Univ. of Colorado AD Rick George on Thursday said that the school has "already raised more than half" of the $50M needed to begin work on a $143M facilities project later this spring, according to a front-page piece by Kyle Ringo of the Boulder DAILY CAMERA. George: "We've got a good, solid vision for where we want to go, and I think people are wanting to invest." He said that CU "has more than 50 gifts committed and documented," and added that most of the money "has come from people who have donated to the athletic department in the past." George said that several former athletes "have committed to making major gifts as well." The CU athletic department prior to this has "never raised" more than $15M in one year. George said that his predecessor, new Cincinnati AD Mike Bohn, "had raised some of the money for the project, but the majority of it has been raised since August." The CU Board of Regents in December approved George's plan for $143M in facilities upgrades "in and around Folsom Field" and required that about $50M be "raised before construction can begin." George has maintained that he has a "goal of beginning construction this spring or early this summer with a target date for finishing the project" in early fall '15 (Boulder DAILY CAMERA, 2/7).
