All posts by 5BWest

Men's Sports

University of Denver Football memories fade with time 

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Photo: Photo courtesy of the University of Denver. On October 2nd, 1926 DU’s officially opened a new stadium, Hilltop Stadium, with a new name, the Pioneers.  

Fall is in the air and homecoming is fast approaching this weekend – it must be time for…hockey.

However, for many years, University of Denver homecoming activities centered on football – the most popular sport at the university. DU’s very first football game was played in 1885 against Colorado College. That game was believed by sports historians to be the first intercollegiate football game played west of the Mississippi River. Continue reading University of Denver Football memories fade with time  →

Men's Basketball

Pioneer men picked to finish 5th in Summit hoops

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Photo: Photo courtesy of the Summit League. South Dakota State University is tabbed as the league favorite to repeat under pre-season Summit League Player of the Year Mike Daum.

Here we are, just weeks before the start of basketball season under second year head coach Rodney Billups.

Last week, the Summit League held their annual basketball media Day. DU men’s coach Rodney Billups and women’s coach Jim Turgeon were on the conference call and fielded questions. The 20 minute audio from the teleconference link is shown below.

Audio – Rodney Billups & Jim Turgeon

Denver was selected to finish 5th in the league wide poll. Continue reading Pioneer men picked to finish 5th in Summit hoops →

Men's Tennis, Women's Tennis

Denver Tennis Park advocates address community concerns

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Photo: Courtesy of Denver Metro Media

The Denver Tennis Park (DTP) is currently under construction and expected to be complete in 10 months. The site is situated on a triangle of land on South Franklin Street between South High School and I-25.

DTP
Photo: Denver tennis Park (DTP) construction should be complete by next summer

Continue reading Denver Tennis Park advocates address community concerns →

Hockey

Denver Adds Star Power to Hockey Broadcast

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Photo: JJ Lane starred in the 2015 season of the Bachelorette.

Reality TV star JJ Lane is returning to his first love, hockey, by taking to the broadcast booth on 104.3 The Fan. He will call hockey games for the Pioneers this season with the equally charismatic Jay Stickney.

He is from Denver and graduated Cum Laude from the University of Denver in 2009 with a BSBA in Finance. After graduation, he was an investment banker with J.P. Morgan and St. Charles Capital in New York and Denver. He founded several business in Denver where he now resides.

He was on The Bachelorette Season 11 and Bachelor in Paradise Season 2. Then, in a confusing twist of events, JJ ended up dating Juelia Kinney – a contestant on Season 19 of The Bachelor – and, according to PEOPLE Magazine are exclusively dating – even though she lives in San Diego. At least that is the latest news we could find. He is a busy guy.
Continue reading Denver Adds Star Power to Hockey Broadcast →

Men's Sports, Women's Sports

Z’s are Changing the Game

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Photo: Courtesy of Impact Hub

Defending college football champion Clemson Tigers have a problem – students are not going to football games and the ones who do either come late or leave early. “We need our students to be there the whole game. And we need our fans to be there in the third quarter,” said Dabo Swinney last week. “We need to show up, and let’s have the same great atmosphere as we have every single week”. Continue reading Z’s are Changing the Game →

Men's Sports, Women's Sports

Denver Athletics dodge season’s first winter storm

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As a winter storm rolled through Denver Sunday night and into Monday, the Pioneers dodged the bullet with most sports either inactive or on the road. The next scheduled home games for Denver are swimming and volleyball which will be played indoors at the El Pomar Natatorium and Hamilton Gym respectively on Friday.

Snow 9 Harpers
The Harper’s Humanities Garden receives a fresh coat of snow Monday morning.

Men’s soccer is in Tulsa Tuesday evening; women’s tennis in Salt Lake City Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday while women’s soccer is in Tulsa Thursday night.

At the conclusion of the storm late Monday afternoon, Denver will get sunny and temperatures will move to the 50’s and 60’s for the balance of the week with no precipitation expected.

Men's Basketball

DU Men’s Hoops lands another Twin Cities star

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Photo: Courtesy of MN Basketball Hub

The University of Denver men’s basketball program landed another key recruit for the 2018-2019 season: JaVonni Bickham from Minneapolis’ Minnehaha Academy. Bickham announced his intention to attend the University of Denver next fall Wednesday evening. He will be joining DU’s other Twin Cities products Joe Rosga and Ade Murkey. Continue reading DU Men’s Hoops lands another Twin Cities star →

Men's Basketball

Santa Margarita star narrows search, includes Denver

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Photo courtesy of Gamepoint basketball @GamepointNation

High school basketball star, Jordan Guest (6’7” C, PF), from Santa Margarita, California has narrowed his college choice to three universities. Denver is included in the mix along with Boston University and Utah State. ESPN has the 6’7″ Jordan as a 3-star recruit. He plays AAU basketball for Gamepoint and Santa Margarita High School.

We featured Guest in our  Big Shot Series on 2018 incoming players who could transform Denver basketball under Coach Billups and his staff. Guest would provide much-needed size and athleticism to the Pioneer squad on both ends of the floor. According to Guest’s twitter account, he has made visits to all three schools and appears ready to make a decision. Also, he essentially signaled other college recruiters to back off the recruiting process.

Three-star recruits are always highly sought after but University of Denver basketball is on the upswing and offers the advantage of an up-tempo playing style, veteran coaching staff, excellent facilities, superior location and strong academics. All DU’s current roster are 2-star recruits.