The last few days and weeks have been difficult for everyone. Based on the statistics and volume of comments, Parts I and II struck a chord among the DU community. But we took no joy or satisfaction in what we reported.

Let’s be clear – we call ourselves LetsGoDU for a reason.

Our loud and passionate fandom has served us well for 20+ years. Our goals will forever remain to elevate and celebrate DU Athletics, connect our fans to DU, and generate school spirit and pride in our alma mater. And, while these are our goals, we also believe that pursuing them is a serious responsibility – especially in a local media landscape with an embarrassing lack of DU coverage. We believe that shedding some light on how the proverbial DU Athletics sausage is made when the need arises is part of that responsibility.

Our priority has always been serving the generations of DU fans, student-athletes, coaches, the Athletic Department, the DU Administration, North Dakota, and CC – in that order (you could flip the last two, depending on the year). If we make readers shout, laugh, or cringe, all the better. Thousands of people regularly read our content and we believe they read us not only because we produce content that is relevant, resonant, and memorable, but because in their hearts, they care as deeply about the subject matter as we do.

We’ve been at this for a couple of decades now; we’ve already lasted far longer than most DU coaches, athletic directors, school protestors, administrators, or Chancellors. And several DU students who helped us in the early years are now staring down age 40 with kids of their own. We’ve been there to highlight championships in many DU sports and we’ve seen a lot of great (and not-so-great) Pioneers come and go.

We think our track record has proven that we are not in the business of regularly trashing the University we care so deeply about. But, in keeping with our responsibility, we feel that it’s important to hold the DU powers that be accountable for their actions – both good and bad – with what we believe is fair reporting and commentary. As a result, our readers count on us for a strong, well-reasoned point of view in addition to hosting a well-read public comment forum to voice their support, concerns, or both as the case may be. In a world where our dying local newspapers and the revolving door of sports personalities at our local TV stations rarely cover our school and its teams outside of their championship runs, we fill an important need as the largest online gathering place for the DU community.

Many schools love their fans, but there are also good reasons why some schools keep the most fervent ones (fanatics) at arm’s length. DU also has many good reasons to treasure, fear, discount, praise, and read what the folks who care most about DU are saying here without a public-relations-like filter. We recognize that we have, over the years, become the de facto voice of the hardcore DU fans – the ones who cheer the loudest and travel the farthest. We will always strive for accuracy and truth because we believe we provide the DU community with a vital window into the many glories, the occasional failures, and yes, the behind-the-scenes machinations of Denver Athletics.

So where do we draw the line? After all, we arrive at every story and game with a strong pro-DU bias (again, just look at our name). We will never vilify student-athletes or outright demand the firing of coaches or administrators. That is not our role. We will always try to present the facts (as best as we can ascertain them and sometimes quite loudly) for our readers to draw their own conclusions.

As a reminder, it was only a year ago when we wrote a glowing review, praising DU’s Athletic Department, led by Josh Berlo, celebrating their innovations and excellence at the 2024 Frozen Four in St. Paul. Even beyond the hockey program winning its record 10th title, it was a smashing success for the University and Athletic Department.

We also love many of the recent facility improvements on the DU athletic campus, the elevation of Matt Brown to the head coach of men’s lacrosse, and [clearing throat]…we even have to admit that the rebranded new logo and colors are starting to grow on us, even though DU Athletics had little to do with it.

The DU Athletic Department works very hard to develop national contenders, and we truly do appreciate all the work that they do to prepare and showcase their student-athletes for all of us to see and enjoy. And we still believe that DU Athletics is the most visible aspect of the DU brand – a construct that connects all of us Pioneers to our school, through the head, the heart, and, yes, the gut.

As many readers know, LetsGoDU was founded more than two decades ago by DU superfan Damien Goddard as a vehicle for school spirit, connecting DU fans to Denver from wherever they are in this world. And in those 20+ years, we have been immensely lucky that DU has provided us with so few situations like the Wulbrun saga where we have had to provide a critical look into how the DU sausage is made.

So sure, we’re disappointed in DU right now. We didn’t like the way that particular sausage was made.

But you know what? Pass the mustard and a napkin. We’re ready for another serving because we know this one will be better.