CU Buffs notes: Coach Prime dreams of bringing baseball back to Boulder

Head coach Deion Sanders came to Colorado with lofty goals for the football program, but much like in his athletic career, he’s thinking beyond the gridiron.
During the Colorado Football Coaches Show, filmed Thursday at The Post Chicken & Beer in Boulder, Sanders told host Mark Johnson that he dreams of restoring the baseball program at CU.
“(Athletic director Rick George) and I have talked about this; that’s my dream,” Sanders said. “I want to be so dominant here. I mean, we’re gonna be so dominant that we’re gonna pack the stadium, we’re gonna sell out all our apparel, we’re gonna do this, we’re gonna be on television. We’re gonna command so much revenue for this university that we’re gonna add a baseball team. That’s the dream.”
CU athletics was in a financial crisis in 1980 and cut seven sports, including baseball. Wrestling, men’s swimming, women’s swimming, diving, men’s gymnastics and women’s gymnastics were also cut at that time.
Throughout CU’s history, the program had several exceptional baseball players, including CU Athletics Hall of Famers Dale Atkins, Bill Fanning, Carroll Hardy, Jay Howell and John Stearns.
Sanders was a Pro Football Hall of Famer as a cornerback, but also played nearly a decade in Major League Baseball.
Since he was hired in December, Sanders has made a transformational impact financially at CU. The Buffs have seen record numbers in terms of ticket sales, merchandise sales and national exposure.
Heat prep
Per The Weather Channel, the forecast for Saturday calls for a high temperature of 99 degrees in Fort Worth, Texas, when the Buffs and No. 17 TCU square off in the season opener (10 a.m. MT, Fox).
CU left Boulder on Thursday and will practice in Fort Worth at 11 a.m. on Friday to get acclimated to the heat, Coach Prime said.
The temperature won’t be too different from Boulder, which has been in the mid 90s most of the week, but humidity could make a difference. The Buffs haven’t been too worried about the Texas heat, however.
“We’re gonna be OK,” Sanders said. “We’re putting them in pressure situations. We’ve stopped practice midway through on a couple of occasions and had them run several sprints, then continued practice to make sure they understand that fatigue level and don’t give in to it mentally.”
Linebackers coach Andre Hart said football players are used to playing in different elements.
“I think at the end of the day, it’s just being a football player and focusing in and locking into what you got to do and get the job done,” Hart said. “If climate is a problem for you, you might want to play something indoor.”
Hestera passes away
Dave Hestera, who was an honorable mention All-American tight end for CU as a senior in 1983, passed away on Sunday after a long battle with Parkinson’s disease. He was 62.
Hestera, who played one season at Wyoming before transferring to CU, led the Buffs in receiving in 1981 and 1982. In his three seasons at CU, he caught 91 passes for 1,057 yards and two touchdowns.
Notable
During the Coaches Show, running backs coach Gary Harrell said that sophomore Anthony Hankerson, one of only nine returning scholarship players to the Buffs, would start in the backfield Saturday at TCU. Hankerson rushed for 274 yards and three touchdowns in a limited role last season and has had an impressive offseason. … Saturday will mark just the fourth time in the last 40 seasons that CU has opened with a true road game. The Buffs’ other road openers came at Wisconsin in 1995 and at Hawaii in 2011 and 2015.