Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one gets the prize? Run in such a way as to get the prize.1 Corinthians 9:24 (NIV)
Colorado Christian University is home to more than 240 athletes who compete in 15 NCAA Division II sports as part of the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference (RMAC), one of the most competitive conferences in the country. Our teams have risen to the challenge, competitively holding their own nationally in track and field, cross country, golf, and softball, with baseball and soccer increasingly competitive within the RMAC as well.
However, CCU has accomplished this with sub-par facilities that have contributed to scheduling challenges, safety concerns, and increasing hesitancy by other RMAC schools to compete on our resources. CCU's property located northeast of Alameda Avenue and Kipling Street — less than one mile from campus — provides the University the opportunity to create a quality athletics venue that will include a dedicated soccer field, softball field, all-weather track, practice field, and athletics pavilion.
Not only will this facility eliminate scheduling and accessibility conflicts and enhance safety for our current student-athletes, but it will also allow us to expand our high-performing student-athlete population, aiding in recruitment and the caliber of our teams.
Above all things, this complex will serve as a venue for our "Audience of One" to be glorified, magnified, and honored as CCU student-athletes use their gifts and talents to compete and make God known in the pathways that our Lord has set before them.
Creating a critically needed athletics complex to facilitate and foster multiple sports demonstrates that CCU athletics is here to go the distance.CCU President Eric Hogue
In June 2023, CCU launched a capital campaign to raise the funds needed to build the new athletics complex that will transform Cougar Athletics by providing a permanent home for seven teams and directly affecting nearly 180 student-athletes. An anonymous donor provided the lead gift of $2.5 million, the largest single gift in CCU Athletics history.
While baseball will remain at its off-campus home at nearby All-Star Park, the new softball field will eliminate accessibility and scheduling conflicts between baseball and softball and remove the need to set up and tear down for each.
This artificial-turf softball field will be the first dedicated home for CCU's women's softball team, which captured back-to-back RMAC championships in 2021-22 and 2022-23.
Despite having the strongest-performing men's and women's soccer teams in University history, CCU athletics continues to face obstacles in the arena of player safety. The currently leased local school district stadium (Trailblazer game field) has older turf that does not meet the requirements for NCAA competition.
The new competitive, collegiate, synthetic turf soccer field will serve the NCAA men's and women's soccer teams and the entire student body for intramurals and activities.
CCU track and field athletes have been practicing off-campus for nearly a decade at Jefferson County Stadium. Due to Jeffco staffing constraints, access for CCU student-athletes is extremely limited to a daytime schedule that often conflicts with classes during the week and poses a navigational challenge during weekends and spring.
The new four-lane, all-weather surface track — complete with jump pits — will facilitate training CCU's men's and women's cross country and track & field athletes.
The practice field will serve over 180 CCU soccer, track, softball, golf, and baseball athletes, along with over 400 CCU students who participate in intramurals.
The new facility will create expanded use opportunities for our individual student-athletes to reach their peak performance capabilities, and it promotes more year-round training, yielding stronger competitors. It also provides accessibility for CCU students involved with intramurals.
A new athletics pavilion will provide game-day locker rooms for home and visiting teams, a concession area, public restrooms, a press box on the field, storage areas, and office space.
At CCU athletics, our goal is to be competitive, character-filled, and committed to excellence while mentoring the spiritual development of each student-athlete, producing CCU Cougar athletes who lead Christ-centered lives inside and outside the arenas of competition. We owe our student-athletes and the coaches who pour into them the tools they need to excel.
Student-athletes face many scheduling challenges — between classes, practices, and games. With the new athletics facility, scheduling conflicts will be greatly reduced due to the flexibility that CCU will have in scheduling both practices and games. The installation of lighting, and the ability to remove snow when necessary, will further expand athlete accessibility.
CCU athletics continues to face significant obstacles in the arena of player safety for its soccer teams, and multiple RMAC teams have expressed their hesitance to compete against CCU under existing conditions. The proposed athletic facilities project would begin with an artificial turf collegiate soccer field. Owning our own facilities means maintenance and upkeep will be ensured in all seasons, providing a high-quality, competitively safe facility for CCU student-athletes to train and compete.
A focal point of being a great university is our dedication to excellence in athletics. Creating space that belongs to our student-athletes that is dedicated to their athletic skills, where they can be together and build community as teams, promotes a healthier culture and highly skilled athletes. CCU student-athletes will have more opportunities to develop as individuals and devote themselves to excellence in their giftings, which contributes to better teams.
Thriving athletic programs reinforce a strong sense of community. Given the proximity to campus, the new venue will be more inviting for CCU students to come and support student-athletes. In addition, the facility can be used for community outreach, enabling CCU to host community events, run camps and clinics for multiple sports, as well as launch a sports-based Character Academy for underserved youth in the local Lakewood community led by CCU student-athletes. This is a way for CCU to invest in the community and provide opportunities for student-athletes to exercise their athletic and leadership skills.
The new athletic facility is a significant growth opportunity for the entire University. It gives us the ability to recruit higher-level athletes. It communicates that the University values its student-athletes. Providing a complex where incoming students feel they will be able to continue to grow in their sport will help us expand our student-athlete population.
bwall@ccu.edu
303-963-3180
CCU already does so many things with excellence. The spiritual culture is extremely strong; the biblical integration is outstanding. Academically, we're rigorous and perpetually improving. But there is still work to do when it comes to investing in our athletics. It's time to take the next step forward into athletic excellence.
The new athletic facility will not only grow our program and roster size with the recruitment of high-performance academic students, but it will allow our student-athletes to have the experience of excellence in every area of campus, which they so greatly deserve.
agrogan@ccu.edu
303-963-3139
I ask that you would prayerfully consider investing in CCU's mission to empower student-athletes to grow spiritually, mentally, emotionally, and athletically, helping us make this facility and field of dreams a reality. Together, help us be a great university as we advance in excelling in all aspects of athletics, providing further opportunities for our student-athletes to honor Jesus Christ, our audience of One.
Complete the online giving form or click on the link below to donate through your Donor Advised Fund.
Everyone who competes in the games goes into strict training. They do it to get a crown that will not last, but we do it to get a crown that will last forever.1 Corinthians 9:25 (NIV)
CCU accepts a variety of gift types, including cash, stocks, real estate, legacy giving, and more.
Contact University Advancement for assistance with questions, donations, and legacy planning.
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Colorado Christian University is a 501(c)(3) tax-exempt organization. CCU's tax ID number is 84-0442429.
View CCU's Capital Gift Administrative Allowance and Endowment Gift Administrative Allowance Policies.