The Rocky Mountain Showdown is a rivalry between the CU Buffaloes and the CSU Rams. This rivalry has been a tradition since 1893 playing nearly annually until 1958 and starting up again in 1983.
The Denver Broncos began hosting the games in 1998 which lasted until 2019. Colorado State hosted their first game in 1996 and was supposed to host again in 2020, but had to cancel due to the COVID-19 Pandemic.
Just recently, CSU hosted their first home game in 28 years on Saturday, September 14th.
Every year, students at both the University of Colorado and Colorado State University wait for the game featuring the two schools, but now they’re going to have to wait even longer. The showdown between the two schools is going on a hiatus for four years and is not expected to return until 2029.
CSU has decided to join the Pac-12 conference of college football and CU just moved into the Big-12 conference.
Due to the teams being in separate conferences the logistics and scheduling did not provide the opportunity for the two to collide within the next couple years.
As they start up again in 2029, the plan is to play each other two years in a row and then take two years off.
According to a press release by CU Athletics, “The two-on, two-off format we’ve adopted provides both schools some flexibility to schedule other non-conference opponents in other parts of the country, which play a role in several factors, including alumni engagement and recruiting.”
Although the rivalry between the two Colorado schools is on a hiatus, the move to different conferences is affecting the games of the other key rivalry schools. For CU this is the Nebraska Cornhuskers, and for CSU the Wyoming Cowboys.
