In a meeting the University of Colorado’s Board of Regents on Wednesday, CU Chancellor Phil DiStefano shared some troubling information that speaks to how some of the school’s black athletes might feel about playing there.
Some black athletes refer to CU’s Dal Ward Athletic Center as “The Plantation” because they feel like their performance in big-money sports football and basketball help subsidize other programs such as golf or tennis, according to Sarah Kuta of the Boulder Daily Camera.
DiStefano said he was unaware of this information until he had a conversation with an athletic department staffer who is black, per Kuta's story.
We’ll likely hear more about these claims on Friday morning when CU cornerback Chidobe Awuzie, who is black, will speak to reporters at the Pac-12 football’s media day. Awuzie, along with CU quarterback Sefo Liufau, is scheduled to speak at 11:14 a.m. MT on the Pac 12 Network, while CU head coach Mike MacIntyre is slated to speak at 11:01 a.m.
CU’s student 30,789-person student body was just 2.25 percent black in the fall of 2015, according to data available on the school’s website.
The comment also comes at a time when there is a push among some members of the media and players to pay men who play college football and basketball, which generate billions of dollars in revenue for the NCAA. Patrick Hruby of VICE Sports has done plenty of reporting on this topic, and his work is worth your time.
