Taylor Stratton (EBio, EnvSt, Geog’13) is program manager for the Ralphie Live Mascot Program. In her role, she tends to Ralphie V and Ralphie VI and coaches the Ralphie Handlers, student athletes who help care for the buffaloes and run with Ralphie VI during events. She also manages Ralphie’s transportation and social media — basically, she said, “any and all things Ralphie related!” 

How soon after waking up do you look at your phone? 

Pretty immediately to see if anything came in when I was sleeping. 

Last person you called? 

Ryan Newman, CU’s director of athletic grounds. He and his team keep all of the grass beautiful, and I work with him to schedule practice times with Ralphie. 

Duration of longest call last week? 

One minute – I left a message for the man we buy hay for Ralphie from.

The main thing you use your phone for? 

I use my work phone for content creation, social media management, monitoring the weather, answering emails and talking to anybody for Ralphie-related things. My personal phone’s primary use is playing music. Ralphie VI is very familiar with the Turnpike Troubadours. 

Location/situation of last selfie? 

With Ralphie VI! She was being extra sweet and I caught her right as she was licking my face. 

Lock screen or background image? 

Baby Ralphie VI is the lock screen of my work phone. 

How many hours were you on your phone last week? 

More than I should have been! 

Oldest photo on your phone? 

The oldest photo on my personal phone is a picture of me, my horse and my grandparents when I was riding at the National Western Stock Show in 2008.

Phone model

iPhone XR with a black otterbox and screen protector

Most-Used Apps 

Perry Weather, Twitter, Outlook 

Most-Used Emoji 

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Photos courtesy Taylor Stratton 

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On April 23, CU football’s spring showcase took place in Folsom Field, giving fans a first look at the upcoming fall season. 

"I'm encouraged with where our defense is," Buffs head coach . "We have good depth and good experience, some young talent that's really going to help us play at a high level and sustain a high level throughout games." 

Ralphie VI also was present at the event, and delighted spectators with her first run of 2022. 

Photo by Jacob Mckinney

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New Alliance
The Pac-12, ACC and Big Ten — three of the nation’s Power Five athletic conferences — announced a handshake partnership Aug. 24. 

“There’s a lot going on in our industry,” CU Athletic Director Rick George said. “This alliance allows us to collaborate on these issues and bring stability to college athletics and the collegiate model.” 

Such issues include evolving NCAA legislation on name, image and likeness (NIL); the expected expansion of the College Football Playoff; and conference instability, notably Texas and Oklahoma leaving the Big 12 for the SEC (effective 2025). To start, the alliance will encourage more interconference scheduling, multi-team, single-site events featuring teams from all three conferences and increased national television exposure. 

With its 41 institutions united, the alliance could determine the future of the College Football Playoff, while also combining the resources of its research universities to improve student-athlete health and wellness. 

Buffs Bits
Ralphie VI debuted Sept. 3, leading the Buffs football team onto Folsom Field to face Northern Colorado. The Ralphie Live Mascot Program is funded entirely by private support from donors. … Anthony Pham, tennis associate head coach, was promoted to head coach on July 26. Pham is the seventh head coach in program history. … Men’s basketball went undefeated on its four-game exhibition tour of Costa Rica in August. The on-court highlight came against Selección de Baloncesto when Jabari Walker (ExSt’24) shattered the backboard on a dunk attempt in the third quarter. Without a replacement backboard, the game was called with CU ahead 68-54. … On Sept. 18 Buffs volleyball extended its school-record undefeated start to the season to nine matches, taking down rival Colorado State twice in a row. … Women’s golf’s Ellie Gower (A&S’23) finished runner-up at the English Women’s Open Amateur Stroke Play Championship Aug. 17-19 in Wallasey, United Kingdom.

Coach Talk
“The crowd was absolutely fantastic. This has been the best environment since I’ve been here in my 10 years. This needs to be the standard for CU soccer, not the exception.”

— Soccer head coach Danny Sanchez after 2,536 fans attended the Buffs’ home game against No. 1 Florida State Aug. 29.

Stats

$1 
Bonus Spencer Dinwiddie (Comm ex'15) will receive, per his three-year, $62-million contract with the Washington Wizards, if the team wins the NBA championship
 
5th
Melissa Stockwell's (Comm’02) place in the triathlon (PTS2) at the Tokyo Paralympics
 
6 
Total CU women’s cross-country runners who placed in the top 10 at the season-opening Wyoming Invitational in Cheyenne
 
30 
CU club sports teams will resume competition in 2021-2022
 
281
Buffs rushing yards in football’s season-opening 35-7 victory over Northern Colorado on Sept. 3.
 
15th 
Stage of the Tour de France won by Sepp Kuss (Advert’17) in July, the first American to win a stage of the race since 2011

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Photos by Glenn Asakawa (Ralphie); Courtesy CU Athletics (Ellie Gower) 

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In Sept. 3, 2021, the Buffs’ football home opener, 11,537 students filed into Folsom Field, the biggest turnout since CU played Utah in 2016. 

Fans hummed with enthusiasm for their first in-person football game since late 2019, but there was another reason, too — Ralphie VI’s debut. 

Flanked by four student Ralphie Runners, the almost-500-pound buffalo officially ran for the first time before the CU Buffs took on the Northern Colorado Bears.  

At not even 18 months old, the new Ralphie ran the signature horseshoe loop across the field under a magnificent Colorado sunset. CU fans expressed their immediate love for “baby Ralphie” on social media. 

“It just feels right,” tweeted Brent DePaepe, creative director for CU Athletics.

The Buffs won 35-7. 

Will Isham (Fin’80), his daughter Drew Isham (Comm’13) and their family donated the young buffalo, born May 27, 2020, to the university in November 2020. The family owns a ranch with buffalo in Chadron, Nebraska, and has been in the buffalo business for two decades. The calf was abandoned by her mother, said Drew, and the family knew she belonged at CU. 

“Being in a family that has buffalo, it’s always been something we wanted to do,” said Drew. 

CU Athletics officially retired 13-year-old Ralphie V in November 2019, and news of her replacement was scant over the two-year period. Isham’s former sorority sister, Sara Abdulla (EnvSt, Psych’13) — student program manager at the Alumni Association — connected the family with Taylor Stratton (EBio, EnvSt, Geog’13), manager of the Ralphie Live Mascot Program, who was searching for buffalo to join the program. A live buffalo has run in Folsom Field at football games since 1966, and she wanted the tradition to continue. 

“Without the generous support of the Isham family, there would be no Ralphie VI,” said Stratton. 

Ralphie VI could reach an adult weight of 1,300 pounds or more. She lives on the undisclosed ranch of former Ralphies, where she’s given the best treatment. Her favorite part of the day? Mealtime.  

“Whenever she hears us open the container, she puts her tail up and starts running over and grunting,” said Stratton. “She’s a more vocal buffalo, so people will have a better idea what sounds buffaloes make.”

Details surrounding Ralphie VI’s stage name — Ralphie V was “Blackout” —  were being finalized as of press time. But Buffs nation has already welcomed her to the family. 

“Without a doubt, the buffalo is the world’s best mascot,” said Will. 

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Photo by Glenn Asakawa 

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Sean Tufts is a former CU football player and Ralphie Handler. Now he’s back at CU, this time with a cause.

At the age of 6, Sean Tufts (Soc’04, MBA’11) received direction that altered the course of his life. 

“My soccer coach walked me over to the football field and said, ‘You should do this instead,’” said Tufts. 

His early decision to play football eventually brought him fame at CU and in the NFL. But today, the former star CU linebacker — and Ralphie Handler — has a larger intention: Helping former CU athletes in need, especially those struggling with their mental health. 

Tufts is head of the Buffs4Life organization, which provides a crisis hotline, resources and funds to former CU players and their families.

“We want to get to people before their worst day,” said Tufts, who lost his friend Drew Wahlroos (A&S’02) to suicide in 2017.

Sean as a Ralphie Handler.

“I was a middle linebacker and he was outside,” said Tufts. “Almost every picture I have in a Buffs uniform, Drew was somewhere in the background.”

The decision to lead Buffs4Life was an easy one: Like football, CU was part of his life at an early age. 

“In elementary school, if you had a good day in gym, the coach would put you on his shoulders and you’d get to slap a picture of Eric Bieniemy (Soc’01),” Tufts said.

After playing linebacker at Denver’s Cherry Creek High School, the country’s No. 17 recruit chose CU over Michigan. (Bieniemy became one of his coaches.) From 2001 to 2003, he played starting middle linebacker, finishing his senior season with 95 tackles.

“Sean took football very seriously,” said Brian Cabral (Rec’79), who was on the Buffs’ coaching staff for 24 seasons. “It was like having another coach on the field.”

“Everybody needs help sometimes, whether you’re the Heisman winner or an 18-year-old engineering student.”

In 2004, Tufts was drafted by the Carolina Panthers in the NFL’s sixth round. A knee injury ended his professional football career after three years. 

“The funny part is, for everybody except Peyton Manning and John Elway, it all ends more abruptly than you thought it would,” said Tufts, 37.

Tufts reinvented himself. He applied to business school at Stanford, but still felt a strong pull to Colorado. He returned to CU for his MBA. 

“I wanted to challenge myself, to come back to Boulder and prove that I was invested in the community,” he said. 

Back on campus, Tufts again found himself at Folsom Field on Saturdays — this time as a Ralphie Handler. He and Chad Hammond (Engl’01) are the only two former football players to run with Ralphie. 

“She’s got a sandpaper tongue, like 80 grit industrial sandpaper, and she loves licking leather,” he said of the recently retired Ralphie V. “She’d wear out your boots or try to take the gloves from your pocket.”

After graduating, Tufts started a business leasing land for the development of wind farms. Forbes named him to its “30 under 30” in 2011 for his work.

In 2017, he joined Optiv Inc., a Denver information security company, working with cyber security solutions for critical infrastructure, which includes everything from power plants to dishwashers. 

In the midst of his thriving career, he again answered the CU call. In 2017, Cabral asked him to serve as the president of Buffs4Life.

“Every time we talked, he just took Buffs4Life to another level,” said Cabral, who is on the board for the nonprofit. “It was a natural fit.”

Since 2005, more than 40 other Buffs or their families have received Buffs4Life support. In 2019, proceeds from the Kyle MacIntosh 5K, one of the nonprofit’s signature events, went to the family of TJ Cunningham (Comm’99), who was killed in February 2019.

Tufts hopes Buffs4Life can become a model for the rest of campus.

“Everybody needs help sometimes, whether you’re the Heisman winner or an 18-year-old engineering student,” he said.

Photos courtesy CU Athletics 

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Stats

1st

Football win over Washington since joining the Pac-12

Second

Place finish by Joe Klecker (BioChem’20) at Cross Country Nationals

78

Handlers who worked with Ralphie V over the years

14,178

Round-trip miles men's basketball flew for Shanghai season-opener

79-75

Women's basketball victory in Fort Collins over rival CSU

101,000

Combined attendance for first two 2019 home football games, the highest in 10 years 

Soccer Returns to the NCAA Tournament

CU soccer advanced to the second round of the NCAA Tournament before falling 1-0 to top-seeded North Carolina Nov. 22 at Chapel Hill. Benefiting from a difficult non-conference schedule and regular season wins against No. 24 Texas and No. 21 Washington, the 12-8-2 Buffs avenged the previous season’s tournament snub. CU opened the postseason by routing Northern Colorado 6-0 at Prentup Field Nov. 16. Two senior captains led the squad: Midfielder Taylor Kornieck (IntPhys’19) and goalkeeper JJ Tompkins (Psych’19). Kornieck set CU’s all-time points (102) record on her way to being named to the All-Pac-12 First Team. Tompkins became CU’s all-time leader in both wins (49) and saves (369) and was named to the Second Team. Additionally, forward Tessa Barton (Psych’22) earned a spot on the conference Freshman Team. With six seniors graduating, head coach Danny Sanchez signed 10 new recruits to CU’s 2020 class, which is ranked 10th best in the nation by Top Drawer Soccer. 

Buffs Bits 

With a team-leading 37th overall finish at Cross Country Nationals, Sage Hurta (ChemBioEngr’20) joined Shalaya Kipp (IntPhys, Psych’14) as the second four-time All-American recipient in school history. Overall, the CU cross-country women finished 10th, and the men finished third. … The National Football Foundation and College Hall of Fame named CU athletic director Rick George to the prestigious “Team of Excellence” in October. … In December, junior wide receiver Laviska Shenault Jr. (Ethnic, Film’21) declared for the 2020 NFL Draft. … Senior Daniel O’Loughlin (Geog’20) closed CU’s fall golf season by tying for second at the inaugural Les Fowler-CU Invitational in October. … Emma Coburn (Mktg’13) earned a silver medal in the 3,000-meter steeplechase at the 2019 IAAF World Athletics Championships. … Antonio Alfano, five-star prospect and 2018’s top-ranked high school football recruit in the nation, signed with CU this fall after transferring from Alabama. 

Coach Talk

 

Looking back now, am I surprised that I didn't get fired along the way somewhere, or that I kept my mouth shut? A little bit, yes."

 

— Eight-time national champion cross-country and track head coach Mark Wetmore on 25 years at CU.

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For many, retirement comes when their backs ache and motivation wanes. For Ralphie V, it was the opposite.

Toward the end of the 2019 Buffs football season, the healthy 1,200-pound buffalo began to run too fast for her student handlers to keep up. 

CU Boulder athletic director Rick George announced the 13-year-old’s retirement Nov. 12. Fans came in droves to snap one last picture with her at Ralphie’s Corral, the official CU football tailgate, prior to the Nov. 23 game versus Washington. 

As with past Ralphies, she will continue to live on her ranch with a companion buffalo and receive care from the CU Ralphie program, which is fully donor-funded. 

As mascot for 12 seasons, Ralphie V is the second-longest serving Ralphie in school history. 

“Ralphie V had an outstanding career as the face and symbol of our great university and athletic department,” said John Graves (Mgmt’09), manager of the Ralphie program who also ran alongside her as a student handler. “As one of the biggest and fastest Ralphies, her love for running and power was showcased every home game during her career. It’s almost like she knew she was the queen of campus.”

Born in 2006 on Ted Turner’s Vermejo Park Ranch in New Mexico, Ralphie V — whose real name is Blackout — made her game-day debut against Eastern Washington Sept. 6, 2008. 

The Ralphie-running tradition, which started in 1965, has captivated most who’ve seen her barrel across Folsom Field — regardless of their CU affiliation. Her retirement was covered nationally, including by NPR, ESPN, The Washington Post and The New York Times. 

A search for Ralphie VI is underway. 

Photos by Glenn Asakawa

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[video:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_UIE3qqEsnI&feature=youtu.be]

Watch chalk artist Chris Carlson (Bus'08) draw a special cover for the Coloradan alumni magazine. Read the entire Fall 2019 issue here. 

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All About Ralphie 

Trading card Ralphies, also from the fall issue. Test your knowledge!

The opening illustration of our fall 2017 issue, by Drew Litton.

The story on Ralphie was fun to read. Since you invited readers to supply more details, you may be interested in how Ralphie got her name. She was named after Ralph Wallace (Hist’68), who I think was the CU junior class president at the time. Whether he campaigned for the distinction, let alone this form of immortality, is debatable. My acquaintance with Ralph arose as we competed for the attentions of the same Southern belle when we all attended St. Aidan’s Episcopal Church just off campus. Again, thanks for the great story and the wonderful memories it provoked for some of us.

Kirk Rider&�Բ�����;(���Բ���’67)
Grand Junction, Colo.

Editor's Note: 

There are several tales in circulation about the origin of Ralphie's name. If you'd like to share yours write us at editor@colorado.edu. 

The Ralphie Issue [fall 2017] is fantastic! Thank you for doing such a great job!

Nancy Kane&�Բ�����;(������’86)
Brooktondale, N.Y.

As a CU alumnus I recall with nostalgia Ralphie’s running at CU football games in the 1980s during my wonderful undergraduate years. But it’s nearly 2020: This 1960s-era practice befits neither CU nor buffalo, which are not pets. Today’s Ralphie would be better served by being visited in her natural habitat by CU students and the public at a natural environment educational venue. It could feature the bison’s important role in both Native American history and in CU’s football history. Free Ralphie!

Ellen W. Gorsevski&�Բ�����;(��ܳ�’88)
Bowling Green, Ohio

I was not aware that the current issue of the Coloradan was going to be “The Ralphie Issue.” I would have submitted the Ralphie story that beats all others. Thanks for rekindling the memory of all our beautiful mascots.

In 1969, as a member of the Golden Buffalo Men’s Marching Band, I happened to find myself in the north end zone of Folsom Field, alone with Ralphie prior to our pre-game performance. It was a surreal moment, but I was immediately drawn to her trailer. There we were, alone in front of 50,000 people with what felt like a spotlight on us. I went over and pressed my eye to the grate, and she did likewise while wagging her tail. There we were, our eyes mere inches from each other. I will never forget that big, beautiful eye and that tiny tail! I felt compelled to say something. I said, “You are a beautiful and magnificent creature, Ralphie. Thank you for sharing your planet with us.” She replied, “You are a kind and gentle soul, Joe. You come with good intentions.” I so longed to enter her trailer and give her a big hug.

Up to that moment, I did not know anything about spirituality or animal communication, but I have since learned a lot about both. That incident started me on a spiritual journey with the universe that continues to this day. I remember her words, and have striven to be the kind and gentle person she recognized and to be true to my soul. It started with my becoming an ardent protector of animals, something that continues to this day. I have struggled to overcome my ego, which is, indeed, a lifetime battle. I have always considered that moment in my life to have been a gift from God.

Joe Felice&�Բ�����;(���貹��’72)
Aurora, Colo.

Open Space in Aurora 

I always enjoy Paul Danish’s (Hist’65) column, but this time he goofed. He said that without its open space, Boulder would look like Aurora! Has he been to Aurora, the third-largest city in Colorado?

Aurora has 14 open space areas with a total of 5,414 acres — he could Google it.

Charlotte Faris
Aurora, Colo.

Getting Social 

A sampling of readers’ online reactions to the fall issue:

Upon seeing Drew Litton’s Ralphie cartoon depicting the buffed-up mascot in a cape, Shelly McCune Greenwood (Bus’81; MEdu’00) responded on Facebook: “She’s looking great for her age!”

After reading Andrew Daigle’s (PhD Engl’16) story on Buffs’ senior tailback Phillip Lindsay (Comm, Soc’17), @rensch025 tweeted: “Nice little write-up on @I_CU_boy [Lindsay] in the Coloradan. Class on and off the field! #gobuffs. On Facebook, CU Boulder staff member Michelle Bell said, “Humble, positive, talented and kind...He makes all of us so proud!”

Responding to the Q&A with Ralphie Runner Rachel Edson (Soc’18), Facebook commenter Debra Price wrote, “We were very honored to be invited to one of Ralphie's practices recently, where I met Rachel. She clearly loves Ralphie and what she's doing. Both Rachel and Ralphie are great ambassadors for CU.”

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As of August 2017, five individual buffaloes have served as Ralphie, including the incumbent, 11-year-old Blackout. What do you know about each?

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