Baker Named Associate Athletic DirectorĚý
DaWon Baker began work as Colorado’s first associate athletic director for diversity, equity and inclusion in May 2021. A past participant in CU’s Inclusive Sports Summit, Baker is charged with aligning CU Athletics with ongoing inclusivity efforts. Athletic Director Rick George said Baker will be “present at our practices, games and in our facilities” as an accessible and welcoming leader.Ěý
A St. Louis native, Baker believes the 2014 shooting of Michael Brown in nearby Ferguson was a turning point in his career.
“I saw how the tragic event of Michael’s death affected the world and my own campus,” he said.“For the first time, I saw that there was a strategy to creating inclusive cultures, and that drove me to learn about diversity and inclusion in sport.”Ěý
Buffs Bits
Two-time Olympian and long-distance runner Kara Goucher (Psych’01) [pictured above] was named to the NBC Olympics broadcasting team in May for the U.S. Track and Field Olympic Trials and the Olympic Games in Tokyo.
ł§°ěľ±ľ±˛Ô˛µâ€™s Cassidy Gray (IntPhys’24) won the 2021 individual NCAA Championship in the women’s giant slalom. Gray was joined on the podium by Stef Fleckenstein (Comm’22), who finished second at March’s championships in New Hampshire.Ěý
Mya Hollingshed (Comm’22) was selected honorable mention All America by the Women’s Basketball Coaches Association April 3. Hollingshed will return for a fifth season in 2021–22.
Buffs soccer (9-6-2) reached the NCAA Tournament for the second straight season before being eliminated 1-0 by South Alabama in an April 27 first-round match.Ěý
Despite a career-high six goals from Sadie Grozier (Mktg’21), CU lacrosse (8-7) lost to No.13 Stanford 17-10 in the Pac-12 Tournament championship game May 8.
Skier Magnus Boee (CivEngr’23), football’s Jerek Broussard (Ethn’23) and basketball’s McKinley Wright IV (Ethn’21) tied for male athlete of the year, while track and field’s Sage Hurta (ChemBioEngr’21) unanimously won female athlete of the year at the 21st annual CU Sports Performers of the Year (CUSPY) Awards in May.Ěý
Coach Talk
I can’t wait to get my hands dirty and to raise the level of college ski racing to heights never seen before.”
Ěý— Head ski coach Andy LeRoy (Fin’03), who previously led the University of Denver to six NCAA championships over 15 seasons.
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