New Buffs AD: CU, community ‘aligned,’ ‘united’ in push for success

BOULDER — Since hiring Deion Sanders as head football coach in late 2020, the University of Colorado athletics department has boosted its profile to national proportions. But it was the school’s impact and connections in its own backyard that were highlighted Wednesday during a speech by CU’s new athletic director Fernando Lovo.

“I’m about six months into this job — I’ve stopped counting days, but I can tell you it’s close to six months — and one thing has become so abundantly clear to me, and that’s this: This university is aligned. It is absolutely aligned from our board to our president to my team in our athletic department. We are truly rowing in the same direction, and that’s not common,” he said to a crowd of Buffs fans and local luminaries gathered at the Boulder Theater for the annual  CU Night in Downtown Boulder event. 

“A united CU is a reckoning — it is an absolute reckoning. But a united CU doesn’t stop at the edge of campus; being united with this community matters just as much,” Lovo said. “… “When the Buffs are rolling, Boulder feels it. And when Boulder thrives, so do we. Let me be very clear, Boulder’s success is our success and our success is Boulder’s.”

Lovo was hired as CU’s AD in December 2025, succeeding long-time AD Rick George, who has taken on a new role as special adviser to CU’s chancellor and athletic director emeritus. 

With less than 80 days until the Buffs and Coach Prime kick off the 2026 football season, the new kid at school gushed over his current Centennial State stomping grounds: “Boulder is a tech hub, a magnet for people who change this world, and one of the most beautiful places in America,” Lovo said.

In his previous stint as vice president and director of athletics at the University of New Mexico, Lovo led the Lobos to eight Mountain West athletics titles during his short tenure. He also oversaw the hiring of new men’s basketball and football coaches. 

“I’m excited for the next step that Fernando’s going to take, building on the legacy of Rick George,” Boulder Chamber CEO John Tayer told BizWest during Wednesday’s event. “He’s got the right spirit for forging the connection between CU and our local business community, and he also has a great vision for success of our student-athletes.”

Prior to taking over at UNM, Lovo held several roles at the University of Texas at Austin, including football chief of staff and executive senior associate athletics director, according to CU. He was also the chief of staff with the NFL’s Jacksonville Jaguars. Lovo’s resume includes positions at the University of Florida and Ohio State University, schools at which sports are heavily tied to institutional and community identity.

“When people say athletics is a door to the university, they’re also saying it’s a door to the community,” Tayer said. “When CU athletics is strong and connected with our local businesses, we see mutual benefit. Whether it’s on the television set or people coming to the stadium, people are being introduced to our community and connecting with it.”

Lovo concluded his economical but spirited remarks Wednesday with a call to action, a plea for the community to renew its commitment to its hometown student-athletes by packing the bleachers at sporting events during the upcoming school year: “We need you there. We want you there. When you are in the stands cheering for our student-athletes, everything is so much better,” he said. “So, please come out, join us. I promise you, we are committed to giving you an experience that you will never forget.”

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