Must Attend CSU Fall Events – Paul’s Top 5 [PHOTOS, INTERVIEW]

I love when the students return to Fort Collins! They bring such a youthful exuberance with them. When I was in college, we called it the best four (or five and a half, in my case) years of our life. While I'm so thankful I was way off on that sentiment, I do enjoy when another fall semester convenes. I'm not even Alumni and I take part in many CSU events. So, here are my top 5 CSU events you MUST ATTEND this fall, in no particular order.

Volleyball game at Moby Arena

The Rams Volleyball team has long been the shining gem of CSU athletics. They are consistently ranked in the top 20 in the nation and find their way to the top 10 on a regular basis. Moby Arena smacks of energy during every game. The educated and loyal fans know the players by their first names. They cheer the successes and, sometimes, scold the mistakes. Highly ranked programs visit on a regular basis but they never come in with anything resembling overconfidence. The Baylor’s, CU’s, and Nebraska’s of the world know that the Rams are a tough team year in and out, and they are toughest on their home court. Everyone knows that football programs receive the most money, but if the money went where the success consistently was, Rams Volleyball would have most of it. See a game this year, you will love it!

I was lucky enough to have Megan Plourde Preseason Conference Player of the Year 2011 join me, she hits hard on the court and in the interview. She tells us about ‘Moby Magic’…

We call it Moby Magic because the fans bring such excitement and energy to the gym and we always have big crowds!

Football game at Hughes Stadium

The Rams football program hasn’t fared as well as some of the Green and Gold faithful may have hoped in the past few years. But hey, you can’t count success just by number of wins and losses! Just playing at Sonny Lubick Field at Hughes Stadium is a success. When you go, try to reserve seats on the east side of the stadium near the student section. From the upper part of the seating on the east side, during lulls in the game, you can gaze at the very start of one of the world’s most magnificent mountain ranges. This is a beautiful stadium.

Other idea – See my blog about the Top 5 Fort Collins Trails…if you don’t get tickets, you can actually enjoy parts of the game from nearby trails. While you can’t see into the field, you can feel the ambience while on a beautiful hike through the foothills of the Rocky Mountains.

Cans Around the Oval

Cans Around the Oval is a long running tradition at CSU. The Oval is the beautiful tree lined area at Howes and Laurel St. Cans around the Oval happens when the students of CSU get together with the rest of the community to collect money and food for the Food Bank for Larimer County, and to raise awareness about hunger in our communities. One of the most interesting parts is ‘Canstruction’. Participants take the food they have collected and build them into interesting structures in the plaza at Lory Student Center. It’s obvious that some engineers are involved in some of the incredible structures!

Homecoming Parade

The CSU Homecoming Parade is a celebration of all that is great about Fort Collins, and is definitely in the Top 5 CSU Events this fall. Local businesses, civic organizations, clubs and churches all come out to show off and have some fun. The Parade traipses through Old Town and into the heart of campus with the onlookers having more fun than those in the parade. Alumni look with pride on the new students at CSU and everyone gets excited about the Rams Homecoming Game.

CSU Ag Day

Colorado State University was founded to study the agricultural prospects of this area back when the actual town of Fort Collins was just taking shape. We're talking about the old, Wild West here. CSU Ag Day celebrates that tradition and if you are looking to knock all 5 of the things on the Top 5 CSU Events this fall off the list, well, Ag Day is Sept. 10 before the game against University of Northern Colorado. It's a barbecue and celebration of all things Ag  outside Moby Arena. The invite on their website puts it this way...

Come join in the festivities as Colorado agricultural growers and producers prepare Colorado's greatest outdoor barbecue before the kickoff of the Rams' first home football game against the University of Northern Colorado Bears.

Folks, we have such an incredible community, and much of that community involves Colorado State University. Not on this list are the multitude of Arts events, special speakers that the University brings to town and much, much more. To check out all of the events CSU offers, just click here.