CSU football's last players from the Hughes Stadium era will play their final game for Rams Saturday
The final chapter in the long story of Colorado State football players who played at Hughes Stadium closes Saturday night.
Two Rams who will celebrate senior day against Nevada were there on the sideline on Nov. 19, 2016, when CSU turned the lights out on Hughes Stadium for the final time.
A variety of circumstances (redshirt seasons and an extra year due to COVID) mean sixth-year Rams Toby McBride and Joe DeLine are still Rams in the fifth season of Canvas Stadium after both were on the roster as freshmen for the final season of Hughes.
They’re the historians of CSU’s former stadium, which to the naked eye right now is nothing more than an open piece of land next to Horsetooth Reservoir.
“I’ve taken a couple older guys that have transferred in like Scott Patchan, Matt Valecce, just driving around and tell them, ‘That’s where the old stadium used to be, Hughes used to be right there’” said McBride, a defensive lineman from Fort Morgan. “And they just couldn’t believe it because it’s nothing now. It’s just flat.”
DeLine is CSU’s holder on field goals and extra points, and his tie to Hughes is intimate. His dad and brother both played at Hughes for the Rams, and he was the little kid who “rolled down the hill when I was 5 years old.”
Now they’ve helped CSU transition to Canvas Stadium, the football team's on-campus home where the Rams will host Nevada in the 2021 finale Saturday (7 p.m., CBS Sports Network).
More: Colorado State football vs. Nevada: How to watch on TV and online
McBride and DeLine have been reminiscing about their unique history in the program.
“I was the kid waiting outside for my brother and asking everyone for their gloves and stuff outside the tunnel. Now every game we come in and everyone is asking for our gloves and everything,” DeLine said. “It’s weird to see that flip. That used to be me. I was that little boy outside Hughes. That’s probably the coolest memory for me.”
McBride and DeLine were there that final night at Hughes when the Rams blasted New Mexico. Then-president Tony Frank turned out the lights, fans had rushed the field and tore out turf as a keepsake. It was a meaningless regular season game that carried a whole lot of weight.
“It was really emotional. It would have been way worse if we lost. Winning the last game at Hughes and sending it out the right way was a big deal,” DeLine said. “My dad and brother were at that game, and we all stayed late and hugged each other and were like, ‘This is it.’ It’s definitely a big spot for our family.”
McBride’s first memory at Hughes is as a high school recruit when he was pulled into the postgame locker room, where he met with the players.
“I wanted to play at Hughes, and I knew they were building a new stadium, so it worked out really awesome that I got the chance to play in both stadiums,” McBride said.
DeLine and McBride joke that they’re now the historians for program, but they also understand the importance of being the last two players at CSU to have played in Hughes.
A chapter closes Saturday night.
“We have great amount of pride in being the only guys on the team that have been in Hughes and are in Canvas now,” McBride said. “We’re going to do the best we can to educate the guys on the team about it.”
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This article originally appeared on Fort Collins Coloradoan: CSU football players from Hughes Stadium era to play final game as Rams
