Colorado State Rams football The Colorado State Rams football program , established in 1893 , represents Colorado State University and is a member of the National Collegiate Athletic Association ( NCAA ) Division I Football Bowl Subdivision and Mountain West Conference ( MWC ) under head coach Jim McElwain , previously Alabama ' s Offensive Coordinator . Rams football teams have met with relative success over the years , including winning or sharing the Mountain West title in 1999 , 2000 and 2002 . Overall , the Rams are 473 – 521 – 33 ( . 477 ) ( 473 wins , 521 losses , and 33 ties ) , and are 5 – 7 in bowl game s . Home games have been played at Sonny Lubick Field at Hughes Stadium , located four miles west of the school ' s campus in the foothills of the Rocky Mountains , since 1968 . The Rams have long - standing rivalries with Colorado , Wyoming , and Air Force . History . Colorado State football goes back 115 seasons , and experienced its most successful run in the 15 seasons under head coach Sonny Lubick ( 1993 – 2007 ) . During their history , the Rams have played in five different conferences . Success under Sonny Lubick . Since Sonny Lubick took control over the Rams as head coach in 1993 , the Rams have made nine bowl appearances . CSU had only two previous bowl appearances . Lubick won nearly 75 % of home games in the stadium that would later bear his name , leading the team to six conference titles and an overall record of 108 - 74 . CSU was consistently a top 25 contender from 1994 – 2002 , with a 79 - 32 record during that period and 3 top 25 finishes . Lubick , conference coach of the year four times , coached former Denver Broncos Cecil Sapp and current Buffalo Bills offensive tackle Erik Pears , and all - pro NFL linebacker Joey Porter . Fairchild Era . On November 27 , 2007 , following significant drops in attendance and a 17 – 30 record over the past 4 seasons , including 3 – 9 in 2007 , CSU made the difficult and controversial decision to relieve Lubick of his head coaching duties . The school hired Buffalo Bills offensive coordinator Steve Fairchild to take the helm . Fairchild was a Rams quarterback from 1978 – 80 , and served under Lubick as quarterback ' s coach and later as offensive coordinator from 1993 – 2000 . The Rams finished the regular season in fourth place in the Mountain West Conference and accepted a bid to the 2008 New Mexico Bowl on December 20 , where they defeated the Fresno State Bulldogs . After the early success , the Rams had three 3 - 9 seasons under Fairchild . At the end of his fourth season with Colorado State , Fairchild was fired by Athletic Director Jack Graham . McElwain Era . On December 12 , 2011 Graham hired the National Champion Alabama Crimson Tide ' s veteran offensive coordinator Jim McElwain to replace Fairchild as CSU ' s head coach . McElwain ' s tenure started on a high note thanks to CSU ' s 22 - 17 comeback win over arch - rival Colorado on September 1 , 2012 . McElwain became the first CSU coach since Jerry Wampfler in 1970 to win his first game and the first in school history to win his debut against CU . The Rams finished 4 - 8 in McElwain ' s first year . Bowl Results . The CSU Rams ' first bowl game was the California Raisin Bowl January 1 , 1949 against Occidental College . The Rams lost the game 21 - 20 despite a tremendous performance from Left Half Eddie Hanna . Under the coaching of Earle Bruce , Sonny Lubick and Steve Fairchild , the CSU Rams have gone to a total of eleven bowl games since the 1990 football season . Under Sonny Lubick , the CSU Rams played in their two of their biggest bowl games to date . The first was the 1997 Holiday Bowl 35 – 24 victory over the Missouri Tigers while the second was the 2000 Liberty Bowl 22 – 17 victory over the Louisville Cardinals . During both of these winning seasons , the CSU Rams were ranked in the top 25 football teams by both the Coaches Poll and the AP Poll . In the first season under new head coach Steve Fairchild , the CSU Rams were able to beat the Fresno State 40 – 25 in the 2008 New Mexico Bowl . During this game , running back Gartrell Johnson rushed for over 286 yards and received five passes for 90 yards setting a record for the second most all - purpose yards ever in a single FBS bowl game . Rivalries . Rocky Mountain Showdown . Eight times since 1998 , Colorado State and in - state rival Colorado have faced one another in the Rocky Mountain Showdown , an annual football battle held in Denver at Sports Authority Field at Mile High . The rivalry started in 1893 and was played annually until 1958 . After being resurrected in 1984 , the game moved to Denver in 1998 . Since moving to Sports Authority Field at Mile High , the teams have consistently played before the largest crowds in state history to witness a college sporting event . On August 31 , 2009 , Colorado State and Colorado signed a 10 - year contract extension of the Rocky Mountain Showdown which will bring the game back to Sports Authority Field at Mile High from 2010 to 2019 . The game is scheduled to be played at Hughes Stadium in 2020 . Border War . The Colorado State – Wyoming football rivalry between CSU and Wyoming – the longest rivalry in each school ' s history – dates back to 1893 . Since 1968 , the schools have battled for possession of the Bronze Boot traveling trophy . The bronzed battle boot was worn in Vietnam by CSU alumnus Dan Romero . Ram – Falcon Trophy . The Ram – Falcon Trophy originated in 1980 to highlight the rivalry between CSU and the U . S . Air Force Academy , located in Colorado Springs . The wood - carved trophy was produced by local artist Bill Wrage . The Air Force ROTC detachment on the CSU campus initiated the creation of the trophy . Logos and uniforms . Uniform colors for the period 2003 through 2010 are pictured below : References . 13 . http : / / www . denverpost . com / csu / ci _ 19534369