Fernando Lovo is packing more than just boxes as he prepares to leave Albuquerque for Boulder-he’s bringing with him a mindset built for the high-stakes world of modern college athletics. The newly named athletic director at Colorado knows exactly what he's walking into: a program with big ambitions, a high-profile football coach, and a looming $27 million budget deficit.
Lovo officially steps into the role as CU’s seventh full-time athletic director this week, replacing Rick George, who’s shifting into a new position within the university. And while the personal move-relocating his family, finding a home, enrolling his kids in school-is no small task, it’s the professional transition that carries the real weight.
But Lovo isn’t shying away. In fact, he’s leaning in.
“The critical piece right now, I think first and foremost, is generating more revenue,” Lovo said. “And I think that’s something that we’re going to be really, really aggressive in.”
That urgency is warranted. Colorado’s athletics department is staring down a $27 million shortfall for the current fiscal year.
Two major factors are driving that number: a $20.5 million revenue-sharing payout to student-athletes as part of the NCAA v. House settlement, and a new five-year, $54 million contract extension for head football coach Deion Sanders, which included a $4.3 million salary bump starting in 2024.
Those are big checks to write-and Lovo knows it. But he also sees opportunity.
“I think we have a great foundation that will allow us to really explore some verticals of revenues that we haven’t maybe necessarily explored in the past before,” he said. “Or that we have and we need to increase what we’re doing there.”
Lovo isn’t just talking theory. During his 13-month stint as athletic director at New Mexico, he helped the Lobos generate record-setting revenue.
UNM saw a 17.6% jump in its operating budget from fiscal year 2025 to 2026. Ticket sales, multimedia rights, parking, concessions, licensing-Lovo found ways to squeeze more value out of every corner of the athletic department.
The Lobo Club also hit fundraising highs.
Now, he’s hoping to replicate that success in Boulder, and he’s got a few ideas on where to start.
“I say all the time: empty parking lot, empty seats, and that’s not good for our bottom line,” Lovo said. “So we’ve got to make sure that we’re doing that.”
Translation: CU’s facilities need to be buzzing year-round. That means more events, more fans, more energy-and more revenue. And while the challenges at Colorado will be different than those he faced at New Mexico, Lovo is confident in the Buffs’ potential.
“The one thing that’s 100% certain is the power of our brand and our institution,” he said. “That’s a huge selling point. And then you look at our location-obviously Boulder is a great place; Denver being right there, that’s a really powerful market.”
Add to that the national spotlight that Deion Sanders brings to the football program, and Colorado has something a lot of schools are scrambling to manufacture: visibility.
“The visibility that [Sanders] brings to our institution and to our state is amazing,” Lovo said. “We have to leverage that.”
That visibility, combined with a strong brand and a passionate fan base, gives Lovo a solid foundation to build on. But he’s clear-eyed about what it will take to turn potential into performance-especially when it comes to keeping CU competitive in the ever-evolving landscape of college athletics.
“I think it creates a really compelling narrative for us to be able to go out, market our brand and sell it, when it comes to sponsorship opportunities,” he said. “Obviously we need butts in seats as well, and so we’ve got to be competitive, and we need to make sure that our attendance numbers are where they need to be.”
Still, amid all the talk of revenue streams and budget gaps, Lovo keeps coming back to one key principle: the student-athletes come first.
“Everything for us is going to be student-first, student-athlete centric,” he said. “In the midst of all of that going on and making sure we’re staying competitive and really increasing our revenue, we’ve got to keep our focus on what our why is-and that’s graduating our student-athletes.
That’s providing all the resources they need from a student success standpoint, from a mental well-being standpoint, sports science, sports medicine-all of those things. Those things still matter.”
Lovo also gave credit to Rick George for laying the cultural foundation he’s now tasked with building on. But make no mistake-he knows the clock is ticking.
“We’ve got a powerful brand with a ton of upside across all of our sports,” Lovo said. “I think CU is uniquely positioned to be able to respond to those challenges, and that’s what it’s all about.
It’s how we respond. We be aggressive, we have disciplined decision making, and we keep our student-athletes first, and that’s what we’re going to do.
“We don’t have time to waste. Now’s the time we’ve got to go.”
And just like that, the Buffs’ new AD is off and running.