Mark Knudson

It's time again I climb up on my soapbox and squawk.

In the past, I've been told why something that seems so doable can’t be done. So now I’m seeking help.

I was at McNichols Arena back in December of 1989 when the University of Colorado, North Carolina, UMass and CSU gathered for a four-team men’s basketball tournament dubbed The Mile High Classic. My wife and I had courtside seats.

We watched second-year coach John Calipari’s Minutemen dispatch CU, and cheered loudly as the Rams, coached by Boyd “Tiny” Grant and led by Mike Mitchell, took down the nationally ranked Tar Heels coached by Dean Smith. Colorado State University then beat UMass to win the tournament title. It was epic. Attendance — right in middle of bowl season — was very good.

Longtime CSU sports information director Gary Ozzello told me last year, “It was a great outreach for both CU and CSU and their thousands of alums in the Denver area,”

For Ram Nation, the event was a smashing success, yet it pretty much died on the vine after that. CU showed no interest in keeping it going.

“I don’t think there was a reason ever spoken,” Ozzello continued. “Certainly, from a CSU perspective, we were interested in continuing. I’m sure part of it had to do with (a lack of) financial sponsorship.”

So here we are all these years later, with the Rams and Buffs developing a nice little hoops rivalry — where the visiting team has won the past four meetings — and yet for some reason we can’t get any sort of tournament put together. It seems ironic that the contest between the two rivals that should be played in Denver every season is the one that isn’t.

Also last year, I was able to solicit a written response from CU Coach Tad Boyle on the subject. I’ve known and respected Boyle for many years — well before he became a successful coach — and think highly of him. He was willing to indulge me on one of my favorite things to rant about. Here’s part of his response:

Due to scheduling regulations, “The University of Colorado or Colorado State would not be the promoters or the organizers of the event. It would (have to be) be a third party. You’d have to get someone to run the Mile High Classic.

“If North Carolina comes out, are they going to want to play Colorado in Denver? Is that more of a road game or a home game? What are they going to want in return? A home game. That’s not a true neutral court game for them. … That’s where the rubber meets the road. I’d play KU at Pepsi Center, and then return a game in Sprint Center in Kansas City. That’s fair. But not Pepsi Center and Allen Fieldhouse. I’m not saying it can’t happen, and I would love to see it happen, but the way scheduling is now makes it tough.”

Which is why I’m now soliciting help.

All along, my proposal has been to invite one of Tad’s former coaching stops, Wichita State, along with a Nebraska team now led by former CSU head coach Tim Miles, to join the Rams and Buffs at the Pepsi Center. Seems like a logical grouping given the connections involved. Would those four teams sell tickets?

Duh.

It’s also been implied that it will be tough because big-time teams don’t want to come out here at the high altitude and play. Except that those were the very same Shockers that just left Fort Collins after a hard-fought win at Moby Arena. I’m willing to bet that if the right promoter approached Miles, who realizes that there’s a very large contingent of Cornhusker fans residing along the Front Range, he couldn't reasonably say no.

Add in the upcoming CSU-Kansas State game at the Pepsi Center, and the argument that teams won’t come to Denver to play seems to have more holes than the Broncos' offensive line. Not saying it would be easy to pull together, but can we all agree that the right promoter couldget it done?

So who is available? I'm throwing the idea out there for entrepreneurial types: Anyone interested in setting up a slam dunk of a holiday college basketball tournament at Pepsi Center?

Anyone?