Two months after he was hired as Colorado’s athletic director on July 17, 2013, Rick George and the Buffaloes were hit with adversity.
The 100-year flood in Boulder County in September of 2013 led to six reported deaths and damaged or destroyed hundreds of homes.
The flood also caused George and CU to cancel a home football game against Fresno State, which pales in comparison with the other impacts of the storm, but these were the first of many challenges George would face on the job.
“Maybe it was a precursor,” George said. “That kind of started it out.”
From the start, it’s been an eventful and sometimes tumultuous ride for George as the Buffaloes’ AD, and it’s a ride that will come to an end when he steps down at the conclusion of the 2025-26 academic year.
George announced his decision last week and spoke Monday with BuffZone about his choice.
“It has everything to do with making this place better,” said George, 65, who will transition to a role as special advisor to the chancellor and director of athletics emeritus. “I think it’s time for new leadership, a new voice. I’m going to be there to support that person and support football and our revenue-generating areas and whatever Chancellor (Justin) Schwartz wants me to do.”
Among the first questions for many in Buff Nation was how George’s decision will impact the future of head football coach Deion Sanders, a Pro Football Hall of Famer who was hired by George in December of 2022.
Sanders is in the first year of a five-year, $54 million contract extension, but could retire at any time and not owe anything to CU (unless he leaves for an NFL or college coaching job).
“Look, Coach Prime’s committed here,” George said. “I think everybody looks for a reason to think that he’s going to leave. Coach and I have a really good relationship. We talked about this Wednesday night. He kind of knew it was coming, but he and I talked about it and my commitment to him was I want to help him get this thing back on track. And it’s not like it’s off track like a lot of people think.”
After a 9-4 season in 2024, Sanders and the Buffs have slipped to 3-7 this year with two games to play. But, in George’s new role, he’ll remain involved with football.
“I’m committed to this department, athletics here at CU,” said George, who began talking to his wife, Nancy, about stepping down in April. “It’s been one of the greatest honors and privileges that I’ve had to serve our student-athletes and our coaches and staff and I’m looking forward to the next phase. And I think I can be a real asset to this department moving forward in a smaller role. I look forward to carrying that out.”
George has been a major asset to CU in a leadership role for more than 12 years.
In many ways, George’s tenure has been transformative for CU. He has guided record-breaking fund-raising initiatives, developed plans for the Champions Center and indoor practice facility, which opened in 2015, navigated the trials of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 and 2021, created exceptional resources for student-athletes, and hired Sanders, who brought CU football out of irrelevance.
“I’m proud of a lot of things that we’ve done,” he said. “I’m proud of this building that we built because it’s really important for the culture that we have here with our staff and student-athletes. And then the Crawford Family Whole Student-Athlete Program, there’s nothing like it in the country. … Really proud of those two things. And our student-athletes are thriving.”
There have been trials, too, including the numerous challenges associated with the COVID-19 pandemic, as well as domestic violence allegations against football assistant coach Joe Tumpkin early in 2017.
Tumpkin was fired, while CU officials were reprimanded for their handling of the allegations. Then-chancellor Philip DeStefano was suspended, while George and head football coach Mike MacIntyre were ordered to make $100,000 donations to anti-domestic violence organizations.
George said he and CU have learned a lot from the trials, which have led to the implementation of new protocols in some cases.
“I’m a big believer that you can learn a lot more from failures than you can success,” he said. “We look at those failures and we say, ‘OK, why did we fail? What happened? What are we gonna do to make sure this doesn’t happen again?’ And I think if you take that attitude towards that, you’re gonna help lift all the boats.
“I’m proud of what we’ve accomplished over 13 years. Yeah, we’ve had some downs … but I think we’ve addressed them in the right manner. We don’t turn our back on anything. When we have an issue, we address it, and we address it as quickly as we can.”
In recent years, there’s been more on George’s plate than ever before – not only because of COVID, but numerous changes to the college sports landscape with name, image and likeness (NIL), the transfer portal, revenue sharing and conference realignment.
“It’s not the same that it was when I took the job,” George said. “COVID was tough for everybody. And the last five years, with COVID and all that, there’s been a lot. Our industry’s changed.”
With the changing landscape, George feels it’s the right time for him to step aside and let someone else lead the Buffs. He will have input during the search, but said the hiring of his successor will be up to Schwartz.
“It’s an important hire because we know where the college sports industry is today,” George said. “We need somebody that comes in here that’s got the right vision for what the future looks like.”
George believes it’s imperative that the next AD has a “passion for student-athletes” and “stays focused on what’s really important.”
He added, “I think it’s important that somebody that comes in here understands how to run a business because this is a business.”
Particularly early in his tenure, George made significant strides in fund-raising for CU Athletics, but admitted, “I think one thing that I probably haven’t done as good a job of is elevating our fundraising efforts to a level that we need it to be here.”
That will be part of George’s goals in his next role, however.
“That’ll be certainly a focus of me in my role coming up,” he said, “and the next AD will have to go out and raise money.”
As he’s done for more than 12 years, George will do his part in those efforts. He’ll just do it in a lesser role, and he’s excited about CU’s future.
“This is not a retirement; this is just slow down a little bit and I’m excited about that,” he said. “I get to spend time with my two granddaughters a little bit more and I’m really looking forward to supporting Coach Prime and what’s ahead for him and that program, and go out and try to generate some revenue for the department because we desperately need that. I’m looking forward to the next phase.”