Sean Carlson Cuts HALF of the Colorado Roster

So no you don’t want to elaborate. Got it. Well obviously you must be right

They deserve every bit of scrutiny if that's how it went down. That's pathetic.

And, for the people who say "it's a business," okay, sure! Is it "good business" to completely abandon the ethos that made people fans of your program in the first place? Is it "good business" to try to build local support for a team of hired guns, rather than a bunch of home-grown kids? I'm selling CU stock and buying CSU/Air Force/Mines.

There was a simple solution that several athletic department staff put forth, and was ignored by Hilliard/George --

Let everyone stay (just as their contracts provided); Carlson explains to team that we have a roster limit for 2025. As a result, after this XC season, or after track in the spring, use the portal if it is likely that you won't be in the top 17.

That gives everyone time to figure out their best plan. It costs CU next to nothing (these are all lower scholarship guys).

Another problem I've not mentioned is that since all these guys were under a contract to be on the team, they signed leases, etc for housing this year. Boulder is expensive. I know of very few college students that can handle two leases if they chose to enter the portal and move. Maybe they can sub-lease, but that's risky.

In the meantime, if Carlson gets a bunch of transfers from TN, then perhaps it becomes more difficult for existing CU runners to make the 17... but they are not under the gun to make an immediate decision.

More proof that Hilliard, George, and the CU athletic department has little regard for athletes.

Was everyone on this list cut, or did some choose to enter the portal of their own volition? It is hard to fathom cutting NCAA prelim round qualifiers, varsity XC guys, etc. while, presumably (as they are not on this list), not cutting others on the team with far worse performances/credentials.

Why would they leave so closely together if they weren’t cut?

It’s obvious that he cut guys who are on scholarship to free up $$ to bring people in now before the semester starts so they can actually have a decent team this fall.

Those who were removed from the roster will be able to keep their aid, but it won’t count against his 12.6 limit for this year and beyond.

Not to figure out. If there were non scholarship athletes on that list then he obviously thought they weren’t good enough to make a difference and is freeing up resources (time, budget, etc).

Charlie Welch, an academic senior, was cut despite being a scorer for the Buffs in the past. On the contrary, Lucas Haug and Charlie Robertson are also academic seniors and were retained despite not having contributed points wise.

curious have any UT runners followed Carlson to Colorado? I know it's still early on, but usually when a coach moves to a new college, some former players will always follow.

Were any women cut? Was there some legal agreement reached to build up the women’s team, so money had to be cut from the men’s side?

Sorry if I missed it, but any changes on the woman's side? Latest status with Cook?

Seems all too like the Shea Foster situation at OSU. My heat goes out to the 9 CU buffalos and Shea Foster.

Carlson isn't on the payroll yet. He can't cut anyone. This entire thread is fictional.

THIS - I get the push to be competitive and field a team that can do better at nationals than the last years team. However as a parent of an athlete I cannot imagine the nightmare this is to deal with a year lease that has been signed and as most of you who have kids know they are ridiculously difficult to get out of.. Moving last minute and having to apply to other schools in August when classes for many start this month. I happen to know Wetmore released some athletes already last Spring when he informed them they didn't have a spot on the team for this Fall so the roster will be even smaller than what losing these 9 show. At least those kids had a chance to use the summer to figure out what their plan is.

I agree. This is just heartbreaking. I don't understand how they can treat the kids this way. They are going to lose alumni and community support for this program. And for those who keep calling it a business, this is behavior is a huge turn off to donors, so it is bad for business. Winning isn't everything. There needs to be a human component to it. We want to support a program that we believe to be good. You can WIN and be good. These tactics are incredibly short sighted.

Scholarships are never obvious. I know a guy who placed top 8 at nationals in track and he is on no scholarship.

I am a big critic of Prime but he has done more to make CU football relevant that any coach since Neuheisel (and really McCarthy).

It is expected that a new coach would make some changes in personnel. That by itself is unfortunate but par for the course. But I absolutely agree that the timing of the decision seems to have given little to no consideration for how deeply this would impact the young men who were affected by the decision. Pretty egregious, if true.

Colorado is a top tier program. To beat the best you have to have quality runners. Doesn't matter who runs Colorado the school is expecting a competitive team and he has to set the standard out of the gate

Hello, OP.

Don’t worry, the world will go on, and most people are focused on their own issues.

This is a sad truth you’ll learn in life, people are never thinking about you as much as you’d like them to.