New Univ. of Colorado AD Rick George began his position yesterday, and said that the next 30 days will be "about meeting as many people as possible and listening," according to a front-page piece by Kyle Ringo of the Boulder DAILY CAMERA. George added that he should have a "good feel for the department and most of its issues in 90 days." George at that point "hopes to assemble a group of 20-30 people to put together a long-term strategic plan for the department." He said that the group will "include coaches, student-athletes, staffers, alumni, faculty and donors." George said that he hopes to "have that strategic plan completed by April 1." Ringo writes fundraising is "obviously a top priority." There is no deadline to raise $50M of the $170M CU plans to spend on athletics facilities improvements, but George said that he "believes he and his team can raise the $50 million by Dec. 1." George: "If you don't have a goal of going to a certain point, then you're just kicking the can down the road and we don't want to kick the can down the road. We need to start doing these things. If we're going to have facilities raised by 2015, we need to have that money by the end of this year, and then some." George said that he believes the department has "already secured some of the money, but he didn't say how much." George plans to "meet with the entire athletic department staff" today. He said that he "hasn't reviewed all the plans for facilities upgrades but plans to do that" today as well. George said that the fact that the "bulk of his senior staff has worked together for much of the past eight years will be a big help to him in making the transition" (Boulder DAILY CAMERA, 8/13).
