DU Alum Named To College Football Playoff Committee

The College Football Playoff selection committee has officially been announced.

The committee will select four teams that will advance to the College Football Playoff starting after the 2014 regular season.

The committee will be responsible for ranking and placing teams in the non-contract New Year's Day bowls, also known as the Cotton Bowl, Fiesta Bowl and the Chick-fil-A Bowl. They will also select the highest ranked champion from the five non-power leagues (American, Conference USA, Mid-American, Mountain West and Sun Belt), and they will get a bid to one of the six CFP bowls. 

University of Arkansas Athletic Director Jeff Long, has been chosen as the chairman of the committee.

Former Secretary of State, Condoleezza Rice is one 13 committee members. Rice, 58, who attended The University of Denver (Bachelor's Degree in political science), The University of Notre Dame (Master's Degree in political science), Moscow State University in Russia (Studied Russian language/politics), Josef Korbel School of International Studies at the University of Denver (Ph.D. in political science), is also a trained concert pianist. She was an assistant professor of political science at Stanford University from 1981–1987, before being promoted to associate professor where she would remain until 1993. After serving as the Secretary of State under President George W. Bush, Rice returned to Stanford as a political science professor and senior fellow at the Hoover Institution in 2009.

Tyrone Willingham, who's daughter graduated from DU and starred on the DU gymnastics team, is also on the committee.

LINK: The University of Denver men's basketball game and gymnastics meet on Saturday will be held as scheduled

DU Basketball vs Louisiana Tech
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Magness Arena @ 5 PM 

TV: Root Sports-Rocky Mountain

DU Gymnast To Compete Today At Olympics

(above) Jessica Lopez qualified for the All-Round competition at the Olympic Games tonight

University of Denver gymnast Jessica Lopez qualified for the Individual All-Around Competition that begins tonight in London. Lopez competed four years ago for Venezuela in Beijing.
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The two-time Olympian will compete Today at 9:30 AM MT.

DU Lands Major Gymnastics Recruit

(above) Claire Hammen, who swept all five titles at the Colorado Class 5A gymnastics meet in November as a sophomore, has verbally committed to compete for the University of Denver.

From: Reporter Herald

by Mike Brohard

Gymnasts live a life of routine, and it's one of the reasons why Claire Hammen has reached the levels she has in the sport.

But she didn't see her college plans coming together so quickly -- she'll just be entering her junior year at Loveland High School this fall. But when an offer comes that combines excellence in academics as well as your sport of choice, why wait? That's why Hammen decided to verbally commit to the University of Denver in the past week after the program made her a full-ride offer. She didn't see it coming, but she's smart enough to see a great deal when it's put in front of her.

"I just thought it was a really good fit with the team, and the education is really good," she said. "It came clear out of the blue. In April, I went down to Denver and had an unofficial visit, met the team and met a biology professor. It was just something that I love the school and the campus. It was really a friendly environment, liked the team and the coaches. It kind of fell into place."

Hammen has been a standout on the club level for years, having qualified for the Cover Girl Classic at the junior level, and that's where she started drawing the interest of colleges. People in town learned more about her when she took the Class 5A state meet by storm last November, winning the all-around title with a record score of 39.225 and sweeping the four individual events the next day, posting scores of 9.90 along the way.

Gene Kroehnke, her coach at GK Gymnastics and a DU alum, feels she could make the Pioneers' roster as an all-arounder as a true freshman.

"The University of Denver is a good fit for her competitively, and then they considered what they wanted to do academically," Kroehnke said. "Overall, we've been there a lot; she feels comfortable there. She's very familiar with it."

But it wasn't high on her to-do list. The offer came when she made her initial trip to DU. Hammen wasn't quite ready to say yes then, but a return trip for a camp last month made it clear to her, and she pulled head coach Melissa Kutcher-Rinehart aside and pledged her allegiance.

"I went down to camp, and we stayed in the dorms and I practiced with some of the girls on the team," Hammen said. "I got to interact with the team and the coaches, and it felt like it was right.

"I wasn't thinking it would come so soon, but it happened at the right time."

She would become the second Loveland gymnast to compete for the Pioneers, following Paige Schuster, who also swept the five 5A state titles back in 2004. Hammen cannot sign an official letter of intent until her senior year, and DU can't comment on her until that time, per NCAA rules.

DU Gymnastics Team Knocked Out At Regionals

Results

The University of Denver Gymnastics Team finished 4th at the Champaign Regionals (which included Oklahoma, Stanford, Illinois, Kentucky and Illinois-Chicago) and failed to advance to the NCAA championships.  Only the top two teams in each regional advanced to the NCAA finals.

DU's Moriah Martin finished 4th in the all-round competition.

DU Gymnastics Makes NCAA Regionals

(above) Amanda Johanson celebrates her 9.675 bars routine with Kristina Coccia earlier this season

photo credit: Justin Edmonds

From: DenverPioneers.com

The #14 ranked University of Denver were selected to compete in the NCAA Regionals on the campus of the University of Illinois. Joining the Crimson and Gold in the six-team field will be #2 Oklahoma, #11 Stanford, #22 Illinois, #24 Kentucky and Illinois-Chicago. The meet will take place at Assembly Hall on April 7, at 3 PM MT.

"I'm really pleased with how the team performed to close out the regular season," head coach Melissa Kutcher-Rinehart said. "We have room for improvement in training this week, but I'm pleased that this team is peaking at the right time of the season. We are looking forward to what should be a tremendous competition."

DU is coming off its first Western Athletic Conference Championship on Saturday, scoring a 196.350 on its way to victory.  Denver finished the regular season with a Regional Qualifying Score of 196.090, the second-highest RQS in school-history.

The top-two teams from each six-team regional will advance to the NCAA Championships in Duluth, Ga., April 20-22.  DU will attempt to make their fourth appearance in the NCAA Championships [read entire article].

"WHITE OUT" Hoops & Hockey Weekend .... Go DU .... Beat CC .... Beat Middle Tennessee

Its Official: DU-CC Game Is On Tonight

Friday

5-7 PM DUGS Pregame BBQ (Public welcome-FREE Food)

7:30 PM DU Hockey vs. Colorado College

Saturday

11 AM-1:30 PM DUGS BBQ on Driscoll Lawn (Public welcome)

2 PM - DU Hoops vs. Middle Tennessee [TV: ESPN2]

4:30 PM - DU Women's Hoops vs. Middle Tennessee

6 PM - DU Gymnastics vs. Iowa State & UAA

7 PM - DU @ Colorado College

DU Gymnastics Alum Raising Money For CCFA

(above) Lauren Garan is a true Pioneer

Lauren's Website

Laren & her doctor

Former DU Gymnast Lauren Garan competed for the University of Denver from 2006-2010. What many didn't know was that Lauren has suffered from Ulcerative Colitis since the age of 12. She quietly dealt with colon cancer while representing DU at the highest levels during her four year career.

At the NCAA Gymnastics National Championships in 2008, Lauren recorded the Pioneers third best score on the vault and a 9.600 on the balance beam.  Throughout her years at DU, Lauren was also heavily involved with charitable work for causes that affected family members and friends.

Lauren will be in a Boston hospital this Christmas undergoing major surgery to remove her colon and have a prosthetic implanted.  But like a true Pioneer, Lauren is already working to help others.  She has set up a website to raise money to fight Ulcerative Colitis & Crohn's Disease.  She will also participate in a charity walk in Las Vegas this winter to draw attention to the cause.

Check out Lauren's website and consider a donation to help the 1.4 million Americans who suffer from Ulcerative Colitis & Crohn's Disease.

Go DU and Fight The Good Fight Lauren.

News & Notes From Around PioNation

Ohio State @ DU Slideshow From Invesco Field

Mike Chambers of the Denver Post has a feature article on DU Lacrosse player Mark Mathews (6'4 210 lbs).  Mathews scored two goals and added an assist against Ohio State on Saturday to add to his 22 game goal scoring streak.

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The Redline Report lists DU recruits Scott Mayfield, Zac Larraza and Josiah Didier and Freshmen forward Nick Shore as likely NHL Draft candidates this summer.

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University of Denver junior Brianna Springer finished 17th in the all-around competition and freshman Jorie Hall was 35th on the balance beam at the 2011 NCAA women's gymnastics championships on Friday.

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DU's Lacrosse team is turning heads with a 9-2 record with the two losses to #1 ranked Notre Dame & #3 ranked Syracuse.  The Denver Post talked to coach Tierney.

News & Notes From Around PioNation

The University of Denver men's lacrosse team (3-2) lost 10-9 to #3 ranked Notre Dame (4-0) on Saturday night in front of a record-setting 2,547 fans at Peter Barton Lacrosse Stadium.

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The #18 ranked University of Denver gymnastics team posted a season-high score of 49.450 on floor to come back in the final rotation to defeat #12 Arkansas 195.725-195.700 on Saturday night before 1,693 fans in Hamilton Gymnasium on Senior Night.

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The University of Denver ski team finished 5th at the NCAA Championships on Saturday. Colorado won its 18th NCAA title with 831 points, snapping Denver's streak of consecutive titles at three. Adding to their title in 2006, the Buffs are just the second team to win multiple championships since 2000, joining DU, which has won seven titles. CU's 18 team titles are second only to the Pioneers, who have won 21 NCAA Championships.

DU Gymnastics Finishes 2nd In Chicago

(above) DU finished in 2nd place on Friday night in Chicago against some highly ranked competition

From: DU Athletics Website

No. 19 Denver finished with a 195.250 to place second at the IGI Chicago Style Invite on Friday night at the Navy Pier in Chicago, Ill.

Sophomore Brianna Artemev tied for first on beam with a 9.850, while senior Kelley Hennigan finished in third place in the all-around with a 39.100.

No. 10 Nebraska took first place with a season-high 196.475, while No. 20 Illinois took third with a score of 194.225 and Iowa finished in fourth place with a score of 193.625.

DU Gymnastics In Chicago

(above) DU's nationally ranked Gymnastics team will be in Chicago on Friday

DU's Alumni Association in Chicago will be attending A Night of Gymnastics on Friday Feb. 12, 2010.

The University of Denver gymnastics team will be competing in the IGI Chicago Style Gymnastics Meet against Illinois, Nebraska, and Iowa.

The IGI Chicago Style Gymnastics Meet is one of the largest women's gymnastics invitational meets in the world. This year the meet will be held at Chicago's historic Navy Pier.

After the meet, the Pioneer gymnastics team would like all DU alumni to meet them for appetizers, drinks, pictures and autograph signing at BIN36 with DU alum Chef John Caputo.

Please come out to support and meet the Pioneer gymnastics team!

IGI Chicago Style Invitational Gymnastics Meet
Chicago Navy Pier
Friday, February 12, 2010

*****NCAA SESSION*****
Admission $15
Students/Seniors $7
Children under 4 - Free

5:30 p.m. - Timed Warm Ups
7:30 p.m. - March In & Competition
(Tickets for the meet are available onsite only. There will be no advance sale of tickets.)
9:00 p.m. - Appetizers/Drinks @ Bin36

BIN36
339 North Dearborn (Marina City)
Chicago, IL 60654
If you plan to meet the team for appetizers/drinks please RSVP email: duchicagoalumni@sbcglobal.net

Olympic Gold Medalist Poses With Boone Shirt

(above) 2008 Olympic Gold Medalist Nastia Liukin poses with Alum David Geck (DU '88) and his brand new Grillin' Boone T-shirt

The #14 University of Denver gymnastics team defeated #11 Nebraska by a score of 194.350 to 194.125 in its first dual meet of the season at the Pioneer Alumni Classic Meet at Hamilton Gymnasium on Saturday night.

The meet was highlighted by the appearance of 2008 Olympic gold medalist Nastia Liukin and her father Valeri Liukin. The Liukins presented awards to the event champions at the close of the meet.

“It was an honor to have Nastia and her father Valeri in attendance at our meet today,” Kutcher-Rinehart said. “I’m really pleased that they were able to come and that the University was able to help us bring them here.”