Colorado Buffaloes football The Colorado Buffaloes football program represents the University of Colorado at Boulder in college football at the NCAA Division I FBS level . The team is currently a member of the Pacific - 12 Conference , having previously been a charter member of the Big 12 Conference . Before joining the Big 12 , they were members of the Big Eight Conference . The football team has played at Folsom Field since 1924 . The Buffs all - time record is 674 - 452 - 36 ( . 600 winning percentage ) through the finish of the 2011 season . The football program is 16th on the all - time win list and 22nd in all - time winning percentage . The football team also has the distinction of being the all - time NCAA leader in 4th down conversions . They are one of two NCAA Division I teams to complete a 5th down conversion ( the other being Cornell ) . This was a result of a snafu by the officials and happened on a play displayed by chaincrew as the 4th down . History . Beginning in 1890 , Colorado football has enjoyed much success throughout its 120 + years of competitive play . The Buffaloes have won numerous bowl games ( 27 appearances in bowl games ( 12 – 15 ) , 23rd ( tied ) all - time prior to 2004 season ) , 8 Colorado Football Association Championships ( 1894 – 97 , 1901 – 08 ) , Colorado Faculty Athletic Conference ( 1909 ) , 7 RFMAC Championships ( 1911 , 1913 , 1923 , 1924 , 1934 , 1935 , 1937 ) , 4 Mountain States Conference Championships ( 1939 , 1942 – 1944 ) , 5 Big Eight conference championships ( 1961 , 1976 , 1989 , 1990 , 1991 ) , 1 Big 12 conference championship ( 2001 ) , 4 Big 12 North Division Championships ( 2001 , 2002 , 2004 , 2005 ) , and a National Championship ( 1990 - Associated Press ) . Folsom Field was built in 1924 , and since then , Colorado has a 283 – 146 – 14 record at home . The road game against the Nebraska Cornhuskers on November 24 , 2006 was Colorado ' s 1 , 100th football game . The following was taken from the " Silver & Gold " newspaper of December 16 , 1898 . It was a recollection of the birth of Colorado football written by one of CU ’ s original gridders , John C . Nixon , also the school ’ s second captain . It appears here in its original form : 1990 National Champions . Colorado won its first and only National Championship in 1990 under the direction of head coach Bill McCartney ( 1982 – 1994 ) . However , they split the title with Georgia Tech who won the United Press International Coaches Poll , whereas Colorado won the Associated Press and Football Writers Association of America polls . The largest arguments against Colorado were that they had a loss and a tie , whereas Georgia Tech had a tie and no losses , and Colorado ' s " unfair " win in the Fifth Down Game against Missouri . The major argument for Colorado was they played a more difficult schedule than Georgia Tech ( http : / / www . jhowell . net / cf / cf1990 . htm ) . Colorado capped the season with a win over Notre Dame in the Orange Bowl , 10 – 9 , a rematch of the 1989 season Orange Bowl game which Notre Dame won 21 – 6 . Colorado ' s tie came against Tennessee , who was ranked number 8 , the first week of the season when Colorado was ranked number 5 . The second week gave the Buffs a scare , scoring with 12 seconds left in the game on a 4th and Goal attempt . The next week gave Colorado its only loss of the season , losing 23 – 22 to Illinois and dropping Colorado to number 20 in the polls . Colorado then went on to beat teams ranked ( at the time ) # 22 Texas , # 12 Washington , # 22 Oklahoma , and # 3 Nebraska . They ended the season 7 – 0 in the Big Eight Conference for the second season in the row . They then capped the season with a win over Notre Dame who were number 1 until a loss their last game of the regular season . Move to the Pac - 10 . On June 10 , 2010 , the Colorado Buffaloes accepted an invitation to become the 11th member of the Pacific - 12 Conference . The move represented the first expansion of the Pacific - 10 Conference since it added Arizona and Arizona State in 1978 . The Buffaloes will play as a member of the Pacific - 12 Conference beginning with the 2011 season . Moving from the Big 12 to the Pac - 12 will not stop the Colorado vs Colorado State rivalry . This rivalry game will continue to be played through the 2020 season . The rivalry game with the Colorado State Rams will be played at Sports Authority Field in Denver until 2019 . Head coaches . The Buffaloes have played in 1 , 139 games during their 120 seasons . In those seasons , nine coaches have led Colorado to postseason bowl game s : Bunny Oakes , Dallas Ward , Bud Davis , Eddie Crowder , Bill Mallory , Bill McCartney , Rick Neuheisel , Gary Barnett , and Dan Hawkins . Nine coaches have won conference championships with the Buffaloes : Fred Folsom , Myron Witham , William Saunders , Oakes , Jim Yeager , Sonny Grandelius , Mallory , McCartney , and Barnett . McCartney is the all - time leader in games coached , with 153 , and total wins , with 93 . Folsom had the longest tenure as head coach , remaining in the position for 15 seasons . Harry Heller and Willis Keinholtz are tied for the highest overall winning percentage . Each served a single season and won eight of his nine games for a winning percentage of . 889 . Of coaches who served more than one season , Folsom leads with a . 765 winning percentage . Davis is , in terms of overall winning percentage , the worst coach the Buffaloes have had with a . 200 winning percentage . No Colorado coach has been inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame . McCartney is the only coach to have won national coach of the year honors , with all of them coming in 1989 . Barnett won conference coach of the year honors in 2001 and 2004 . The most recent coach , Dan Hawkins , was hired in December 2005 . After accumulating a disappointing record of 19 - 39 through most of five seasons , Hawkins ' dismissal was announced on Nov 9th , 2010 . Longtime Buffaloes linebackers coach , Brian Cabral , served as interim coach for the 2010 season ' s final three games . Awards . Heisman Trophy . [ [ File : Rashaan Salaam - Heisman whitebg . JPG | thumb | right | Rashaan Salaam ' s Heisman Trophy ] ] [ [ Rashaan Salaam ] ] won Colorado ' s only [ [ Heisman Trophy ] ] in 1994 , though the Buffaloes have had many other players receive votes : All - Americans . The following is a list of Consensus All - Americans from CU as listed in NCAA record books . Colorado ' s All - Century Team 1890 - 1989 . " Taken from the 2005 Colorado Football Media Guide : " The University of Colorado selected an “ All - Century Football Team , ” as public balloting in 1989 tabbed 11 All - Americans among the top 25 selected to the 100 - year squad . Over 6 , 200 ballots were received in the public selection process , with over 150 , 000 votes cast from those ballots . Former CU players pared a list of 881 lettermen down to 118 , which were in turn presented to the public for the final team selection . Byron “ Whizzer ” White , the U . S . Supreme Court Justice who was CU ’ s first All - American ( 1937 ) , received 5 , 812 of a possible 6 , 265 votes . Bobby Anderson , who starred at both quarterback and tailback between 1967 and 1969 , was the second leading vote - getter with 5 , 636 , and two - way - star Joe Romig , who led CU to its first outright Big Eight Championship in 1961 , was third with 5 , 145 . White ( # 24 ) , Anderson ( # 11 ) and Romig ( # 67 ) are the only Buffs to ever have their numbers retired . One other player topped the 5 , 000 vote mark , as flashy Cliff Branch , whose name still frequently appears in the CU record book and who played a big part in the Buffs ’ No . 3 national ranking of 1971 , captured 5 , 111 votes . The player with the fifth most votes , 3 , 989 , was the only active Buff at the time to make the top 25 , tailback Eric Bieniemy ( a junior in 1989 ) . Joining White , Anderson and Romig as All - Americans on the century squad were Dick Anderson ( ’ 67 ) , Pete Brock ( ’ 75 ) , Mark Haynes ( ’ 79 ) , Dave Logan ( ’ 75 ) , Herb Orvis ( ’ 71 ) and Bob Stransky ( ’ 57 ) . Four players in the early years of CU football made the team , led by Walt Franklin , who played center and end between 1917 and 1921 . Back Lee Willard ( ’ 21 ) , Judge Hatfield Chilson ( ’ 25 ) and guard Bill McGlone ( ’ 26 ) round out the quartet which represents the formative seasons of CU football , when the team was known as the “ Silver and Gold . ” Other familiar names on the team include Hale Irwin , who starred at defensive back in the mid - 1960s but gained his fame on the PGA Tour ; John Stearns , another pivotal player of the 1971 team who went on to be a star catcher with the New York Mets ; Dave Logan , a veteran of 10 - plus NFL seasons and current sportstalk celebrity in Denver ; Carroll Hardy , who played in the early 1950s and is the only man ever to pinch - hit for Ted Williams ; and John Wooten , one of the first African - American players at CU who has spent several years in the scouting departments of the NFL Dallas Cowboys and Philadelphia Eagles . Listed below are the 25 members of the University of Colorado All - Century ( 1890 – 1989 ) Football Team , selected by lettermen and the public over a three - month voting period . Retired numbers . # 24 Byron " Whizzer " White . Colorado ’ s first All - American and one of the greatest students in the history of the school , Byron ( Whizzer ) White , retired as a justice of the [ [ Supreme Court of the United States | Supreme Court ] ] in March 1993 , after serving 31 years on the nation ’ s high court . White made all the All - America teams after a brilliant 1937 season in which he led CU to an 8 - 0 record and [ [ Cotton Bowl Classic ] ] bid as he set national records with 1 , 121 rushing yards and 122 points . Those marks , erased nationally only after colleges went to 10 - and 11 - game schedules , set CU records . White was a [ [ Phi Beta Kappa ] ] , [ [ Rhodes Scholar ] ] , two - time All - Pro halfback with the [ [ Pittsburgh Steelers ] ] and [ [ Detroit Lions ] ] , leading graduate of the [ [ Yale ] ] Law School in 1946 , decorated naval intelligence officer in World War II , leading Denver attorney , and deputy attorney general for the United States . White is a member of the [ [ NFL ] ] Hall - of - Fame , the National Football Foundation ’ s College Football Hall - of - Fame , the GTE Academic Hall - of - Fame , and was selected to CU ’ s All - Century Team . In 1998 , he was the first inductee into CU ’ s Athletic Hall - of - Fame . He died at the age of 84 on April 15 , 2002 . # 67 Joe Romig . Romig was a two - time All - American selection , a member of the [ [ Big Eight Conference | Big Eight ] ] Hall - of - Fame and the National Football Foundation ’ s College Football Hall of Fame . As of 2004 , a senior research associate in radio physics in Boulder , Romig was the Buffs ’ 1961 team captain and the United Press International Lineman of the year . Romig had no peers as a linebacker , as he ranged far and fiercely from his middle linebacker position behind a four - man line . Fast and strong , he was consistently in on most of CU ’ s tackles . Offensively , Romig developed into an excellent straight - ahead and pulling blocker . Like White , he was an inspirational leader gifted with extraordinary physical and mental abilities . Romig was an excellent student , earning all A ’ s his last six semesters and a 3 . 9 grade - point average . As a [ [ Rhodes Scholar ] ] , Joe received his master ’ s degree in physics at [ [ Oxford University ] ] and a doctorate in physics at Colorado in 1975 . # 11 Bobby Anderson . Anderson set 18 single - game , single - season and career marks during his three - season career with the Buffs along with earning All - Big Eight and All - American honors . A professional player with the [ [ Denver Broncos ] ] ( the team ’ s No . 1 draft choice ) , [ [ Washington Redskins ] ] and [ [ New England Patriots ] ] , Anderson started his CU career as a quarterback but switched to tailback for the third game during his senior season ( 1969 ) . In his career , he rushed for 2 , 729 yards and had over 5 , 000 yards in total offense . Anderson concluded his Colorado career with a 254 - yard rushing effort in the 1969 [ [ Liberty Bowl ] ] . As of 2004 , he is a Denver - area businessman , and has worked over two decades for [ [ KOA ( AM ) | KOA ] ] - Radio handling pre - and postgame shows as well as sideline reporting on the CU Football Network . He is a member of CU ’ s All - Century Team . In 1999 , he received the University Medal , awarded to those who have performed outstanding service to or for the University . National Play - of - the - Year . In 1992 , Nu Skin International and CoSIDA started sponsorship of " The National Play - of - the - Year , " honoring the most outstanding play annually in college football . [ [ Notre Dame Fighting Irish football | Notre Dame ] ] won the inaugural honor in 1992 , but the University of Colorado won for both the 1993 and 1994 seasons . Here ’ s a closer look at CU ’ s winning plays : 1993 . October 16 : Colorado 27 , [ [ Oklahoma Sooners football | Oklahoma ] ] 10 [ [ Lamont Warren ] ] throws a 34 - yard touchdown pass to [ [ Charles Johnson ( wide receiver ) | Charles Johnson ] ] on the halfback option play . What made it special ? Warren slipped on the slick artificial surface as he threw the ball , and some 40 yards later in the end zone , Johnson made the catch on the ground after he was interfered with . The play defied imagination , and is truly appreciated when looked at in slow motion . 1994 . September 24 : Colorado 27 , [ [ 1994 Michigan Wolverines football team | Michigan ] ] 26 College football ’ s play of the decade , this effort also won an [ [ ESPY Award ] ] from [ [ ESPN ] ] for the play of the year for college football in 1995 . As time expired , [ [ Kordell Stewart ] ] threw a 64 - yard touchdown pass to [ [ Michael Westbrook ] ] , who made the catch after a Blake Anderson deflection . CU had trailed 26 – 14 with under four minutes remaining , and trailed by five with 15 seconds left on its own 15 - yard line after stopping Michigan on defense . External links . [ [ Category : Colorado Buffaloes football | * ] ] [ [ Category : Sports clubs established in 1890 ] ]