In Part 1, we talked about how DU basketball came unraveled. Part 2 discusses the implications of this saga on future basketball at DU.
As we already discussed, the process of the recent “mutual agreement to part ways” between basketball head coach Jeff Wulbrun and DU was messy and likely avoidable, and like all major coaching decisions, there will be consequences. Today, we outline what we believe may be the future implications for the DU Men’s Hoops program.
Implication 1: Student-Athlete Experience
Basketball student-athletes are affected most directly by this coaching change – they became isolated and disenfranchised – the pawns in this far too public mess. We spoke to a number of them in recent weeks, and like all Division I athletes, they worked incredibly hard for themselves, for each other, for their coaches, and for the fans. According to the players we talked to, they were left in the dark for a full month without anyone in the DU Athletic Department (with authority) providing them with emotional support, counseling, and/or assurance about the future of the program. That may be the single biggest indictment of how DU handled Wulbrun’s departure. The only real beneficiaries of this event will be the other basketball programs that take on these DU athletes, and perhaps some of the athletes may benefit from a better situation at their new schools.
In the brave new world of DI sports and the transfer portal, the biggest key is to treat student-athletes like the partners they are. Keep them informed, be transparent, and be supportive of them.
Implication 2: A loss of integrity and trust
This saga was not managed well. DU could have waited until the end of the season and playoffs concluded, had a face-to-face meeting with the head coach outside of the public eye, and advised him that his remaining contract would be bought out. Then, student-athletes could have been quickly informed by the athletic director, their questions answered, and fans and sponsors provided with the thought process and next steps. That’s the way we believe Joe Scott and Rodney Billups, DU’s previous two basketball coaches, were relieved of their positions. Fans might not have liked the decision to release Wulbrun as is their right, but at least we could have respected the way it went down.
DU has always tried to maintain the old-school image of doing things the right way. They are now, unfortunately, in damage control mode. Some stakeholders are going to look at DU for the next step with their arms crossed. DU has, unfortunately, often had a fractured relationship with basketball. Finances will ultimately likely get even tighter around the program as the University tackles more high-profile financial priorities and needs. Transparency, honesty, and expectations must be the top priority around basketball starting with the hiring of the new coach.
It will take time, more time, and even more time. Whoever takes over the program will need time to bring some stability and consistency to the program that fans can count on going forward.
Implication 3: Lost money from fans/donors
We know and appreciate the fact that money is a hard commodity to come by these days. Aside from the probable settlement with Wulbrun, DU faces the usual headwinds in Division I athletics and they can ill afford any more missteps and risk losing even more precious fans and donors.
There will be losses from canceled season ticket renewals and lost attendance from the already precariously low numbers for each game in Hamilton Gym. What about the donors and friends of the program who have funneled personal time, money, and effort into helping men’s basketball? They are not naive and never expected DU basketball to be Duke or Gonzaga. They also understood that basketball is still a distant stepchild to other top-tier sports at DU. But most believe DU should at least be competitive in the mediocre Summit League. Now, DU will start all over again and will likely be mired as an also-ran in the conference over the long term. (We can already hear the choruses of “Just cut the program!” in the comment section – every Division I conference requires its members to sponsor basketball so DU cannot cut it).
DU must identify and hire a fan-friendly head coach who can cultivate and rebuild a donor base. Wulbrun was unquestionably excellent at this, while many coaches focus primarily on the X’s and O’s.
Implication 4: Lost money from sponsors
Sponsorship dollars are getting more and more difficult to come by, too – especially in basketball at DU over the past 10 years. DU Hockey, Gymnastics, and Men’s and Women’s Lacrosse grab most of the hard-earned sponsor dollars because those programs win. DU has lost several key sponsors over the past several years and has now lost Burg Simpson, a major sponsor of basketball and other DU sports. It will take time and effort to replace lost sponsor revenue for a program that was always fragile, even before the public Wulbrun exit.
Denver Sports Properties and Playfly Sports will have to work overtime to fill the void.
Implication 5: Delayed Future Institutional Investment
The underlying culprit of the current state of the program is most likely financially driven. We know that DU either doesn’t have the resources or is unwilling to allocate them to men’s basketball at the level necessary to compete for Summit League titles. Fair enough – Division I sports in 2025 is a business. However, coaches’, student-athletes’, and fans’ expectations will have to be level-set to a bare-bones, second-tier mid-major D1 program. Wulbrun likely was just the proverbial canary in the coal mine in terms of institutional ambition level. We understand that other DU sports are higher in the budgetary pecking order at DU, and we anticipate that the school’s “national search” will now most likely bring in a hungry D-II or D-III coach who will be honored to receive the same (or less) level of institutional support going forward.
If the on-court product is not high level, then the circuses need to try to pick up the slack (facility, band, concessions, group packages, etc.)
Implication 6: NIL Money is Likely Gone
Going forward, the NIL collective that supported the program is likely to be soon devoid of funds. The Crimson & Gold Collective was founded by a small but very dedicated group of DU fans – the hardcore supporters. The NIL fund of $150k annually was set to more than double next season to support DU’s diverse DU hoops squad – likely the most financially-strapped athletes on DU’s campus.
Alumnus Mike Burg (of the very same Burg Simpson law firm), the largest NIL donor, had agreed to back-stop more than double this past season’s Crimson & Gold NIL account funds (up to $400k) to recruit top athletes to the Mile High City to finally make a highly visible appearance in March Madness. That is now gone. The NIL funds, guided by Wulbrun’s priorities for his players, went to serve the basic needs of the student-athletes, too – clothes, help with rent, food, and travel assistance for parents and family to attend games. DU’s other student-athletes from other sports likely rarely have to worry about calorie deficits or financial hardships. Most of DU Basketball’s NIL donors are also furious and now logically reevaluating their commitment to the program. Ultimately, DU’s basketball student-athletes will, quite literally, pay the price.
It will take a unified, cooperative, grassroots effort between the Athletic Department Development team and the Crimson & Gold Collective to identify and secure new donors.
Implication 7: An Academic and Character Decline for Men’s Hoops
Wulbrun brought in well-rounded student-athletes that represented DU well on the court and in the classroom. Can a new coach maintain those same high standards? We may have to wave a sad goodbye to a basketball program that promoted good character and one of the highest GPAs in all of men’s basketball basketball. Said Josh Berlo on Wulbrun’s departure, “We appreciate Jeff’s dedication to recruiting high-character student-athletes that fit the prestigious academic model and 4D experience that is the foundation of the University of Denver.”
Wulbrun had a motto that he shared with his team: “Achieving excellence in everything we do”. That philosophy and expectation of academic and basketball excellence certainly narrows the pool of potential recruits.
In an effort to rebuild Denver’s team, the DU Athletic Administration and new coach can’t afford to take shortcuts on recruiting the wrong kids and risk further damage to an already fragile program.
Implication 8: Who is going to want to coach here?
Is DU willing and able to bring in a quality, new basketball coach and compensate them appropriately? Wulbrun, according to the latest available Form 990 in DU’s fiscal year 2023, was making a base salary of at least $336,000 and had $52,000 more in additional DU income for a total of about $388,000 in 2023. This $388k package is less than what DU was paying Joe Scott (over $400k) when Scott was fired in 2016. While that kind of salary may sound like a lot of money to some, it is on the lower end of the pay scale in Division I, where the top 75 coaches typically make over $1 million per season, and the top 25 coaches make far more.
We assume DU is going to replace Wulbrun relatively quickly – especially with the transfer portal opening in a few days and other factors at play. DU basketball fans can likely expect Denver to replace Wulbrun with a lower-priced, lower-division coach. That is fine as long as public expectations are set accordingly and the new coach is fully briefed and level-set on resources, ambition level and support at the University of Denver.
Implication 9: How long will the latest program reset take?
At this point, there is much work to be done to restore faith in DU basketball, even if the final decision is to further restrict resources and drive on-court expectations for the program even lower. That and transparency are what fans and student-athletes want and expect.
Realistically, it looks like a very long haul back to respectability, let alone Summit League relevance.
Ironically, fans received their basketball season ticket renewal offers from DU Athletics on February 19th – two days before Wulbrun was placed on leave.
That email is still sitting in many fans’ inboxes. What will they do?
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Part 3 will be posted tomorrow and discusses LetsGoDU and our mission for the University and our readers.
Until DU restores their commitment to integrity with a change in Athletic Director, I will not support any DU endeavor, athletic or otherwise.
In the interest of transparency, DU basketball is not a second tier mid-major D1 program. It hasn’t been for a while. DII maybe. Thats embarrassing coming from such an accomplished, esteemed school.
Lost in the poor behavior by the adults in the room was the impact on the student-athletes. Thank you for highlighting the impact to them in this fiasco, as well as their different financial circumstances compared to the other sports.
Avg home attendance: 894
Why even pretend this is a D1 sport at DU?
…yawn…
Basketball is important at every D1 school. Fact. Attendance isn’t what drives the reality of it all.
“The NIL funds, guided by Wulbrun’s priorities for his players, went to serve the basic needs of the student-athletes, too – clothes, help with rent, food, and travel assistance for parents and family to attend games. DU’s other student-athletes from other sports likely rarely have to worry about calorie deficits or financial hardships.”
I’d like you to do more research on this. Are you suggesting other DU student athletes get money outside of their scholarship to pay for food, rent, travel assistance for parents to attend games, etc? I can guarantee that is not the case. Don’t assume everyone else has it better.
No doubt, many students need money. From personal observation, I can tell you that many basketball players come from disadvantaged families – not all. Any sport can set up an NIL to reward their student-athletes. The DU basketball NIL is one of the few functioning NIL’s at Denver and the biggest. It does not cost DU anything and comes from that sport’s supporters.
I guarantee you it is the case v
Bozo Berlo needs to go
Totally agree
Tired of seeing the same cycle repeat. Firing Wilburn is just another band-aid move that avoids the real issue: a complete lack of commitment to building a serious basketball program at DU. Basketball is the ONLY sport—outside of hockey—that has the potential to generate real, long-term revenue and visibility for this university. And frankly, the upside is far greater with hoops if we’d just invest properly.
The Athletic Department and BOT has failed this program for years. No vision. No strategy. No results. We need a clean slate at the top. It’s time for AD leadership that actually believes in basketball’s potential and is willing to act on it. Enough is enough.
I’m frustrated and honestly tired of the same half-hearted approach to DU basketball. If you’re going to fire the head coach, then act like you’re serious about building a real program. This can’t be another stopgap hire or “safe” decision made on a shoestring budget. We’ve been stuck in neutral for too long while the rest of the college basketball world moves forward. The next hire has to be bold, strategic, and backed by real investment—or this cycle of irrelevance will just keep repeating itself
Here’s a realistic list of available coaches we should be reaching out to:
1. Tobin Anderson – Recently let go by Iona. Made national headlines in 2023 when he led Fairleigh Dickinson to a legendary upset over Purdue. High-energy, culture-first coach with a track record of winning.
2. Craig Smith – Just let go by Utah. Previously took Utah State to three straight NCAA tournaments. Deep regional ties and proven success in turning around programs quickly.
3. Mark Fox – Former head coach at Nevada, Georgia, and Cal. Experienced, steady presence with multiple NCAA tournament appearances and a strong defensive philosophy.
4. Jeff Linder – Former head coach at Northern Colorado and Wyoming. Colorado native with a deep understanding of the region. Took Wyoming to the 2022 NCAA tournament and built Northern Colorado into a winner.
5. John Brannen – Took Northern Kentucky to multiple NCAA tournaments and won a regular season title at Cincinnati. Proven tactician with mid-major success and high-major experience.
6. Josh Pastner – Former head coach at Memphis and Georgia Tech. Known for his energy and recruiting chops. Won ACC Coach of the Year in 2021 and still has plenty of upside.
We don’t need an assistant on the rise or a high-risk first-timer—we need someone who’s been there, built programs, and knows how to win. DU has a chance to change the narrative around this program, but it starts with hiring an experienced, proven head coach—and giving them the support to succeed. Anything less is just more of the same.
If DU wanted to truly build basketball here, the administration would have invested in a high-profile coach with an NCAA tourney-calibre pedigree who can bring in higher-profile recruits and get this program to the big dance and relevancy.
There are two main reasons why DU has not made that investment. The first (and largest) reason is lack of resources. DU may have a one billion dollar endowment, but almost all of that the money is heavily restricted by donor intentions and gift agreements – it’s not like a bank account that DU can just reach into and spend it on whatever they want. DU can only really spend a small percentage of it on operational needs. There are also no big DU donors willing to spend the $20-100 million it would take to build DU hoops into a national level program. If there were, it would have happened already.
The second is a more strategic reason. DU is a niche sport power with a unique sports mix model that invests most of its athletic money in those sports where DU can actually compete for (and win) NCAA titles in affluent country club sports that fit the private school demographics that DU must attract to stay solvent. It’s closest analogue would perhaps be a Patriot League school, but one that has to spend more money because of our location in the west, and because some of our best sports are very unique, regionally-driven sports.
Hockey, Gymnastics, M and W Lacrosse, Skiing and M. Soccer are all national caliber programs because their budgets are competitive at the top level of those sports, especially sports with less than 250 (and often under 100) schools playing in them.
Basketball is a must have for NCAA D-I requirements, but DU would rather have six or eight national powers vs investing most of its sports money in basketball, where there are 350 schools competing. If DU were to change its priority to playing winning basketball, it would currently have to be at the expense of DU’s other sports, as DU has no large athletic revenue sources.
Can DU win at a mid major level in hoops? They once had a top 50 basketball program (Ken Pom #47) back in 2012-2013 that was a WAC Co-Champion and an NIT second round participant – the high water mark of DU basketball in the modern era. But that team could not quite get to the NCAAs and was before the transfer portal and NIL money demands turned mid-major hoops into farm teams for the big schools in the last few years.
The long and short of it is that winning hoops is not a game that DU really wants to play. DU has decided that it likes where it is with the other sports, and until someone wants to fund the hoops upgrade, it will likely be done on a shoestring.
Appreciate the response, but I’d push back on a few core assumptions here.
First, the “lack of resources” argument is overstated. Yes, much of DU’s $1B endowment is restricted—but that doesn’t mean the university is helpless. Most schools operate with some level of restriction on endowment funds, yet still find creative ways to prioritize strategic initiatives. DU doesn’t need $20–100M to become competitive in basketball. No one’s asking to build a blue blood overnight—we’re talking about modest but intentional investments in coaching, recruiting, and facilities that could make us a top-tier mid-major. That’s doable with a fraction of what’s suggested here, especially when other programs with smaller endowments and fewer resources have done it.
Second, the idea that basketball success would have to come “at the expense” of other sports is a false choice. You can maintain elite programs in hockey, skiing, and lacrosse and invest in basketball. Those other programs are already built and running well. A strategic reallocation or expansion of the athletic budget, increased donor targeting around basketball, and creative use of marketing/NIL partnerships could all provide lift without tearing anything else down. Basketball is one of the only sports with potential for long-term revenue generation and national visibility. Why are we not even trying?
Third, framing DU as a “niche sport” school might be true historically, but it ignores what could be. That logic assumes our demographics and identity are fixed in time. But building a more recognizable and competitive basketball program would expand DU’s appeal to new students, new markets, and—frankly—new donors. You don’t think a winning basketball program would energize alumni and bring in more engagement from outside the lacrosse/skiing base? It’s not just about trophies. It’s about institutional relevance.
And yes, the transfer portal and NIL era changed the game—but that doesn’t mean mid-majors are doomed. We’re seeing programs like Drake, James Madison, and Grand Canyon find success without P5-level budgets. Winning now takes vision, innovation, and commitment—not just money.
So no, I don’t accept the idea that “DU just doesn’t want to play the basketball game.” That’s not a strategy—it’s an excuse. And it’s exactly why this program has been stuck for so long. At some point, DU has to decide whether it wants to compete or just maintain the status quo. Right now, we’re choosing irrelevance in the sport with the highest upside.
I would state the case even more simply. Based on the conference we play in (Summit 23rd/31 in PWR), is there any reason we shouldn’t compete for a conference title every 4 to 5 seasons? Is there a good reason why DU should finish, consistently, in the bottom third or even last?
Finally, when DU was winning 20 games a season, they were averaging nearly 5,000 per game. It can be done.
Agree 100%
I am part of the NIL Collective for MBB and a former player here and I can assure you I won’t be supporting this program until Berlo is gone. This could not have been handled in a worse fashion, let alone Wulbrun being as good a leader and coach as they could ever expect to find now, given the circumstances.