police department,” she said. “…So we are hoping this provides that level of security to community to say, ‘Hey if something went wrong, here is this neutral person you can reach out to.’”
The Office of Police Accountability could receive complaints of police misconduct directly from the public, Batchelor said, and then would “partner with the (police) department to make sure that any complaints are fully investigated.”
That approach concerns Omar Montgomery, Rocky Mountain state conference president for the NAACP.
“If you are going to have true transparency and true accountability, it can’t be that organization doing the investigation,” he said. “It has to be an independent organization. …If it goes back to the police department, I would have concerns (about whether) that is an independent department that is investigating abuse allegations.”
But he added that the Office of Police Accountability is “a good start,” and noted that it is already funded in a tough budget year.
Batchelor pointed out that some critical incidents, including police shootings, are already investigated by outside agencies. Colorado lawmakers banned police departments from investigating their own police shootings in 2015. Other types of complaints are handled solely by the police department’s internal affairs unit.
The city is still considering what the ultimate structure of the office and oversight will look like, Wiles said. The end design may include an advisory board of residents who work with the Office of Police Accountability in some fashion, though their role is limited by the city’s charter.
After more than 40 years, the Sundance Film Festival is leaving its longtime host of Park City, Utah, and heading to Boulder, Colorado. Sarah Horbacewicz reports.
While on the road with his fiancée, Fenske’s also been keeping an eye on an old CU teammate, Alex Harkey. Oregon’s starting right tackle? Yeah, he used to be a Buff.
Harkey, a 6-foot-6, 327-pound redshirt senior, is prepping for a Friday night showdown with Indiana — and another former CU player, the Hoosiers’ Kahlil Benson — in one College Football Playoff semifinal. The Ducks’ bruiser helped Oregon put up 245 passing yards and convert four fourth-down conversions on The Best Defense Money Can Buy, blanking Texas Tech 23-0 in the Orange Bowl.
Fenske, who played in seven games with the Buffs in ’22, was Harkey’s roommate at CU. He got swept away, too. Under Armour was out, Louis Vuitton luggage was in.
“(Harkey has) done incredible, man,” Fenske gushed. “Because when he first came in (to CU), he wasn’t what he is now. And just seeing his transformation from being a (backup) guard on a 1-11 team to being a first-round or second-round (NFL) draft pick …”
Big Alex could play. So could wideout Jordyn Tyson (Arizona State). And cornerback Simeon Harris (Fresno State). And quarterback Owen McCown, once he’d had some more brisket. McCown, who played as a wafer-thin true freshman at CU in ’22, threw for 30 touchdowns at UTSA this past fall — including three in a 57-20 win over Florida International in the First Responder Bowl.
“We just stay connected, support each other’s success,” Harris, who still belongs to a group chat of former Buffs, told me over the weekend. “You’ve got to expect the unexpected. That (purge) hit us all in the mouth.”
All of it true. But what we won’t talk as much about is just how young that 2022 team actually was. Heading into the opener, 33 of the 81 dudes on that CU depth chart were freshmen. Twenty-three were sophomores. It showed.
“I get that it’s a multimillion-dollar business,” Fenske said. “But what’s missing in college football is the developmental piece to it. For Philip Rivers to come back (to the NFL) after five years (retired) and be better than half the QBs in the NFL, that’s not a talent issue. That’s a development issue …
“I want (the Buffs) to do well, but man, they missed out. They really missed out on (Harkey). Even when he wasn’t a starter, he always kind of carried himself with a chip on his shoulder. He wanted to get better. He knows ball. He was a great person to be around.”
Yet you also could field a pretty darned good college football lineup out of players who left CU’s program following the 2022, 2023 and 2024 seasons. Check out tthese Post-Prime All-Stars, all ex-Buffs, and their 2025 stat lines:
LB — Nikhai Hill-Green, Alabama, two forced fumbles
LB — Jeremy Mack Jr., Old Dominion, six sacks
LB — Johnny Chaney Jr., FIU, three sacks
CB — Colton Hood, Tennessee, eight pass break-ups
CB — Simeon Harris, Fresno State, five interceptions
CB — Kyndrich Breedlove, Arizona State, five pass break-ups
S — Trevor Woods, Jacksonville State, three forced fumbles
S — Myles Slusher, Purdue, three pass break-ups
It’s a little light up front defensively, granted. But that’s not a bad offensive bunch. It’s probably a better starting 11, McCown included, than what Pencil Pat Shurmur trotted out this past fall.
“I’m not the only one that’s thought that,” Fenske chuckled.
“It’s funny how we all panned out,” Harris added. “But we all (had) wanted to be at CU.”
Meanwhile, the Buffs’ door keeps revolving. According to the 247Sports.com database, CU had seen 30 more players declare for the portal as of Saturday morning. That group included key cogs such as cornerback DJ McKinney, safety Tawfiq Byard, defensive end London Merriott, defensive end Brandon Davis-Swain, wideout Omarion Miller, wideout/all-purpose back Dre’Lon Miller — all of whom could make a future Post-Prime starting 11.
Meanwhile, the Buffs are going to need to import at least 30, and maybe 35-45 transfers, just to fill out a roster whose depth was frequently tested last autumn.
History says they’ll find some dawgs. And recent history says they’ll need twice as many as a year ago.
“I think (CU) is about to go through another rebuild situation,” Harris noted.
Still, the Bulldogs’ defensive back doesn’t harbor any grudges toward Sanders, nor CU. Neither does Fenske, really, despite his exit.
“If I didn’t have the portal, I’m not in the spot I am today,” Fenske said. “The grass isn’t always greener for some. And I would advise people who are going into that position to really think about what they’re doing and to really take a chance on themselves and see if they can develop …
“Maybe the best thing for me was to go down (a level) and be humbled, to re-learn the game of football in a way and re-learn what life is about.”
The Big Guy works in mysterious ways, sometimes. Fenske just wrapped up his eligibility at Southern Illinois, having been named to the Missouri Valley Conference’s second-team offense and to the first team of the league’s Scholar-Athlete squad, thanks to a 4.0 GPA.
“I want those guys (at CU) to do well,” the lineman said. “Boulder was really good to me, and I’m glad that Boulder is doing a little better than it was before I got there. It would be foolish for me to be super cynical about that. I want to see (CU) do well. I want to see that area flourish because it was very welcoming to me.”
Around the country, there are few college basketball venues better than The Pit in Albuquerque, New Mexico.
Over the past year, Fernando Lovo has seen that up close as the athletic director at New Mexico.
In transitioning to his new job as the athletic director at Colorado, Lovo knows the importance of a strong game day experience for fans of all sports and hopes to bring that to Boulder.
The Colorado Buffaloes bench celebrates a three point basket against the UC Davis Aggies at CU Events Center in Boulder on Friday, Nov. 21, 2025. (Matthew Jonas/Staff Photographer)
“It’s huge. That’s really important to me,” Lovo, who begins his job at CU this week, told BuffZone. “I’m fanatical about the game day experience. It’s something that I took from my time at the University of Texas. I saw how impactful it was to create. It’s not just a game. It’s got to be an event. It’s got to be engaging. It’s got to be dynamic.”
Last year, New Mexico ranked 24th nationally in men’s basketball attendance, averaging 13,051 fans per game. The Lobos’ women’s basketball team ranked 26th nationally, at 4,843 per game.
By comparison, CU was 69th nationally in men’s basketball attendance last year (7,038) and is averaging just 5,802 fans at home this year (not counting the game against Portland State when the general public wasn’t allowed at the Events Center due to dangerous wind conditions in the area). In women’s basketball, the Buffs averaged 2,967 fans (54th) last year and just 2,045 so far this year (82nd). Both numbers should increase as the Buffs get into conference play this month.
In football, the Buffs have done well in attendance under head coach Deion Sanders, but slipped this past year as the team sputtered to a 3-9 record. The Buffs averaged 52,514 fans at Folsom Field in 2024, and 50,459 this past season.
Lovo understands that putting a winning product on the court or field is essential to attendance, but said the game day experience has to be more than about getting people to the games.
“We’ve got to be creative with our scripting of our in-game scripts to keep people involved,” he said. “It’s not enough just to say, ‘Hey, come watch a game.’ That’s not the way we’re going to approach things. We’re going to look at how do we do things outside the venue? Inside the venue?”
Lovo said CU has to give fans a reason to decide they want to come to a CU event in the first place. Then, he said, it’s important to make it easy to get into building.
“Make parking ingress really easy, really convenient for them; getting into the building really easy,” he said.
Lovo said it’s then important to make the atmosphere exciting for fans once they’re inside the building.
“Obviously, we need to compete at a high level, but we’ve got to make it fun,” he said. “We’ve got to make it engaging. And that’s something that I focus on heavily, and I thought we did a really good job with that here at New Mexico, and engaged our fans. We’ve got great fans there at CU and I can’t wait to build on what’s already going on there, which I know is a lot of really good stuff, and try some things that hopefully catch people’s attention.”
The CU Events Center may not ever match The Pit, but Lovo is looking forward to trying to get the Buffs there.
“The Pit was tremendous in terms of the excitement and the environment, and that’s what we need (at CU),” he said. “We need that at our venues. Our home venues have to really create an advantage for us. They have to. That’s our job as administrators.
“We need to create a really exciting environment, and like I said, make it really fun and engaging for our fans, so that if people are in the stands and they’re loud, it has a tangible impact on winning and losing; it just does. That’s undeniable, so we’re going to work really hard at that.”
A cast member at Disney’s Hollywood Studios in Orlando was injured after he was hit by the massive rubber ball used in the Indiana Jones Epic Stunt Spectacular attraction. It happened when the man was attempting to stop the rubber “boulder” used in the show after it went off course and rolled toward the audience. Video shows the cast member putting his arms up to stop the ball, but he was slammed to the ground instead. Videos of the incident were shared widely on social media. “We’re focused on supporting our cast member, who is recovering,” a Disney spokesperson told WESH 2. “Safety is at the heart of what we do, and that element of the show will be modified as our safety team completes a review of what happened.”The boulder weighs 400 pounds and is made of rubber, the ride’s website says. >> This story will be updated as more information is released.
ORLANDO, Fla. —
A cast member at Disney’s Hollywood Studios in Orlando was injured after he was hit by the massive rubber ball used in the Indiana Jones Epic Stunt Spectacular attraction.
It happened when the man was attempting to stop the rubber “boulder” used in the show after it went off course and rolled toward the audience.
Video shows the cast member putting his arms up to stop the ball, but he was slammed to the ground instead. Videos of the incident were shared widely on social media.
“We’re focused on supporting our cast member, who is recovering,” a Disney spokesperson told WESH 2. “Safety is at the heart of what we do, and that element of the show will be modified as our safety team completes a review of what happened.”
The boulder weighs 400 pounds and is made of rubber, the ride’s website says.
>> This story will be updated as more information is released.
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NEW: During Indiana Jones Epic Stunt Spectacular! at Disney’s Hollywood Studios today, a 400-pound boulder prop dislodged from its track. A Cast Member was injured stopping it before it reached the audience. Disney says the Cast Member received immediate care and is recovering. pic.twitter.com/TxbWYV25OX
The National Institute of Standards and Technology’s Internet Time Service Facility in Boulder lost power Wednesday afternoon, disrupting the agency’s atomic clock, spokesperson Rebecca Jacobson said.
The atomic clock, which uses cesium atoms to measure the exact length of a second, is used for GPS satellite networks, data centers, laboratories, aerospace, telecommunications, power generation and other systems that require ultra-precise timekeeping.
“In short, the atomic ensemble time scale at our Boulder campus has failed due to a prolonged utility power outage,” NIST researcher Jeffrey Sherman wrote in an email announcing the outage to users. “One impact is that the Boulder Internet Time Services no longer have an accurate time reference.”
When the outage started on Wednesday, some of NIST’s on-campus time distribution systems lapsed before the backup generator kicked in, causing a four-microsecond delay to the atomic clock, Jacobson said.
At least one “crucial” generator at the facility failed after the outage, according to Sherman’s email.
“For comparison, it takes about 350,000 microseconds to blink or 150,000 microseconds to snap your fingers,” Jacobson said.
As of Sunday morning, power remained out at the Boulder Department of Commerce — which houses NIST, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and the National Telecommunications and Information Administration — according to NIST’s list of active internet time servers.
The time drift will be corrected once power is restored to the Boulder facility, Jacobson said.
Every year, Colorado women’s basketball coach JR Payne tries to set her team up with a nonconference schedule that will prepare it for the Big 12.
Payne believes her squad is ready to go in conference play this year, and she’ll find out for sure on Sunday when the Buffaloes visit Arizona State.
“I feel really good about our team going into conference play,” Payne said after the Buffs’ victory against Northern Colorado on Tuesday. “I think we’ve played a lot of different styles throughout the preseason. We’ve played teams that press, teams that zone, teams that switch. We’ve seen everything almost at this point, which is sort of the point of preseason, and we’ve grown a lot. Still lots to grow, but I’m excited to get going.”
Colorado Buffaloes Desiree Wooten puts up a shot against the Northern Colorado Bears at the CU Events Center on Tuesday, Dec. 16, 2025. (Matthew Jonas/Staff Photographer)
With 10 new players this season, CU has a squad with very little Big 12 experience, but the same is true for Arizona State.
Under first-year coach Molly Miller, ASU has just two players with Big 12 experience in returning Sun Devils Jyah Lovett and Makalya Moore, neither of which start. All five of ASU’s starters were at different schools a year ago.
Most of CU’s team was somewhere else last year, too, including guard Desiree Wooten. The junior guard is a transfer from North Texas and looking forward to her first Big 12 game.
“Yeah, I’m really excited,” said Wooten, who is averaging 10.8 points for the Buffs. “I’m ready to make an impact with my team, for my team, and I’m ready to compete.”
The most experienced Big 12 player in Sunday’s game will be CU’s Jade Masogayo, who was All-Big honorable mention a year ago.
Masogayo battled through a slow start to this season as she recovered from a knee injury. Since shedding the brace on her knee, she’s been dominant again, averaging 18.0 points and 5.5 rebounds in her last two games, while hitting 15 of 24 shots (.625).
Along with Masogayo, several other Buffs are settling into roles. Wooten has become a spark plug off the bench; freshman Logyn Greer is pacing the Buffs in scoring (11.6 points per game); and forward Anaelle Dutat is a consistent rebounder and defender.
Knowing the rigors of a Big 12 schedule, Masogayo said she’s ready to go into battle with her team.
“Absolutely,” she said. “It’s my last year. I’m ready to play some big games against some good teams and just more physicality. I’m excited for sure.”
CU went 9-9 in its return to the Big 12 last year. While the conference will have a much different look with so many new players, and a few new coaches, Masogayo expects the same level of intensity as last year.
Going into Saturday, there were just 12 undefeated teams in the country, with four of them (ASU, Iowa State, TCU and Texas Tech) in the Big 12. Half of the league is ranked in the top 45 of the NET rankings.
“Oh, for sure (the intensity ramps up in conference play),” Masogayo said. “Especially the physicality of it all, when it comes to the Big 12. It’s a lot, so it’s cool to be competitive in that aspect and just, you know, play basketball at a higher level.”
CU Buffs women’s basketball at Arizona State
TIPOFF: Sunday, 5 p.m., Desert Financial Arena in Tempe, Arizona
TV/RADIO: ESPN+/KHOW 630 AM
RECORDS: Colorado 9-3, 0-0 Big 12; Arizona State 13-0, 0-0 Big 12
COACHES: Colorado — JR Payne, 10th season (173-119; 274-232 career). ASU — Molly Miller, 1st season (13-0, 310-55 career).
KEY PLAYERS: Colorado — F Anaelle Dutat, 6-0, Sr. (9.7 ppg, 8.3 rpg, 1.9 spg, .529 fg%); F Logyn Greer, 6-4, Fr. (11.6 ppg, 6.0 rpg, .495 fg%); F Jade Masogayo, 6-3, Sr. (9.5 ppg, 4.9 rpg, 2.2 apg); G Kennedy Sanders, 5-8, So. (9.3 ppg, 2.2 apg, 1.9 spg); G Zyanna Walker, 5-11, Jr. (9.4 ppg, 4.3 rpg, 3.2 apg, 2.5 spg); G Desiree Wooten, 5-8, Jr. (10.8 ppg, 2.2 rpg, 2.0 apg, 1.6 spg). Arizona State — F McKinna Brackens, 6-1, Jr. (14.4 ppg, 7.9 rpg, 2.2 apg, .417 3pt%); F Heloisa Carrera, 6-2, So. (9.3 ppg, 5.8 rpg, .524 fg%); G Gabby Elliott, 5-10, Sr. (16.5 ppg, 5.5 rpg, 1.9 apg, 2.6 spg); G Jyah LoVett, 5-8, Jr. (5.2 ppg, 1.7 rpg); G Last-Tear Poa, 5-11, Sr. (6.3 ppg, 2.7 rpg, 4.6 apg); G Marley Washenitz, 5-7, Sr. (9.1 ppg, 4.2 rpg, 3.2 apg, 2.2 spg).
NOTES: Since 1996 (the year the Big Eight expanded to the Big 12), CU is 12-17 in conference openers. That includes a 4-9 mark during the Pac-12 era and 8-8 in Big 12 games. … CU won its league opener last year, upsetting No. 14 West Virginia, 65-60. … The Buffs went 1-8 in Big 12 road games last year. … CU is 14-16 all-time against ASU, but has won the last three meetings, including 89-54 on Feb. 26, 2025, in Boulder. Only four of the 20 players who appeared in that game will be in uniform Sunday. … ASU is off to the best start in program history. The previous best was a 9-0 start in 1992-93. … In the preseason, CU was projected for a ninth-place Big 12 finish in both the media and coaches polls, while ASU was projected for 11th in both polls. … Going into Saturday, ASU was No. 43 in the NET rankings, while CU was No. 65. … Prior to being hired at ASU, Miller went 117-38 in five seasons at Grand Canyon, including 32-3 and a trip to the NCAA Tournament last year. Before that, she went 180-17 in six seasons at her alma mater, Drury University.
Texas Tech bought the best team on the planet, went 12-1, won the Big 12 title and earned a bye in the College Football Playoff. Utah posted a 10-2 record and beat the Buffs 53-7 in late October.
Sanders’ salary went up by nearly $5 million for 2025 after his new extension kicked in. The House vs. NCAA settlement required CU to share revenues with student-athletes starting this past July 1, with a cap of $20.5 million for this fiscal cycle. Yet it’s hard to imagine good players such as Miller and Byard taking pay cuts at their next ports of call, isn’t it?
Buffs officials saw the train coming years ago, even as the bills keep piling up. Which is why the indoor practice facility is now sponsored by Mountain States Ford Stores. And why artificial turf was installed at Folsom Field — so the stadium could be utilized more often as a host to revenue-driving events outside the athletic calendar.
Concerts and uniform sponsorships — UNLV will reportedly collect about $2.2 million annually over the next five years from Acesso Biologics, its new “Official Jersey Patch Partner” — will only cover so much. The student-athlete revenue sharing pool is expected to increase by 4% next year. Sanders is slated to make $11 million in 2027, $11 million in 2028 and $12 million in 2029.
The Buffs can’t play at the same poker tables as the Red Raiders and Utes — or retain star players — without a serious influx of cash. Utah is pointing the way now. Not CU.
Bowls? Bowls are nothing more than three-hour infomercials for some random chamber of commerce or provincial company you’ve never heard of; exhibitions propped up by Disney stiffs to eat up programming blocks over the holidays. When Iowa State and Kansas State would sooner eat a million bucks in league fines than join in, that ship’s sailed. (Not you, Pop-Tarts Bowl. You’re weirdly perfect. And perfectly weird.)
Fans? Fans are caught in the crossfire, casualties in the battle of dollars over sense. Ticket prices and point-of-entry fees will skyrocket. Pay-per-view will become more the norm than the exception. Universities will pass the cost to the consumer.
The Buffs vow that they won’t cut sports — and with only 13 non-football options offered, they don’t have much room on that front to cut, anyway. They’ve vowed that they won’t lop student-athlete services, although outgoing athletic director Rick George laid off two track coaches last spring.
Something’s gotta give. Of course, if Coach Prime wanted to help retain student-athletes, he could donate half of his $10 million salary to the revenue-sharing pool. That’s not happening.
In an effort to slow the chaos, FBS scholarships could require a minimum of two years of service at your initial college of choice coming out of high school. But that’s not happening, either.
As of early Friday morning, at least 11 CU players had expressed interest in transferring out. Among the Big 12 programs that didn’t change coaches (Kansas State, Iowa State, Oklahoma State), only West Virginia had seen more defections (19) as of mid-December than the Buffs.
Take out CU, the Wildcats, Cyclones and Cowboys, the remaining 12 programs had seen an average of 5.8 guys hit the portal.
“If you get good players, (the Buffs will) be good,” FOX Sports football analyst Geoff Schwartz told me. “It’s not that complicated when it comes to college football.”
Money alone won’t solve all of the Buffs’ football problems right now. It might ease some of the roster hemorrhaging, though. To that end, the Big 12 is close to finalizing a partnership with RedBird Capital and Weatherford Capital, YahooSports.com reported, for what’s described as a league-wide credit deal. The firms would provide up to $500 million into a conference pool, from which individual members such as CU could borrow as much as $30 million.
Private investment interests and Title IX, given the degree to which Olympic sports lose money, could prove to be a volatile, and highly litigious, arrangement.
Then again, the Utes didn’t blink. In the Big 12, this is the stage. These are the stakes. And the price of the sizzle is headed in only one direction.
The Director of the Office of Management and Budget Russell Vought posted on Tuesday that the National Science Foundation (NSF) will be “breaking up” the National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR). Vought continued to claim that NCAR “is one of the largest sources of climate alarmism in the country.”
The National Science Foundation will be breaking up the National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR) in Boulder, Colorado. This facility is one of the largest sources of climate alarmism in the country. A comprehensive review is underway & any vital activities such as weather…
On Wednesday, the National Science Foundation (NSF) announced it is reviewing the “structure of the research and observational capabilities” operated by NCAR. NSF said it will engage with partner agencies, the research community, and other interested parties to gather feedback on “rescoping the functions” of the work done within NCAR.
Meanwhile, the president of the University Corporation for Atmospheric Research (UCAR), which manages NCAR, said they have not been given any additional information about the federal government’s plan to “break up” the center.
The President of UCAR Antonio Busalacchi continued to say any plans to dismantle NCAR “would set back our nation’s ability to predict, prepare for, and respond to severe weather and other natural disasters.”
NCAR is considered a “global leader in Earth system science,” and the announcement has several members of the Boulder community concerned about its future. Three of those people came to NCAR on Wednesday morning, carrying signs that showed their support for the research done at the center.
“I’m just outraged. I’m a former federal employee who worked as a researcher in a different laboratory, and I know the value of NCAR,” said Kari Harper. “We need to, as a nation, be doing all that we can to understand climate change and see how we can eliminate our impacts to it in the future and what we can do to reverse it where possible.”
Jim Waltz
On Wednesday, three women came to the National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR) carrying signs in support of the research done at the facility.
“We saw the start of the Marshall Fire on a day just like this,” said Christine Cowles, while looking around at the strong wind gusts. “It is so dry. Any spark can burn down the whole city, we saw that, and it’s not fake. It’s true, and we need to take it seriously… NCAR’s important to Boulder, and it’s important to Colorado, and the whole world.”
The three women who brought signs to NCAR — Harper, Cowles, and Jennifer Roose — are members of a progressive group called Forever Indivisible. They are planning a Save NCAR visibility event on Saturday from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. in front of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) in Boulder. The event is focused on NCAR, but the organizers feel they’ll be seen by the public more at NOAA.
Harper, Cowles, and Roose believe the dismantling of NCAR is directly related to the ongoing saga surrounding Tina Peters. Last week, Trump said he was granting a “full pardon” to the disgraced former Mesa County Clerk, who was convicted in 2024 on state charges for tampering with Colorado’s election systems in the 2020 presidential election.
“It really seems like climate change denial, and we’re also thinking it might be a little retribution for not releasing Tina Peters recently,” said Roose.
Colorado Congressman Joe Neguse, a Democrat who represents Colorado’s 2nd Congressional District, also believes the NCAR dismantling is connected to Peters.
“It is part and parcel to a larger plan of retaliation and intimidation of our state by the Trump administration,” Neguse said. “It’s not how our democracy is supposed to function.”
Denver7
Colorado Congressman Joe Neguse speaks with Denver7 reporter Colette Bordelon.
Neguse said the work done at NCAR is “vital” to the country, both in terms of national security and weather modeling. He does not believe the Trump administration can legally dismantle the research center.
“I think it’s an unlawful decision made by the Trump administration, and we’re certainly going to do everything we can to push back against it,” Neguse said. “There’s a master agreement that’s negotiated between UCAR and the National Science Foundation, and my understanding is that agreement does not expire for several years. I think it is clearly unlawful to terminate that agreement when we know that the reason for the termination of the agreement is a political dispute — essentially a state refusing to release someone who’s been convicted of criminal offenses early from jail. That is outrageous.”
Denver7 reached out to Colorado’s Republican congressmembers as well, and received a statement from Congresswoman Lauren Boebert. Boebert said she “strongly support(s) the Administration’s decision (to) defund leftist activism disguised as science.”
Boebert’s statement continued to say: “This facility advanced the left-wing climate lunacy that is phasing out reliable energy like coal and natural gas and why Coloradoans are having their power shut off in December. Vital functions like weather research will be preserved and relocated to appropriate entities that focus on actual science, not radical environmentalist ideology.”
The University of Colorado at Boulder (CU Boulder) works closely with NCAR and sent Denver7 the following statement:
The University of Colorado Boulder values its longstanding collaboration with the National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR), which spans decades of joint research and innovation. Together, CU and NCAR have advanced critical scientific understanding in various weather-related areas affecting our state and nation––work that directly benefits communities around the country and supports national security. NCAR is a national resource with deep-rooted collaborations with institutions across the United States and the world. Our faculty, researchers and students work closely with NCAR on numerous projects that enable our nation to predict, prepare and respond to natural disasters that can have severe consequences on our communities both in terms of lives and economic impact to our communities. We believe maintaining NCAR’s capabilities is essential for scientific progress and for safeguarding lives and livelihoods.
Spokesperson, CU Boulder
Denver7 | Your Voice: Get in touch with Colette Bordelon
Denver7’s Colette Bordelon covers stories that have an impact in all of Colorado’s communities, but specializes in reporting on crime, justice and issues impacting our climate and environment. If you’d like to get in touch with Colette, fill out the form below to send her an email.
Colorado football recruit Ben Gula, from Cypress Bay (Florida) High School, during a recruiting visit to the Boulder, Colorado, campus. (Photo courtesy of Ben Gula)
Offensive line might be the toughest position in college football to earn a starting job as a true freshman.
Ben Gula isn’t worried about history, though. He’s coming to Colorado next month with confidence.
“I definitely think year one, I’ll be a contributor,” said Gula, who signed with CU last week. He is set to graduate from Cypress Bay (Florida) High School and enroll at CU in January.
Since freshmen became eligible in 1972, only 16 have made starts at CU on the offensive line. Only three of those were centers, but all three of those have been recent. Van Wells was the first true freshman to start games at center for CU, in 2022 (six starts), while Hank Zilinskas made two starts in 2023 and Cash Cleveland made four starts in 2024.
Gula is hoping to join that group, and he knows there’s a spot open with this year’s starting center, Zarian McGill, graduating. He also knows it won’t be easy to win the job.
“If it’s not in it for me, which I believe it is, I still want to contribute to the guy in front of me, the guy behind me,” he said. “I just want to make everybody better because at the end of the day, I’m a football player at the University of Colorado, not just an individual.”
The 6-foot-5, 285-pound Gula was a four-year starter at Cypress Bay, starting 41 games overall and allowing just one sack in over 1,500 pass protection snaps. Mainly a left tackle, Gula has played all over the line and said CU projects him as a center.
“(I’ve been working on) footwork, pad level, just everything I can to ready myself,” he said. “I’m going to have some great coaching this spring here. … I’ve definitely done my best to be as explosive and ready as I can.”
A basketball player through much of his youth, Gula realized during his freshman year of high school that football could provide a better path to the future. Gula earned a start on varsity in the second game of his freshman year and took off from there.
“(Coaches) just kind of told me if I put some weight on, I’d be a real force to be reckoned with,” he said. “Ever since then, I’ve just done everything I can to be the best player I can.”
Gula recorded more than 250 pancake blocks during his prep career, and his smile beamed when asked what he likes about being a lineman.
“It’s amazing. I love it,” he said. “Being able to show that I can go out there and have a 20- or 25-pancake game and just completely dominate the people in front of me, it’s amazing. You know, what else can you really ask for? I enjoyed every single second of it and will continue to enjoy every single second of it because that’s what I want to learn how to do against some legit competition.”
Gula powered through some out-matched opponents in high school, but said he’s looking forward to going against his CU teammates in the spring.
“I’m very excited to see where I can stack out against those people,” he said. “I’m going to get dominated sometimes. Maybe I’ll dominate them. But I just want to have that fierceness and aggression through everything I have. I know I’m going to fail. I know I’ll have a lot of success. But just being able to go out there every day and do what I can is really what I aspire to do.”
Gula said he has studied the game quite a bit and looks forward to learning more about the game when he gets to CU.
“It’s strategic and blocking is not 100% always going to be flat-out through the roof, you’re going to try to run your face through this guy and blow him over,” he said. “It’s a lot more technical than a lot of people give credit to it. But I’m very excited.”
Gula had 21 scholarship offers, but he said CU stood out because of the overall environment, and the coaching he’ll get in the offensive line room.
“I think if more kids really realized how great Colorado really can be, especially the offensive line room, a lot of kids would commit here and a lot of other kids would be here,” he said. “But, you know, they’ll see eventually.”
Some might say the new Aurora Regional Navigation Campus that opened recently in a former 255-room hotel is undergirded by one of humanity’s seven deadly sins — envy.
The intent is to turn that feeling into a motivational force. For his part, Mayor Mike Coffman prefers to refer to the three-tiered residential system at the homeless navigation center as an “incentive-based program” — one that awards increasingly comfortable living quarters to those showing progress on their journey to self-sufficiency.
“The notion here is (that) different standards of living act as an incentive,” Coffman said in early November during a ribbon-cutting ceremony for the campus, which occupies a former Crowne Plaza Hotel at East 40th Avenue and Chambers Road. “The idea is to move up the tiers into much better living situations.”
Clients in the new facility, which opened its doors on Nov. 17, start at the bottom with a cot and a locker. They can eventually migrate to a hotel room, with a locking door and a private bathroom.
But that upgrade comes with a price.
“To get a room here, you have to be working full time,” Coffman said.
It’s an approach that the mayor says threads the needle between housing-first and work-first, the two prevailing strategies for addressing homelessness today. The housing-first approach emphasizes getting someone into a stable home before requiring employment, sobriety or treatment. A work-first setup conditions housing on a person finding work and seeking help with underlying mental health and addiction problems.
“We’re providing a continuum of services that starts with an emergency shelter,” said Jim Goebelbecker, the executive director of Advance Pathways.
Advance Pathways, the nonprofit group that ran the Aurora Resource Day Center before its recent closure, was chosen through a competitive bidding process to operate the new navigation campus in Aurora — with $2 million in annual help from the city. Goebelbecker said the tiered approach at the new facility “taps into a person’s motivation for change.”
The Aurora Regional Navigation Campus’ debut nearly completes a mission that has been in the works for more than three years. It is the fourth — and penultimate — metro Denver homeless navigation center to go online since the Colorado General Assembly passed House Bill 1378 in 2022.
The bill allocated American Rescue Plan Act dollars to stand up one central homeless navigation center. The plan has since shifted to five smaller centers, with locations in Aurora, Lakewood, Boulder, Denver and Englewood. The Colorado Department of Local Affairs in late 2023 approved $52 million for the centers. The final center, the Jefferson County Regional Navigation Campus in Lakewood, is undergoing renovations and will open next year.
Aurora’s center, with 640 beds across its three tiered spaces, is by far the largest of the five facilities.
Cathy Alderman, a spokeswoman for the Colorado Coalition for the Homeless, said the opening of Aurora’s navigation campus is “a really big deal.” Aside from serving its own clientele, she expects the center to send referrals to the coalition’s newly opened Sage Ridge Supportive Residential Community near Watkins, where people without stable housing go to address their substance-use disorders.
“A person can go to one place and get multiple needs met,” Alderman said, referring to the array of job, medical and addiction treatment services that give homeless navigation centers their name. “We are excited that the new campus is now up and running.”
The new Aurora Regional Navigation Campus, operated by Advance Pathways, photographed in Aurora on Thursday, Nov. 6, 2025. (Photo by Andy Cross/The Denver Post)
‘How do I move up?’
Walking into the Aurora Regional Navigation Campus feels like walking into, well, a hotel.
The swimming pool was removed during renovation, as was a water fountain in the lobby. Everything else stayed, including beds, bedding, furniture — even a stash of bottled cocktail delights. But not the alcohol to go with it.
“They left everything, down to the forks and knives and a wall of maraschino cherries,” said Jessica Prosser, Aurora’s director of housing and community services, as she walked through the hotel’s industrial kitchen.
The kitchen, which was part of the $26.5 million sale of the Crowne Plaza Hotel to Aurora last year, was a godsend to an operation tasked with serving three meals a day to hundreds of people. The city spent another $13.5 million to renovate the building.
“To build a new commercial kitchen is a half-million dollars, easy,” Prosser said.
The layout of the navigation center was deliberate, she said. The hotel’s convention center space is now occupied by Tier I and Tier II housing. The first tier is made up of nearly 300 cots, divided by sex. There are lockers for personal belongings and shared bathrooms. Anyone is welcome.
On the other side of a nondescript wall is Tier II, which is composed of a grid of 114 compartmentalized, open-air cubicles with proper beds and lockable storage. The center assigns residents in this tier case managers to help them treat personal challenges and get on the path toward landing a job.
The Tier II “Courage” space, which offers overnight accommodation for people who are working on recovery, employment and housing pathways at the new Aurora Regional Navigation Campus in Aurora, on Thursday, Nov. 6, 2025. (Photo by Andy Cross/The Denver Post)
Tier III residents live in the 255 hotel rooms. They must have a full-time job and are required to pay a third of their income to the program. Residents in this tier will typically remain at Advance Pathways for up to two years before they have the skills and stability to find housing on the outside, Goebelbecker said.
People living in the congregate tiers can house their dogs in a pet room, which can accommodate 40 canines. (No cats, gerbils or fish). The center also doesn’t accept children. Around 60 staff members, plus 10 contracted security personnel, will work at the facility 24/7.
Shining a bright light on the path forward and upward inside the facility — the windows of some of the coveted private rooms are fully visible from the lobby — is an “intentional design feature,” Prosser said.
“How do I move up?” she mused, stepping into the shoes of a resident eyeing the facility’s layout. “How do I get in there?”
The Tier III “Commitment” space, which provides private rooms that will serve people who are in the workforce and are building towards financial independence, seen at the new Aurora Regional Navigation Campus in Aurora on Thursday, Nov. 6, 2025. (Photo by Andy Cross/The Denver Post)
It’s a system that demands something of the people using it, Coffman said, while at the same time providing the guidance and help that clients will need.
“This is not just maintaining people where they are — this is about moving people forward,” the mayor said.
The approach is familiar to Shantell Anderson, Advance Pathways’ program director. She told her life story during the ribbon-cutting ceremony, bringing tears to the eyes of some in the audience.
A native of Denver’s Park Hill neighborhood, Anderson fell in with the wrong crowd. She became pregnant at 15 and got hooked on cocaine. She spiraled into a life on the streets that resulted in her children being sent to an aunt for caretaking.
But through treatment and by intersecting with the right people, she recovered. She earned a nursing degree and worked at RecoveryWorks, a nonprofit organization that operated a day shelter in Lakewood, before taking the job at Advance Pathways.
The Tier I “Compassion” emergency shelter, which provides immediate short-term shelter for those in need at the new Aurora Regional Navigation Campus in Aurora on Thursday, Nov. 6, 2025. (Photo by Andy Cross/The Denver Post)
“This is a system that honors people’s dignity,” Anderson said, her voice heavy with emotion.
In an interview, she said assuming the burden to improve her situation was critical to her transformation.
“I actually did that — no one gave me anything,” said Anderson, 48. “If it was handed to me, I didn’t appreciate it.”
How much responsibility to place on the people being helped by such programs is still a matter of intense debate by policymakers and advocates for homeless people. The housing-first approach favored by Denver and many big cities across the country is anchored in the idea that work or treatment requirements will result in many people falling through the cracks and staying outside, particularly those who face mental-health challenges.
The Bridge House in Englewood, one of the five metro area navigation centers, follows a “Ready to Work” model that is similar to that of the upper tiers of the Aurora Regional Navigation Campus.
Opened in May, the Bridge House has 69 beds. CEO Melissa Arguello-Green said the organization asks its clients (called trainees) to put skin in the game by landing a job with Bridge House’s help and then contributing a third of their paycheck as rent.
“We help them find employment through our agency so they can leave our agency,” she said. “We’re looking for self-sufficiency that will get people off system support.”
Arguello-Green said she would like to see more coordination between the metro’s five navigation centers, though she acknowledged it’s still in the early going.
“We’re missing that come-to-the-table collaboration,” she said.
Advance Pathways volunteer outreach coordinator Evan Brown organizes the clothing bank before the Aurora Regional Navigation Campus’ grand opening ceremony in Aurora on Thursday, Nov. 6, 2025. (Photo by Andy Cross/The Denver Post)
Homeless numbers still rising
Shannon Gray, a spokeswoman for the Colorado Department of Local Affairs, said her department had started convening quarterly in-person meetings across the locations.
“While each navigation campus is unique and reflects community-specific strategies, they are all a part of a regional effort to bring external partners together onsite to provide needed services and referrals,” Gray said. Together, they are “building towards a larger regional system to connect homeless households to a larger network of opportunities.”
The centers are permitted to “tailor their approach to their unique needs and vision,” she said. While Englewood and Aurora use a tiered system, Gray said, the other three centers don’t.
“It is important to understand that DOLA serves as a funder for these regional navigation campuses — we do not oversee their operation or maintenance,” she said.
Denver’s navigation center, which opened in December 2023 in a former DoubleTree Hotel on Quebec Street, offers 289 rooms to those in need, said Julia Marvin, a spokeswoman for the city’s Department of Housing Stability.
She called the facility an “integral component of Denver’s All in Mile High homelessness initiative,” Mayor Mike Johnston’s ambitious effort to appreciably reduce homelessness in the city. The center is just one of several former hotels and other shelter sites in the system.
Earlier this year, his administration cited annual count numbers showing a 45% decrease in the number of people sleeping on the streets since 2023 — dropping from 1,423 to 785 people, despite overall homelessness continuing to increase in that time.
In fact, homelessness numbers are still going in the wrong direction across the seven-county metro, per the latest Point-in-Time survey from the Metro Denver Homeless Initiative, which captures a one-night snapshot. The January count revealed that 10,774 people were homeless on the night of the survey, up from 9,977 in the count the year before.
Anderson, the Advance Pathways program director, said the new Aurora facility was opening at just the right time. Despite a recent calming in runaway home values in metro Denver, the $650,000 median price of a detached home in October still demarcated a housing market that was out of reach for many.
“I am excited,” Anderson said of the Aurora navigation campus’ debut. “I’m waiting for people to walk through the door and start the next chapter of their journey.”
As a former baseball player, Deion Sanders knows all about swinging and missing.
Sanders was a .263 hitter in the Major Leagues; not great, but good enough to play at the highest level for nine years in a sport where the best hitters still fail 70% of the time.
That type of success rate won’t cut it when shopping for players in college football’s transfer portal, however.
There are numerous reasons why the Colorado football team is limping to Saturday’s finish line and a trip to Kansas State for the season finale (10 a.m. MT, FS1), but the lack of success in the transfer portal might top the list.
“The strategy a year ago was the same strategy it was (for 2024),” said Sanders, the third-year head coach of the Buffaloes. “And you hit on your portal guys (in 2024); you hit on your freshman guys. This year, you hit on your freshmen, to me, some of them, and you missed on your portal. So, that’s why we’re sitting where we sit.”
At 3-8 (1-7 Big 12), CU is riding a four-game losing streak and goes into Saturday as a 17.5-point underdog. Lose to the Wildcats (5-6, 4-4) and it’ll be the Buffs’ worst record under Sanders, who is 16-20 at CU.
Injuries piled up this year. There were questionable coaching decisions at times, especially in some close losses early in the year. But, ultimately, CU didn’t get the type of production it expected from the 32 players it signed as transfers last offseason.
“It’s not like you didn’t have a strategic plan,” Sanders said. “You had a strategic plan. You missed. Sometimes that happens. And I’m going to take responsibility.”
Colorado quarterback Kaidon Salter (3) talks to an official before the game against Arizona in Nov. 1, 2025, at Folsom Field in Boulder, Colorado. (Photo by Cliff Grassmick/Staff Photographer)
When CU went 9-4 in 2024, it was led by a plethora of big-time transfers, including Sanders’ sons, Shedeur (quarterback) and Shilo (safety), and Heisman Trophy-winning cornerback/receiver Travis Hunter.
Others, such as receivers LaJohntay Wester, Jimmy Horn Jr. and Will Sheppard; defensive linemen Chidozie Nwankwo and Shane Cokes; defensive ends BJ Green, Arden Walker and Keaten Wade; linebackers LaVonta Bentley and Nikhai Hill-Green; and defensive backs Preston Hodge, DJ McKinney and Cam’Ron Silmon-Craig all played significant roles, including starring roles.
Like he did last year, Sanders built this year’s roster mainly through the portal. The success rate, however, wasn’t nearly the same.
Headlining the transfer group was quarterback Kaidon Salter, a fifth-year senior from Liberty who was the Conference USA most valuable player in 2023.
Salter has had some good moments, playing exceptionally well in wins against Wyoming and Iowa State. But he hasn’t been a great fit for the Buffs’ offense overall. Salter was benched for a game early in the year, regained his starting job and then was benched after a miserable first half in a 52-17 loss to Arizona on Nov. 1. After sitting the past two games, Salter will start the finale, though.
CU loaded up on defensive line transfers, including Gavriel Lightfoot (Fresno State) and Tavian Coleman (Texas State), who have played a combined five games (all by Coleman) because of injury. Another defensive lineman, Jehiem Oatis (Alabama), came in with a lot of hype but has started just three games and hasn’t produced as expected.
Linebackers Martavius French (UTSA) and Reginald Hughes (Jacksonville State) came to CU after all-conference seasons at their previous schools. French was benched midseason and Hughes has been in a backup role at times, too.
Other transfers, such as running backs Simeon Price (Coastal Carolina) and DeKalon Taylor (Incarnate Word) and receiver Hykeem Williams (Florida State) played well early in the year but have missed most of the season with injuries.
Colorado defensive back Tawfiq Byard, right, celebrates a pass breakup against Utah on Oct. 25. (AP Photo/Tyler Tate)
CU did hit on several transfers, though.
Receivers Joseph Williams (Tulsa) and Sincere Brown (Campbell) have had big moments. Tight end Zach Atkins (Northwest Missouri State) has played well. Guards Xavier Hill (Memphis) and Zy Crisler (Illinois), as well as center Zarian McGill (Louisiana Tech) have been stalwarts on an improved offensive line. And Larry Johnson III (Tennessee) has started most of the year at right tackle.
Defensively, Tawfiq Byard (South Florida) has been a leader, while John Slaughter (Tennessee) has played well of late. Kicker Buck Buchanan (Louisiana Tech) and punter Damon Greaves (Kansas) have had good seasons, as well.
The success rate just wasn’t high enough for CU to win as it had hoped and expected.
Sanders said he enjoys the roster building process “immensely,” but admitted that being away from the team all summer while he battled bladder cancer hampered the process.
“I’m not making excuses by any means, but I missed a little bit of that,” he said.
Feeling healthier, Sanders is looking forward to rebuilding the Buffs this offseason, especially after the portal window opens Jan. 2.
“I really look forward to it and meeting with those guys, interviewing those guys, making sure that their countenance, their desire, their want, their fire matches with what we have here or can enhance what we have here,” he said. “You’ve just got to make sure that person is the right guy and they really want this to want this and not want this for a check.”
Those checks will matter, though, as teams around the country buy players. Teams with the most money will get the best players. Others, such as CU, have to be smart with their money and find some diamonds in the rough.
“You may not accomplish everything you need to, because it takes a lot of money,” Sanders said. “So you may not be able to do that, but you’re going to do what you’re capable of doing to heal some woes that you have, and a lot of that is up front (on the offensive and defensive lines). A lot of that is on the defensive side of the ball.”
It will take a lot of work (and money) to fix the Buffs’ roster for 2026, but Sanders is confident he and his staff can get it right this year, because they’ve done it before.
“I don’t break glass in case of emergency,” he said. “I know how to get it right. I’ll get it right. … We know what direction we want to go and we’re going to get there. We just didn’t get it right last year.
“I can’t wait to sit down, I can’t wait until this darn portal opens. I can’t wait to see what we’re going to come up with by the conclusion of signing day.”
In the end, Alex Hunter picked the day of his death.
Boulder’s longest-serving district attorney — who defined more than a quarter century of criminal justice for the region and oversaw the early years of the JonBenét Ramsey case — had exhausted all options for medical care after suffering a heart attack in mid-November.
The 89-year-old spent several days in Colorado hospitals, alert and cogent, saying goodbye to colleagues, friends and family.
Then he picked 1:30 p.m. Friday as the time for medical staff to stop the life-supporting medicines keeping him alive. He drifted off and died later that evening, a month shy of his 90th birthday, said his son, Alex “Kip” Hunter III, who is acting as a spokesman for the family.
“He was just crystalline clear,” Hunter III said Monday. “He was intentional and purposeful, gracious and elegant. …He had come to a place where he was totally at peace with the scope of his life.”
Hunter spent 28 years as Boulder County’s elected top prosecutor, serving seven consecutive terms between 1973 and 2001. He forged a community-driven, progressive, victim-focused approach to prosecution and helped shape Boulder’s reputation as a liberal enclave.
He faced intense public scrutiny in the late 1990s after 6-year-old JonBenét was killed and, in the ensuing media firestorm, he chose not to bring charges against her parents — even after a grand jury secretly returned indictments against them during his final term.
Hunter kept a picture of the young beauty queen in his office and, throughout, stood by his controversial decision in the city’s highest-profile murder case, his son said.
“He probably suffered more criticism as a result of that than any other moment in his career,” Hunter III said. “And yet he remained confident till he died that that was the right decision.”
In 1997, Hunter named JonBenét’s parents, John and Patsy, as a focus in the investigation into their daughter’s killing. More than a year later, Hunter announced that Boulder County’s grand jury had completed its work investigating the case, and that there was not sufficient evidence for charges to be filed against the Ramseys.
He was roundly criticized during the early years of the Ramsey case, featured in tabloids and The New Yorker. Some called for a special prosecutor to replace him, and a Boulder detective resigned from the case, accusing Hunter of compromising the investigation. Outsiders said Boulder needed a tough-on-crime prosecutor — decidedly not Hunter — to bring justice to JonBenét’s killer.
What Hunter kept secret in 1999 was that the grand jury had voted to indict the parents on charges of child abuse resulting in death — essentially alleging the Ramseys placed their daughter in a dangerous situation that led to her death — but that he’d declined to sign the indictments and move forward with a prosecution, believing he could not prove the case beyond a reasonable doubt.
“It was so like him to refuse the grand jury instruction,” Hunter III said. “Because he believed in his heart that it would have a negative impact on the outcome of the case.”
Over time, Hunter came to realize the Ramsey case would define his career, even if he would rather it did not. He was surprised by how it followed him even years after his retirement, Hunter III said.
“Horrible crimes happen every day, and that was a horrible crime, but it’s had legs, it’s had a life that I think often surprised Dad in particular,” Hunter III said. “I think that a lot of Dad’s 28 years as the district attorney perhaps got lost in the JonBenét Ramsey case.”
From left, Adams County Chief Deputy District Attorney Bruce Levin, Assistant Boulder County District Attorney Bill Wise, Denver Chief Deputy District Attorney Mitch Morrissey, Boulder County District Attorney Alex Hunter and the JonBenét Ramsey grand jury’s special prosecutor, Michael Kane, walk outside the Ramsey family’s former Boulder home on Oct. 29, 1998. (Photo by Paul Aiken/Daily Camera)
‘Doing the right thing time and time again’
Through the decades, Hunter was attuned to the Boulder community in a way few others ever were — for years, he invited cohorts of random voters into his office on Tuesday nights for candid discussions on crime and the courts, and he often made decisions and implemented policy based on what he heard in those meetings.
He was a master at reading a room and took pride in surrounding himself with good people, said Dennis Wanebo, a former prosecutor in the Boulder DA’s office.
He rarely faced any serious opposition on the ballot.
“He was there for 28 years,” said Peter Maguire, a longtime Boulder prosecutor during Hunter’s tenure. “And you don’t do that without being the consummate politician who has his finger on the pulse of the community, and by doing the right thing time and time again.”
Hunter was first elected by a narrow margin in 1973 in no small part because he promised to stop prosecuting possession of marijuana as a felony — prompting University of Colorado students to vote for him in droves, said Stan Garnett, who served as Boulder district attorney beginning in 2009.
Boulder County District Attorney Alex Hunter is pictured in this October 1980 photo. (Photo by Dave Buresh/The Denver Post)
Hunter was part of a wave of Democratic leadership that swept through Boulder in the 1970s. He hosted his own talk radio show for a while in the 1980s, and ran up Flagstaff Road almost every workday, leaving at 11:30 a.m. and having his secretary collect him at the top and return him to the courthouse. He was media-savvy and funny, charming and articulate.
He declared bankruptcy in the 1970s after a failed real estate venture left him $6 million in debt. Hunter married four times and had five children, one of whom, John Hunter-Haulk, died in 2010 at the age of 20 — the “heartbreak of his life,” that Hunter never fully moved past, his son said.
In the late 1970s, after regularly hearing people’s displeasure with plea agreements, Hunter declared that his office would no longer offer plea bargains in any cases, instead requiring defendants to plead guilty to the original charges or take their cases to trial.
The effort quickly failed as the court system buckled under the increased number of jury trials.
“People made fun of him at the time, other DAs mocked him for it and said it was a fool’s errand,” Wanebo said. “And maybe in hindsight it can be looked at that way. And yet there was also a very good secondary effect of that for our office, which was, we got really careful about what we charged people with.”
‘A Renaissance man’
Hunter was moveable when he made mistakes, Maguire said, though he needed to be convinced through either a reasoned or political argument — this is what the community wants — to change his stances.
“Alex was a Renaissance man,” Garnett said. “He was interested in everything. And he was very thoughtful, very kind. He was very ethical.”
Tom Kelley, a former First Amendment attorney for The Denver Post, remembered a time in which he convinced Hunter that he was legally obligated to release some criminal justice records to the newspaper. Kelley swung by the courthouse to pick the records up, and Hunter met him, leading Kelley through the courthouse’s winding back hallways in search of the records.
Boulder County District Attorney Alex Hunter makes his way down a hill in front of the Boulder County Justice Center, through a mass of media and bystanders, on his way to announce that the grand jury in the JonBenét Ramsey case was disbanding without taking action on Oct. 13, 1999. (Photo by Andy Cross/The Denver Post)
After he gave the documents to Kelley, Hunter immediately called up the Rocky Mountain News — The Post’s bitter rival — and let them know the records were publicly available, Kelley said.
“That was classic Alex Hunter,” he said. “He was a very decent person and he tried to give everybody a little bit of something… He had a strong political sense.”
For Hunter III, having the DA as his dad was “fantastic,” he said. His dad was regularly on the newspaper’s front page. He was “always the coolest dad in Boulder,” Hunter III remembered.
His father’s death this week feels like a mountain suddenly disappearing.
He cherishes the conversations they had as a family in the days before Hunter died.
“We were in deep conversation,” he said. “And he taught us more in that last week than you could learn in a lifetime.”
Reagan Kotschau can’t say her return to Colorado worked out perfectly, because in a perfect world Kotschau and her Buffaloes teammates would still be playing.
But the season eventually ends for all but one team, and time finally caught up with the Colorado women’s soccer team.
The Buffaloes’ historic season ended in the NCAA Tournament Sweet 16, as CU suffered a 2-1 defeat at Michigan State on Sunday. It was the third Sweet 16 berth in program history, but the Buffs’ season ends one step shy of their first Elite Eight berth.
CU’s season ends having compiled team records for wins (17-4-3), goals (59), assists (66) and points (184). All three of the previous records for goals, assists and points were held by the 2018 team.
Along the way, Hope Leyba set the season goal-scoring record with 22, and Jordan Nytes collected her third Big 12 Conference Goalkeeper of the Year award while breaking CU’s career shutout record with 26.
“It was definitely an ideal situation, transferring back and making it this far in the tournament,” said Kotschau, a former Broomfield High standout who played her first two collegiate seasons at Washington State. “I would’ve loved to get to the Elite Eight and see how far we could’ve gone after that. I would say it’s kind of a bittersweet ending. I’m really proud of this team, and we made a super-far run in the tournament. It’s just disappointing how it ended.”
Kotschau was the hero of CU’s first-round win against Utah Valley, scoring on a header off a long service pass from Ava Priest, and the Buffs scored the second-most goals in team history in an NCAA Tournament game in a 4-1 win against Xavier in the second round.
The Buffs, though, were put on their heels out of the gate, as some sharp passes from Michigan State set up a clear chance that Bella Najera converted to give the Spartans a 1-0 lead just 47 seconds into the match.
CU settled in and drew even in the 33rd minute, when a Priest corner kick led to a left-footed liner from Faith Leyba. The tally originally was credited to Lexi Meyer, who appeared as if she might have deflected Leyba’s strike, but instead Leyba was credited with her career-high fourth goal of the season.
The 1-1 draw held through halftime, but Najera and the Spartans again struck early in the half. Michigan State leading scorer Kennedy Bell drew a foul against CU defender Jordan Whiteaker just inside the penalty box. Najera converted the ensuing penalty kick, giving the Spartans a 2-1 lead that held the rest of the way.
Michigan State, which reached the Elite Eight for the first time, outshot the Buffs 18-12, with a 9-8 advantage in shots on goal.
“I’m really proud of how they responded after giving up that early goal,” CU head coach Danny Sanchez said. “We didn’t hang our heads. We changed things up and we started playing well. A deserved goal to get to 1-1 at halftime. The second half was a match that could’ve gone either way. Unfortunately it didn’t fall for us today, but it doesn’t take away from the season.
“As I told the team after the match, the further you go, the more it hurts. And that’s OK. There’s 350 teams in the country that would love to have the opportunity to play in this match. It didn’t go our way today, but we’re excited for the future of Buffs soccer.”
(2) Michigan State Spartans 2, (3) CU Buffs women’s soccer 1
Thanks in part to Reagan Kotschau’s double-overtime winner, the Colorado women’s soccer team will live to see another round in the NCAA Tournament.
Knotted with 14-seed Utah Valley in the sixth minute of the second overtime period, Kotschau headed home her sixth and most important goal of the season, giving the third-seeded Buffs a first-round win, 2-1.
The junior midfielder from Thornton and Broomfield High School was simply glad to end things after nearly 106 minutes of Friday night soccer at Prentup Field.
“I’m kind of relieved that it’s over because we were all so dead, but it feels really good that we grinded out that win,” said Kotschau, whose goal was assisted by fellow midfielder and Boulder native Ava Priest.
Now the winningest team in program history dating back to 1996, Colorado (16-3-3) will next host the winner of Saturday’s match between No. 6 Dayton and Xavier on Thursday. Another win would give head coach Danny Sanchez’s Buffs their first trip to the NCAA Tournament third round since 2013.
Sanchez was pleased to see Colorado’s onslaught of overtime pressure finally result in a goal.
“It was just good composure from Ava to whip a ball in, and Reagan, we saw it earlier this year, she’s just so good in the air,” Sanchez said. “Just a really classy finish from Reagan.”
In the first half, Utah Valley struck early as Bailey Peterson scored a fifth-minute goal, assisted by Ruby Hladek.
With Colorado trailing 1-0, chaos broke out in the 29th minute when a controversial call cost forward Hope Leyba a potential game-tying goal. In front of Utah Valley’s net, a shot ricocheted off Leyba’s face and into the goal, but the play was instead determined to be a hand ball by the officiating crew. Colorado was issued a team yellow card for arguing the call.
The Buffs weren’t down for much longer, however, as freshman Vivi Zacarias tied things up in the 39th minute with the second goal of her young career, giving the Buffs some needed momentum ahead of the halftime break. Zacarias, a midfielder from California, last scored in Colorado’s win over Denver on Sept. 11.
“I’m so glad that she scored that goal,” Kotschau said. “She really deserves it. Both her goals were amazing this year. It’s just so great, especially because she’s a freshman and it was a big goal.”
Although it didn’t result in any scores, Colorado’s offense found its rhythm in the second half with 15 shots and seven corner kicks. In overtime, the Buffs fired off six shots to Utah Valley’s four.
“We really just wanted that goal,” Kotschau said. “We were all tired, and we also didn’t want to go into PKs. We’d rather get it over with in overtime. I think it was just that extra pressure; I guess that just really gave us that drive.”
Defensively, Colorado held Utah Valley standout Faith Webber, who entered Friday as the nation’s leader in goals (22), scoreless on eight shots. CU goalkeeper Jordan Nytes finished the night with six saves.
The first-round NCAA Tournament matchup drew a season-high 2,171 fans to Prentup, which will again provide the Buffs an advantage in next week’s second round.
“Maybe the most special atmosphere since I’ve been here,” Sanchez said. “I want to give a shoutout to everyone that helped put this together tonight. Special nights like this, you have to enjoy them.”
