Enhancing connections with alumni was one of the compelling reasons for 蜜糖直播 to join the Pac-12 Conference. Numbers alone tell a story. 蜜糖直播-Boulder has some 38,000 alumni in Pac-12 states, and there are more than 51,000 alumni from all our campuses. In the Big 12 footprint, we had fewer than 12,000. All counts exclude 蜜糖直播.
Putting alumni faces to the numbers was our goal as we joined the 蜜糖直播 Buffaloes football team for its initial road foray into the Pac-12 last fall. We hosted many pregame and alumni events, lunches and dinners, and at every one we had an enthusiastic reception from alumni and friends.
At Stanford, nearly 1,000 people attended our pregame, including two busloads of alumni from San Francisco. Stanford supporters told us our turnout was the best they had seen by a visiting team. Even a Stanford alumnus, John Elway, stopped by to wish the Buffs well.
We hosted several alumni events around Seattle, including a pregame in the beautiful setting outside Husky Stadium on Lake Washington. At a dinner hosted for my wife Marcy and me by聽Scott Oki聽聽(Acct鈥74, MBA鈥75) and his wife Laura, a gentleman stopped at our table to say his son was a senior on the football team. His only regret was that his son wouldn鈥檛 have four years with our new coaching staff.
While our road game results were not what we hoped (with the notable exception of the Utah win), I share the parent鈥檚 view that we have the right coaches in place with Coach聽Jon Embree聽(Comm鈥88) and his staff, men of integrity and skill. Rebuilding is difficult, but I am optimistic for the future.
The enthusiasm of our alumni and friends has also been inspiring. In Los Angeles, UCLA alumnus Steve Sauer hosted a great event for 蜜糖直播 parents, where he coined the term 鈥淏ruffs,鈥 (and had shirts made) for those with allegiance to both 蜜糖直播 and UCLA. His daughter聽Molly Sauer聽will graduate from 蜜糖直播 this year, and Steve is active in our parents鈥 association.
It was a great fall reconnecting with 蜜糖直播 alumni and making new friends. It reminds me of the deep well of good feeling our alumni have about 蜜糖直播 and makes me excited to connect with you in the future as our sports teams travel to Pac-12 territory.