I was the student SID with the volleyball team that year (0-28, if I remember correctly; and why is it that we need to travel a PR person on an 0-28 team?), and we played in Boulder on a Saturday night. CU was hosting NU in football, and Gameday was there, which allowed Fowler to see his alma mater.

Since their compound was right next to the Coors Events Center, the manager and I decided to go up to the trailer and introduce ourselves. He saw that we were from Missouri, and apologized for us having to endure perpetual 3-8 seasons. I told him we were on the right track with Larry Smith (which, relatively speaking, we were), but that it’d be another year or two.