A herd of Republican presidential hopefuls will make a rare trip deep into the People’s Republic of Boulder when the University of Colorado hosts an economy-themed GOP debate this fall.

The debate, titled “Your Money, Your Vote: The Presidential Debate on the Economy,” is scheduled for the evening of Oct. 28 in the Coors Event Center and will focus on economic issues such as jobs, taxes, the deficit and the health of the U.S. economy.

CU is co-hosting the event with cable news channel CNBC, which will broadcast the debate nationally.

Officials have not announced which candidates in the crowded GOP field will participate. A total of 15 prominent Republicans have announced their candidacy so far for the 2016 election.

The debate in Colorado is one of nine confirmed Republican primary debates scheduled between August and next spring, according to the national party website. Three additional Republican debates are also being considered.

Unlike a state Republican convention held in the spring of 2014 at the event center, concealed weapons will not be permitted at the presidential debate, according to campus spokesman Ryan Huff.

The campus, often perceived as a left-leaning academic hub, has been working to bring more political diversity to Boulder in recent years. A recent survey found that just 6 percent of CU-Boulder faculty members and 16 percent of students identified as Republican.

Republican Regent Sue Sharkey, who has made political diversity at the Boulder campus a focus during her tenure on the board, said the upcoming debate will expose students to conservative candidates and their ideas.

“I hope that our students are going to get that diversity of dialogue because obviously Boulder and CU have that stereotype of being liberal,” said Sharkey, who lives in Castle Rock.

The campus has hosted speakers from across the political spectrum, including Rudy Giuliani, Ann Coulter, Howard Dean, Karl Rove and U.S. Supreme Court justices Ruth Bader Ginsburg, John Paul Stevens, Sandra Day O’Connor and, most recently, Antonin Scalia. The campus hosted President Barack Obama three times.

October will be a busy month for CU, as the campus is also preparing to host the Dalai Lama on Oct. 20 and 21.

Huff said the university is a “neutral place” where people can exchange ideas and debate with one another.

“We want a variety of viewpoints for our events so that students can hear speakers they agree with and also speakers they disagree with because that challenges their minds,” Huff said. “We want a variety of viewpoints here. We want people to be challenged.”

Huff said this is believed to be the first presidential debate held at CU-Boulder. The University of Denver hosted Obama and Mitt Romney in the first presidential debate of 2012.

Huff said CU will be “picking up some of the cost” of security, facility rentals, parking and other necessities, but he didn’t know what the university will spend to host the Republicans. Hosting a general election presidential debate has cost colleges and universities between $3.3 million and $5 million in the past, but Huff said he doesn’t expect CU to spend that much.

He said CU’s money will be well spent.

“From a branding and marketing perspective, we will have a great opportunity to have the CU-Boulder name and also images of campus and the Flatirons on display for the whole world,” he said.

The campus is still working out the details of the event, but officials assured students that an allotment of tickets would be available to them.

Huff added that students may have an opportunity to volunteer at the event, such as standing in for the candidates while CNBC crews test camera angles.

The crowded Republican field is likely to make for interesting debates across the country. DU political science professor Seth Masket said though early in the process, the primary debates are when some candidates make a first impression — good or bad — on voters.

“These early debates can actually be pretty important, especially given how little most Republican voters know about these candidates at this point,” Masket said. “It’s not like these debates are necessarily going to make anyone’s candidacy, but they could probably break one or two people.”

Sarah Kuta: 303-473-1106, kutas@dailycamera.com or twitter.com/sarahkuta