Darian Hagan, the 1990 national‑title‑winning quarterback for the Colorado Buffaloes, recently sat down with Fernando Lovo, the university’s newly appointed athletic director, to discuss how his contributions to CU football are remembered and how the program might move forward.
The conversation comes at a time when Hagan says he has felt increasingly peripheral since Deion Sanders assumed the head‑coaching role and shifted him out of a formal coaching position. Hagan described the overture from Lovo as a welcome sign that the administration still values the era before Coach Prime.
The meeting also laid bare a rift among former Buffaloes players. Alumni such as Chad Brown and Darrin Chiaverini have voiced concerns that the program’s pre‑Sanders history is being eclipsed by the flash of recent headlines, and they argue that the current narrative marginalizes the achievements of the 1980s and 1990s.
A Divided Legacy
The controversy over jersey retirements has amplified the sense of exclusion. The recent retirement of Shedeur Sanders’ jersey reignited old wounds for Hagan and other veterans, while the decision to honor Travis Hunter before his college debut sparked debate among former players about the criteria for such tributes.
In response, Hagan has called for the formation of a committee that would oversee the recognition of deserving former athletes, including Eric Bienemy, Alfred Williams, Kanavis McGhee, Kordell Stewart and others whose careers helped shape the Buffaloes’ legacy.
Lovo’s willingness to meet with Hagan and to consider a more inclusive approach signals a potential shift, but many alumni remain watchful, hoping that the conversation will translate into concrete policies that honor the full tapestry of CU football history.