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CHUCK UNDERWOOD

Welcome

Welcome to Hidden Yardage. I’m your host, Joe Moore. This podcast is a journey back to the

1980 Season through the memories of those that played, coached and covered it. New episodes, released each week, will carry listeners through that season, one week at a time. For more information, please visit the website at www.hiddenyardagepodcast.com. If this is your first time listening you may want to go back and start with Episode One.

This is Episode Five, “Triumphant Evermore.”

Opener

In 1978, a Houston oil man flew to Boston to meet with

Chuck Fairbanks. The man was the leader of a deep-pocketed group of boosters for the

University of Colorado’s football team and was there with a generous offer meant to lure

Fairbanks away from the NFL and his Superbowl contending team and back to the college ranks to revive the Buffaloes program. Rumors of their clandestine meeting swirled and after the requisite denials, Fairbanks approached the New England owner to ask to be released from the rest of his contract. The owner was livid. Suspensions and lawsuits and counter lawsuits followed. During the proceedings, Fairbanks tried to explain to the judge that he didn’t realize that he had to be released from his Patriots contract before taking the Colorado job since he’d had three college jobs before going to New England and left all them while still in the middle of his contract. The litigations were finally resolved when those well-heeled boosters agreed to pay

$200,000 to the Patriots and $100,000 in legal fees to clear the path for Fairbanks to come to 2

Boulder. As the 1980 season moved into October, not many would consider the new coach a wise investment.

Not only was Fairbanks’ team disappointing on the football field. His management of the program was nearly bankrupting the athletics department. Colorado’s football program won just three games in 1979 and spent $300,000 more than it took in. When projections for 1980 forecasted that the athletics department would run up a deficit of more than $1 million, the university jettisoned seven of its intercollegiate sports. That left the school with just eight teams - the minimum required to remain a Division 1 program. Among the causes for the department’s financial woes were the mismanagement of campus projects and resources but also Fairbanks

$50,000 redesign of his office and his insistence on remodeling the 12-year old dressing rooms at a cost of $620,000 despite an estimate was only $125,000. Ticket sales were down as well since the Buffs weren’t winning and the NCAA was about to release the results of its investigation that alleged 132 wrongdoings by the school.

Colorado started the 1980 season 0-3 with a narrow setback against LSU and a pair of 42 points thumpings to UCLA and Indiana. But the worst was yet to come. As the season moved into October, the Buffaloes welcomed the Oklahoma Sooners. The good news is that Colorado would manage to score 42 points. The bad news is that it gave up 82. The 124 combined points and 18 touchdowns set all-time NCAA records. In total, the offensive explosion set 51 NCAA, conference, team or stadium records. Some of the numbers from that game border on the unbelievable. Oklahoma set the all-time NCAA record with 876 total yards and 758 yards rushing. Sooners backup quarterback, Darrell Shepard ran for 151 yards...on three carries!

Oklahoma ran its famed triple option attack again, and again and again. The Buffs knew it was coming. Everybody knew it was coming. They just couldn’t stop it. How bad was it? This famous anecdote says it all. Late in the game, a Colorado manager knocked on the door of the 3

Oklahoma’s coaches booth in the press box and said, “Coach Fairbanks hates to do this but