Elected officials and leaders at the University of Colorado Boulder and Colorado State University gathered on Wednesday in anticipation of CSU’s football team playing in Boulder for the first time since 2009.
Gov. Jared Polis, U.S. Rep. Joe Neguse, D-Lafayette, CU Boulder Chancellor Phil DiStefano and CSU President Amy Parsons met to voice excitement about the game and reflect on the off-the-field partnership between the two universities and its impact on Colorado.
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“The Rocky Mountain Showdown provides us and the state with an incredible platform to be able to talk about the ways the University of Colorado Boulder and Colorado State University are having an impact in our state,” Neguse said.
CU Boulder and CSU collaborate in many areas, including agriculture, aerospace, climate, healthcare and technology. Polis said CU Boulder and CSU have published about 1,900 research papers together, and both are top research universities that bring in millions of dollars in research funding.
“You might come for the football, but you stay for the education and research opportunities,” Polis said.
There are 350,000 CU Boulder and CSU alumni living in Colorado, Polis said, and a quarter of a million nationwide. Parsons said more than 70% of all higher education degrees in the state are given out by CU and CSU, fueling the workforce throughout Colorado.
“From beginning to end we have everything we need for a great ecosystem for Coloradans to get that education and go on and be valuable members of our community in Colorado,” Parsons said.
Parsons said she loves the rivalry on the field because it’s exciting, engages people and brings them together. The Rocky Mountain Showdown, she said, also gives each university an opportunity to showcase all its other aspects.
“We are so excited to have these opportunities to show what we’re all about,” Parsons said.
DiStefano said CSU and CU Boulder have brought in more than a billion dollars of grant money, strengthening the state’s economy. DiStefano said the research collaboration happening between the universities is an asset to the state.
“We’re not duplicating efforts, we’re bringing strengths together,” DiStefano said. “When you bring strengths together and collaborate that way, you find more solutions to complex problems that we’re facing.”
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