A headshot of T.J. Cole, a candidate for CU’s Board of Regent’s At-Large seat. (Courtesy of T.J. Cole)
In 2022, Deion Sanders was named head coach of the University of Colorado Boulder football team, causing both revenue and national attention to skyrocket. In the 2023 season, the team generated $113.2 million of revenue for the local economy from home football games alone.
T.J. Cole, the Unity Party candidate for Regent At-Large within CU’s Board of Regents, says that, if elected, he would look to use CU Boulder’s share of the increased revenue to benefit members of the university community, specifically students at CU Boulder.
“I would support investigating ways to take the revenue increase and invest that back into the campus, specifically housing and other diversity equity measures,” Cole said.
One factor contributing to this increased revenue is the rise in enrollment seen at CU Boulder.
Record high retention rates brought CU Boulder’s total fall enrollment up by 1,275 students- or 3.4%. This figure is higher than recent projections.
Cole said that he believes this increased student population has resulted in new challenges for students, particularly issues surrounding the availability and affordability of housing.
“Coach Prime and others have sparked a huge interest in CU (Boulder), so that’s increased enrollment,” Cole said. “When you have increased enrollment… where are we going to put everybody?”
In recent weeks, an apartment complex on Boulder’s University Hill faced legal consequences after illegally expanding units to accommodate more residents without the proper permits.
Cole said that the issue of limited housing for CU Boulder students could largely be resolved by looking to expand into the greater Boulder area. He cited the northeast quadrant of Boulder as a potential area in which new student housing could be created.
Cole said that another way that CU Boulder could put the increased athletic revenue back into the CU community is through the funding of scholarship programs.
For in-state students, Cole says he would like to expand the ACCESS program, a program that allows high school students to take courses through CU Boulder. Many of these courses are offered online.
“My idea as a (regent) is to expand that, especially to the rural communities and inner-city communities where kids don’t always have access to cars to get to classes,” Cole said.
This, Cole said, could help CU Boulder offer students a more affordable education experience and would help students face fewer barriers to attending the university.
“I think by encouraging this program, we get the best of everything. We get more inclusivity and diversity,” he said.
Cole also said that, as a regent, he would look to focus on employment within the university community. He said that, when positions within the university become available, he would encourage hiring from within the university, rather than looking outward.
“Something that traditionally happens with big organizations is they cozy up and make friends with big companies,” he explained. “(A) company does all of our carpeting- well, that company might be charging you primo dollar. You might have a young CU graduate who started a carpet company who’s saying ‘give me a shot, and I will be $20,000 cheaper than that fool and I will hire 2 or 3 CU kids.’”
He said that this process would benefit both students and the university.
“Those are the ways that you can increase job opportunities and also save the school money and do the right thing,” he said.
Cole, a former judge who specialized in criminal and juvenile law, also says he plans to focus on crime rates in Boulder, specifically substance-related.
He said that through awareness programs and working closely with local law enforcement, campus crime rates could be reduced.
“As a (regent), I would work closely with the judicial system,” Cole said. “Local law enforcement is pretty great and easy to work with. I just think that with everybody collaborating and then doing awareness programs on campus, we should be able to reduce crime.”
With three days remaining until election day, Cole appears on Colorado ballots along with three other candidates for the single Regent At-Large seat.
Contact CU Independent Guest Writer Celia Vargas at celia.vargas@colorado.edu.
Contact CU Independent Guest Writer Piper George at piper.george@colorado.edu.
