Photo: Graph courtesy of The Bismarck Herald

The University of Denver, a private institution, continues to thrive in today’s  operating environment and is preparing to welcome more than 1,400 first-year students in September. That number is slightly higher than last year. A recent fundraiser, One Day for DU, generated $413,630 for various DU programs and Chancellor Chopp has been steadily increasing the university endowment to 607 million dollars with plans to take that figure to 1 billion dollars in upcoming campaigns.

Class is looking great! Congrats to @DUAdmissions! Expecting Diverse Class of First-Year Students https://t.co/LZFI7bOiQh

— Todd Rinehart (@ToddRinehart) May 26, 2017

The University of Denver has found its niche as a private university in Denver and appears to be thriving. Continue reading It’s not just Omaha – Public Education Cuts a Nationwide Epidemic →

The Omaha World-Herald recently wrote an exposé on the University of Nebraska Omaha’s athletic budget deficit that had surged from $4.3 million in 2010-2011 to $8.6 million last year. We recently wrote a satirical piece on their debt as it was associated with Baxter Arena, the home of Omaha’s hockey team. The University is understandably looking at all avenues to trim expenses to include student fees, a salary freeze, country club memberships, and athletic department travel and expenses to bring down the gaping deficit.

One of the most interesting cost savings identified were K-Cups. Yes, those K-Cups. K-Cups are plastic cups which contain a filter and approximately an ounce of coffee and are placed in a Keurig machine for brewing. Continue reading Is the K-Cup killing Omaha Athletics? →

DU’s once per year  “One Day for DU” crowd funding project takes place this Wednesday, May 24th. This is our chance to support any number of DU initiatives.

You can direct your DU donations to any of a number of worthy areas. Contributions can be made directly at the One Day for DU website, and there are ten crowdfunding projects. One area that we strongly support at LetsGoDU is Intercollegiate Athletics.

If you can’t think of one, here are the six reasons why we think this is a great choice: Continue reading One Day for DU – Why We are Supporting Athletic Excellence →

Denver’s Summit League foe, IPFW, is going through a divorce. IPFW  stood for Indiana University Purdue University Fort Wayne. The campus was jointly operated and administered by Indiana University and Purdue University. After considering a variety of new names to include Purdue University Northeast (PUNE), Fort Wayne University and, more confusing yet, Summit University, they eventually landed on Purdue University Fort Wayne (PUFW). Continue reading Alphabet soup in northeast Indiana →

The University of Denver established ‘Pioneers’ as its nickname in some 92 years ago in 1925. Denver’s unofficial mascot, Denver Boone, is coming up on 50 years old next year. Some students and faculty believe now is the time to reevaluate the relevance and social acceptability of both images.

It’s clear that opponents to the status quo see the nickname ‘Pioneers’ and Denver’s mascot image as deeply intertwined and both may be subject to change. One example is an individual student’s survey called ‘Campus Identity – University of Denver’ which has been developed to explore the topic. It is neither sponsored by the university administration nor is it directly associated with current University of Student Government (USG) efforts to limit the use of Denver’s unofficial mascot, Denver Boone. Continue reading UPDATED: Survey reignites ‘Pioneers’ and mascot relevance at DU →

You may have seen the recent announcement by DU Athletics of their 2017-2022 Strategic Plan.

Strategic plans can often be dry and esoteric but they also provide insight into the value that DU places on athletics in the future. So, here are our 5 big takeaways: Continue reading 5 takeaways from DU Athletics’ ‘Strategic Plan’ →

Wichita State’s exit from the Missouri Valley Conference, which we’ve discussed here is starting to cause a ripple effect across non-power five conferences.

To balance their conference, the Missouri Valley is now looking at adding either one or three new members. Some of the schools they’re visiting are from the already shaky WAC conference and include UMKC which is publicly pleading for Valley membership. The Missouri Valley also scheduled a campus visit to cash-strapped Summit League member, Omaha last week. It seems highly unlikely that either Omaha or UMKC would make the cut – but stranger things have happened.

But how could these moves begin to impact Denver in the short and longer term? Continue reading Wichita State’s Missouri Valley exit might trigger more realignment →

You may have missed the announcement last week when the American Athletic Conference commissioner,  Mike Aresco, announced the addition of Wichita State to the AAC in men’s and women’s basketball and Olympic sports beginning July 1. That would leave an opening in the Missouri Valley Conference.

According to SB Nation, “A list of possibilities has been reported, including Valparaiso, Belmont, UMKC, Omaha, the four Dakota schools and more. The decision will likely come down to numerous factors, such as geographical fit, financial stability, and basketball relevance.”

Should DU consider throwing its hat in the ring to replace the Shockers?

The short answer: no. Continue reading Wichita State’s departure provides opportunity in Missouri Valley Conference →