A statue to honor legendary Colorado head football coach Bill McCartney was unveiled Friday night in a private ceremony.
The general public will get its first look at the 8 1/2-foot tall bronze statue Saturday when the Buffaloes host Arizona State at Folsom Field (6 p.m., ESPN2).
Designed by Brian Hanlon of Hanlon Sculpture Studios, the statue was erected in the northeast corner of Franklin Field, the Buffs’ outdoor practice surface next to Folsom Field. On game days, Franklin is used by fans for tailgating.
“Coach Mac,” as he was known, died Jan. 8 at the age of 84. During his 13 seasons as CU’s head coach, from 1982-94, he went 93-55-5, the most wins of any football coach in program history. McCartney led the Buffs to their only national title, in 1990, and three Big Eight Conference titles.
“I’m happy that we will have a statue about his accomplishments on the playing surface,” CU athletic director Rick George told BuffZone. “He’s the winningest coach that we’ve had in our history, and I think it’s well deserved.”
Roughly 400 people were on hand for Friday night’s unveiling, including McCartney family members and former players who were in attendance for CU’s hall of fame weekend.
CU announced the statue in April, but it has been a lengthy project with funding spearheaded by former Buffs linebacker Don DeLuzio – who played for McCartney and lettered three times from 1985-88. George and DeLuzio were among those who spoke to the crowd, which included such former players as Jeff Campbell, JJ Flannigan and Solomon Wilcots.
“I’m happy that we’re able to conclude this project as we’ve been discussing it for three years,” George told BuffZone. “We’re thankful that Don DeLuzio has funded building this. He and coach were pretty tight and one of his first players that he had. For him to step up and want to do this, I thought was really great.”
George, who has been the Buffs’ athletic director since 2013, was originally hired at CU by McCartney in 1987 as a football recruiting coordinator. George is among many who have spoken highly of Coach Mac’s impact on them during his life, particularly his tenure as head coach.
McCartney, however, was a controversial figure to some because of his religious beliefs.
In 1990, he was the founder of the Promise Keepers, a Christian men’s group that opposes same-sex marriage. During a speech at CU in 1992, McCartney said homosexuality was “an abomination against almighty God.”
Although McCartney apologized for those comments, he remains a polarizing figure, including to some CU faculty and students who expressed concerns over having a statue of Coach Mac. That group asked CU to not place the statue in a prominent part of the campus.
George said CU is understanding of those feelings, but that it’s important to McCartney’s former players and many Buff fans to honor the legendary coach.
“Coach Mac was a really good man,” George said. “He made some comments that hurt some people and we understand that. He apologized for it a couple times, more than once … that his intent was not to hurt anybody. He was expressing his religious beliefs.”
George added that McCartney had a “significant” impact on the Black student-athletes at CU and that, in erecting the statue, CU is “honoring him for the accomplishments that he had on the field. I know his former players are excited about this and our fan base is excited about this.”