Call it revenge, call it just taking care of business, call it anything you want. Denver was not going to deliver a repeat performance from last December when UNLV visited Magness Arena for the second time in less than 10 months. Last year, Denver fell to the ACHA champions in the shootout (after an official 6-6 tie). Tonight, though, the Pioneers were not letting another viral moment happen, scoring the game’s first four goals and cruising to a 6-1 exhibition game victory over the UNLV Rebels. Sam Harris recorded a natural hat trick, Cale Ashcroft scored two power-play goals in the third period, and freshman Payton Nelson – a Centennial native – opened the scoring 10 minutes into the game. Continue reading Sam Harris Nets Natty Hatty as Denver Cruises in UNLV Exhibition Rematch
Category Archives: Men’s Sports
LetsGoDU Hockey SUPER-POLL™ Picks Denver to Win Championship Finale in Vegas
NCAA hockey teams are set to battle during the 2025-26 season to reach the Frozen Four in Las Vegas, Nevada. The highly touted LetsGoDU SUPER-POLL™ convened veteran gamblers Billy Walters, Billy Baxter, “Roxy” Roxborough, and “Lefty” Rosenthal, all elected to the Las Vegas Sports Betting Hall of Fame, for their highly accurate predictions. After a smoke-filled late-night at Goddard Family Company headquarters in Houston, Texas, the University of Denver was selected as the prohibitive favorite, which marks the 21st consecutive season the LetsGoDU SUPER-POLL™ has named the Pioneers title favorites.
This is how the cards fell: Continue reading LetsGoDU Hockey SUPER-POLL™ Picks Denver to Win Championship Finale in Vegas
Denver Sweeps Summit League Home Openers
DU women’s volleyball (10-3, 2-0) swept two matches to open Summit League conference play. Thursday, the team played Oral Roberts in Tulsa and carved out a 3-0 sweep behind outside hitter Ava Reynolds. On Saturday, DU returned home against UMKC. DU played a dominant first set, came from behind in the second, lost the third, and dominated the Roos in the fourth set. Jamia Johnson led DU with 17 kills to cap the opening sweep. Continue reading Denver Sweeps Summit League Home Openers
Universities Brace for Title IX Lawsuits
According to numerous sources, colleges and universities are conducting risk assessments and budgeting accordingly, anticipating lawsuits over Title IX legislation. As the Power Four conferences look to profit-share up to $20 million with student-athletes, they have a difficult and potentially costly decision to make. Either equitably split the revenue spoils with their male and female athletes or allocate the money to revenue-producing sports (or a mix of the two options). The same goes for in-house generated NIL (Name, Image & Likeness) funds.
Lawsuits are sure to follow. Continue reading Universities Brace for Title IX Lawsuits
What Are the Top Division I Men’s Hockey Programs of the Last 25 Years (and All Time)?
As we prepare to start another college hockey season in just a few weeks, we are also entering a new, unprecedented era as former Canadian Hockey League (CHL) Major Junior players are eligible to play in the NCAA for the first time since the early 1980s. This new era also gets underway after we awarded our third first-time Division I national champion – Western Michigan – since 2021. The other two champions in that span were Denver in 2022 and 2024, when they won their 9th and record 10th championships, respectively, which presents an interesting dichotomy, a sort of success split between the historical blue bloods and new powers in the sport. Continue reading What Are the Top Division I Men’s Hockey Programs of the Last 25 Years (and All Time)?
Denver’s NCAA Path Narrows with 2-0 Loss to Creighton
Head men’s soccer coach Jamie Franks has never veered from his ambition to achieve a national championship. One of his keys is a challenging non-conference schedule. A 2-0 loss to Creighton last week dropped the team to a 2-3 record and likely eliminated the option of an at-large NCAA bid, leaving the Pioneers hanging by a Summit League tournament thread. Continue reading Denver’s NCAA Path Narrows with 2-0 Loss to Creighton
DU Hockey’s Depth Chart: A Preliminary Prediction
As the 2025-26 University of Denver Pioneers hockey team took to the ice at Magness Arena for its first official practice earlier this week, DU fans finally saw the 10 new freshmen in Pioneer helmets and pads for the first time. DU will be a young team again, with only three seniors, but being young has not stopped the Pioneers from strong finishes in recent years, including NCAA titles in 2022 (t-2nd youngest in Division I) and 2024 (2nd youngest). Continue reading DU Hockey’s Depth Chart: A Preliminary Prediction
The End of Niche College Sports?
An article by Mark Novicoff in The Atlantic contends that the end of Division I college sports as we currently know them is coming. The author considers all niche, non-revenue sports outside of football and basketball as dodo birds, headed for certain extinction. We, of course, heartily disagree. Continue reading The End of Niche College Sports?
Fall Sports Begin Prior to the September 9th Academic Start
DU’s Autumn academic quarter has not begun, and students aren’t even on campus yet. However, fall sports are well underway at University and Buchtel. Basketball just finished summer practices, and men’s (1-1) and women’s (1-0-3) soccer are in full swing. Volleyball begins play later this week. All this as questions swirl around the changes, challenges, and opportunities confronting Denver and collegiate athletics at large. Continue reading Fall Sports Begin Prior to the September 9th Academic Start
Denver Secures 2024-25 I-AAA Director’s Cup For the 12th Straight Time
It’s almost become ho-hum but it is an outstanding achievement by DU athletics. After reviewing the final season-ending rankings, the University of Denver has won the I-AAA (Division I, non-football schools) Director’s Cup once again for the 2024-25 season. This marks the 12th straight year and 16th out of the last 17 that DU has won the award. It’s getting hard to calculate and track how dominant Denver has been over the past couple of decades. Overall, DU finished 56th in the final 2024-25 Learfield Directors’ Cup standings. Continue reading Denver Secures 2024-25 I-AAA Director’s Cup For the 12th Straight Time