CU Athletic Director Mike Bohn

On behalf of the University of Colorado Department of Intercollegiate Athletics, I want to extend my heartfelt appreciation to our faculty, staff, students, fans and alumni for all your hard work, flexibility and sacrifices in helping us host West Virginia University at Folsom Field on Thursday night.

The Buffaloes engineered an exciting 17-14 win over No. 21 West Virginia before a national TV audience, showcasing our beautiful university.

Plainly, we couldn't have done it without you. Our campus and community leaders have again collectively proven themselves to be champions by showing that we can host a unique major campus event like a nationally televised game against a tough opponent, and make it happen with very few glitches.

I believe this game serves as a true rallying point and enriches our campus life in a number of ways.

It brings valuable national exposure to campus for a fun activity in a family atmosphere. It brings visitors to campus and aids in recruiting both resident and non-resident students. It helps our department to achieve financial success to help fund all 16 sports to include the capital investments we have made in the fan experience at Folsom Field. It gives our students the chance to socialize with one another and to become bonded to CU forever more as future alumni.

Finally, our loyal alumni across the country and the globe reconnect with the institution through their TV sets.

I recognize that this opportunity is not without cost: naturally, there was some disruption to the work of some faculty and the academic schedules of some students, and measures such as the early closure of campus buildings and the migration of some staff off of campus in the early afternoon were all changes in routine and, in some cases, were outright inconveniences.

Again, we are all grateful for your help in making these adjustments to the regular campus routine, and I am confident that, due to your investment in this endeavor, we will enhance the institution's enterprise.

In closing, please accept my thanks for all that you do every day to make our university a national leader in so many areas.

And, of course, go Buffs!

Michael R. Bohn is director of intercollegiate athletics at the University of Colorado at Boulder.