Q&A with Fernando Lovo
In December 2025, Fernando Lovo was named the seventh director of athletics for CU. Lovo, who is from New Orleans and most recently was the University of New Mexico’s athletic director, discusses organizational trust, Colorado’s iconic brand and celebrating others’ successes.
What drew you to the intersection of higher education and athletics?
I started working in athletics at the University of Florida as a football equipment manager. There, I realized the impact sports had and how competing together prepared student-athletes for life after sports. Serving student-athletes isn’t a job, it’s a calling.
What is most important to a successful collegiate athletics program?
The bedrock is trust. I define trust as three Cs: character, competency and connection. Character is consistently doing what you say you’re going to do. Competency is ensuring people you work with or coach feel like you’re truly invested in their betterment. Connection is the adage that ‘people don’t care how much you know until they know how much you care.’
Who has shaped your leadership philosophy?
Coach Urban Meyer — whom I spent almost 10 years with at Ohio State, Florida and in the NFL — and Chris Del Conte, athletic director at the University of Texas. They had different leadership styles, but both taught me about leading with authenticity and integrity and having humility. As athletic director, one of my biggest jobs is to publicly celebrate others’ successes. And if something goes wrong, I’m first to step in and say, ‘That’s on me. We’ll be better.’
How did you know this role was right for you?
Colorado is one of the most iconic brands in college athletics. Our football program has two Heisman Trophy winners and a national championship. We’ve produced over 120 Olympians. The university has great academic prowess and passionate alumni and fans. Boulder is beautiful, innovative and full of problem solvers.
What has impressed you about CU’s athletic community?
Everyone I meet has so much passion and investment in this institution. We have over 380,000 living alums, and we had 120,000 applicants this year. This is a destination academically and athletically.
What has been the greatest challenge for you so far?
When you’re serving a department of 300-plus student-athletes and 200-plus staff members, it’s a challenge to make sure you’re giving your attention where it needs it the most. I’ve been on a look, learn and listen journey. NIL and the transfer portal have transformed college athletics.
How do you support program continuity in an era of perpetual free agency?
We’re in a player empowerment phase of college athletics. Our student-athletes are the lifeblood of our department, and they should have every opportunity to better themselves. Continuity, though, is different. Having a student-athlete stay in the same program for four years isn’t as common today. You have to recruit, and now you have to retain. A lot of retention comes with NIL and resources, especially for our revenue-generating sports. But we also need to have the best support systems in place for all of our student-athletes.
What are specific CU Athletics directives you have initiated?
We’re focused on increasing scholarships for our Olympic and women’s sports. We also need to capture students’ hearts while they’re here. We started Charged Up, a loyalty program that gives our students an opportunity to earn rewards and encourages them to come support all of our sports. When they experience a soccer or volleyball match or a lacrosse game, they leave feeling excited and connected to this great institution.
How do you ensure that student-athletes remain students first?
[Former athletic director] Rick George laid a great foundation for making sure we always keep the word ‘student’ before ‘athlete.’ This past spring, we had our highest ever department-wide GPA. Our North Star is to graduate our student-athletes. It’s our responsibility to prepare these young adults to earn their degree and then face life head-on.
Photo by Glenn Asakawa (Jour'86)