Colorado State University
Hallmarks and Quirks
Things I'm Good At:
- Since the Mountain West Conference was formed in 1999, I've won thirty-one conference championships, including twenty-three regular season titles and eight tournament titles. I'm super passionate about my sports and most particularly, my football.
- I'm a Carnegie Research University, which means my students are oft engaged in research activities.
- I do autumn walks like you've never witnessed. After strolling around the Oval in October with a Lory Student Center latte in-hand, I dare you to tell me you didn't fall in love.
- In case you were wondering, I rank 60th among public universities nation-wide, according to U.S. News and World Report's 2014 "Best Colleges." Just sayin'.
- Fort Fun is totes awesome in its own right, but it probably wouldn't survive without me. I am the city's number one employer. Boo-yah.
My Top 5 Must-Haves:
- A closet chock-full of costumes or friends with the means to outfit me. Between Tour de Fat and the annual Zombie Crawl, Fort Collins kids are always looking for the next opportunity to don a crazy get-up and get a little wild. Don't even get me started on Halloween.
- Big City Burrito. Forget Chipotle, diss QDoba, and please don't even mention Taco Bell. If you live in the area, you already know; if you don't, you're about to make a trip to town just for BCB. Just be prepared to wait in line, because the food here is so mind-blowingly awesome, everyone's in on it.
- A bicycle. I already mentioned Tour de Fat, which can be done on foot, but it's more fun on a bike. Aside from this festival, there are countless on-road and off-road opportunities for bona-fide bike enthusiasts.
- A love for craft beer. Okay, at least the interest to try craft beer. With fifteen microbreweries in Fort Collins alone—plus, at least that many in the surrounding areas in Northern Colorado—date nights and introducing your folks to FC will undoubtedly result in some crafty imbibing at some point.
- A bathing suit and a down parka. Don't look at me like I'm crazy…weather in CO can be nuts, and you'll need to accommodate days in the river as well as long weekends shredding mad gnar on the mountains.
Why You Might Have Heard of Me:
- Ch-yeah, that's right—I'm the campus with the bar in the basement of the student center. Join your (of age) compadres after a particularly grueling test or study sesh to unwind and chill over pizza and brews.
- Not to brag, but more than one of my alumni has gone on to play professional football. Like, a whole bunch of my alumni.
- Ever notice that big "A" on the west side of town? Back in the day, (prior to 1945), I was known as The Aggies. Fortunately, my people had the good sense to switch the mascot to Cam the Ram, but the "A" lives on in infamy.
On a regular Saturday night, you can find me...
in Old Town, kickin' it with the rest of Fort Collins at one of thirty-plus bars squished into a few square blocks. In the summers, after tubin' in the Poudre all day, I'll be jammin' to bluegrass, jam bands, and hip-hop at the Mish—sometimes all on the same night.
Favorite Hangouts:
- The Lagoon on campus. Whether you're listening to a concert, a lecture by a particularly awesome professor who likes to kick it outdoors, or just having a bite to eat before an on-campus game of disc golf, this balmy locale is always full of bodies.
- New Belgium. You've heard of Fat Tire beer, right? This is the place where all that foamy, good magic began.
- Odell Brewing Company. Not to be outdone by the aforementioned nationally renowned brewery, Odell has a myriad of outstanding flavors and an enormous patio that patrons can enjoy all year long, thanks to the copious CO sunshine.
- IHOP. You can hop, skip, or ride your bike over to this classic pancake palace. Being a mere stone's throw from campus and having a full menu 24-7, this joint is always jumpin'.
- Old Town Square. Located in—you guessed it—the heart of Old Town, Fort Collins. The square is the perfect meeting spot and place to dine, shop, guzzle, or even just sit around and people-watch. Street performers and musicians often flaunt their talents in the built-in amphitheater, and during the holiday season, this is one of the more dazzling spots in the city.
- The Aggie Theatre. The tagline on their Facebook page proclaims that the Aggie Theatre has been "entertaining Fort Collins for over 100 years." This is the venue in town where all the main acts go. That's right, you'd get to see big names in punk rock, hip-hop, metal, and more.
Quirks:
- Psychology of Sexuality. This is, quite literally, a college class where you talk about sex, from the tame to the weird and everything in between. This is, hands-down, the most popular class at CSU, and although it's only a 100-level class, it's filled with upperclassmen who had to wait patiently to gain registration seniority over their underclass counterparts.
- Professor Larry Bloom, of the aforementioned sex class, is father to Jeremy Bloom, Hall of Fame and Olympian downhill skier. There is clearly an ambitious bloodline therein.
- The Student Services building may or may not be haunted. Let's just say you don't want to be caught there alone around October 31st…
- The Hare Krishna and Brother Matt. The Travelin' Preachers are both known to linger near the Lory Student Center, eager to spout wisdom into the ears of the willing. But never fear—these religious do-gooders aren't pushy enough to make you feel uncomfortable if you're not down for an afternoon chat.
Famous Alumni:
- John Amos, Broadway, film, and television actor.
- Denver Pyle, television actor.
- James "Ox" van Hoften, NASA astronaut.
- Sean Allen Morley a.k.a. Val Venis, Canadian professional wrestler.
- Thurman "Fum" McGraw, professional football player and namesake of the CSU athletic center.