Opinion: Here's a schedule filler idea: Air Force vs. DU

The University of Denver looms as the evil empire of the north for rabid fans of Colorado College hockey. Soon, a new rivalry could — and should — begin.

DU and the Air Force Academy are natural basketball opponents. Their games won’t climb to the comically insane heights of CC-DU clashes, but could deliver great basketball theater.

The Pioneers are coached by Joe Scott, the charismatic shouter who resurrected Air Force’s program. It makes sense for Scott to take the short drive down Interstate 25 to battle his old team.

Expect a home-and-home series between the schools. Just don’t expect the series to begin next season.

Mike Saks, AFA’s associate athletic director, has sought a 2007-2008 game with DU for more than a year. He said it’s “probably too late” to schedule the Pioneers next season.

“We’re full,” he said Tuesday afternoon after securing agreements for several games. Still, he’s hopeful for the series to begin in 2008-2009.

So is Peg Bradley-Doppes, DU’s athletic director. She said she’s determined to make the series become a reality. “It’s a rivalry that could develop into something very, very special,” she said.

She’s right.

By the 2008-2009 season, Scott will place his stamp on the Pioneers. He’ll have his slow-dance offense in place, and his players will have learned all his secrets about ferocious defense. When Scott coached the Falcons, it often seemed as if six defenders were on the court.

Yes, DU is known as a hockey school. Most Colorado sports fans are only vaguely aware the Pioneers field a basketball team.

That should change.

Bradley-Doppes arrived at DU after working at the University of Michigan and the University of North Carolina. She’s seen how a winning basketball team can charge a campus, and she’s bold about proclaiming her goal for the Pioneers.

“We want to be the dominant program in the Rocky Mountain region,” she said in a matter-of-fact voice.

For the past four seasons, the dominant team has resided on the edge of Colorado Springs. That’s an amazing thought, considering the Falcons’ gruesome past, but it’s the truth.

The schools need each other. Remember, Colorado is not the center of the college basketball universe. Empty seats are the rule for teams across the state.

Last season, Clune often roared as a packed, wild destination, but it’s only been five seasons since the arena ranked as a lonely, silent place. The Falcons’ fan support is fragile. This support isn’t based on deep reservoirs of love. It’s based solely on winning.

Jeff Reynolds, recently hired to replace Jeff Bzdelik as AFA’s coach, faces a frightening challenge. He’s expected to win at a school that lost games at an astonishing rate for 30 years. He’s expected to keep all the program’s new friends happy. He’s expected to pack Clune.

The Pioneers will sell tickets. Several dozen CC fans will make the trip to Clune just to boo the school they so despise.

And DU offers a tantalizing story line. In 2000, Scott arrived on the AFA campus with this zany idea he could build a winner. Four seasons later, he stunned the basketball nation — and maybe himself — by taking the Falcons to the NCAA Tournament.

Now, he promises the same magic show for the Pioneers, a team that lost 25 games last season. He should start plotting ways to beat his old friends at Air Force, where the Falcons won 26 games last season.

The complexities of scheduling most likely will block a game next season. Nothing should stop the series from starting in 2008-2009.

Columnist David Ramsey can be reached at 476-4895 or david.ramsey@gazette.com