CU Board of Regents Candidate T.J. Cole Plans to Invest Money Back Into the University to Benefit Students

By Celia Vargas and Piper George

In 2022, Deion Sanders was named head coach of the CU football team which caused revenue numbers to skyrocket. In the 2023 season, the football team generated $113.2 million from solely home games according to the Boulder Colorado USA.

Where is all that money going? Well, T.J. Cole wants to utilize this increased revenue in ways that will benefit students. 

He explained, “I would support investigating ways to take the revenue increase and invest that back into the campus, specifically housing and other diversity equity measures.”

One factor causing the increased revenue is the rise in enrollment rate. 

Photo courtesy of T.J. Cole

Record retention rates propelled CU Boulder’s total fall enrollment up 3.4%, or 1,275 students, to 38,428 students — higher than recent projections according to CU’s latest reports.

Conversely, increased student population has been resulting in issues with availability and pricing. 

“Coach Prime and others have sparked a huge interest in CU, so that’s increased enrollment. But when you have increased enrollment, as we all know, that means, where are we going to put everybody?” Cole said.

Due to the high demand of student housing in locations such as University Hill. The safety of these housing establishments has been overlooked, causing more problems. For example, Ash House, which recently had improper safety codes resulting in countless evicted students. 

In respect to the problem, Cole plans to “get everything up and running to code, try to hold the costs where they are, and then, of course, try to find spots and places in a growing boulder region that we could find affordable housing for students.” 

Cole mentioned that moving eastward to northeast parts of Boulder might be the solution to creating more student housing. 

While money is a hot topic at CU, in-state and out-of-state students are always looking for ways to cut down on university costs, including tuition. Cole didn’t specifically touch on tuition, but he did express that out-of-state students consequently pay more tuition in order for in-state students to attend, and for the university to make more profit. What Cole did mention was using revenue gains to create more scholarship opportunities. He used the example of other schools such as Alabama, whose sports programs fund about 60% of the university’s scholarships. 

As for in-state students, Cole would like to expand the ACCESS program, a program that allows high school students to take online college courses for free.

“My idea as a Board of 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.

 By opening this program to a wider array of students, Cole sees a mutually beneficial relationship where CU can increase inclusivity and diversity while also allowing students an affordable education. 

With increased revenue, enrollment and accessibility to the university employment rate is another factor that weighs heavily across the board. This is where Cole plans to again keep the money circulating within the university by being “fiscally prudent and not wasting money.” Aside from more jobs arising naturally due to the expansion of the university, Cole proposed that instead of employing outside businesses to do campus jobs such as carpeting, he would rather hire two or three cheaper startups run by CU students or alumni.

“Those are the ways that you can increase job opportunities and also save the school money and do the right thing,” he said. 

In terms of “doing the right thing,” Cole also discussed the crime rates in Boulder. He plans to utilize his 30 years in the judicial system and most recent 17 years working as a judge for CU Drug and Alcohol. He mentioned that by working closely with local law enforcement and doing awareness programs on campus, crime rates could be reduced. 

As Cole is running for a position in Boulder, the environment is high on the list of importance. As of now, Cole expressed that he feels the university is already very environmentally friendly and he would plan to keep it that way. He plans to  conserve energy, reduce water and provide receptacles across campus. 

As the founder of five charter high schools, the recipient of multiple Phds, a masters and a Juris Doctorate, T.J. Cole is a decorated candidate for the CU Board of Regents race. Cole is also currently representing Colorado at the Olympic Trials for Curling.


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