COLORADO SPRINGS, COLO A highly successful women’s basketball coach will be the new athletic director at the University of Colorado at Colorado Springs, university officials announced today, Friday, May 14.
Stephen W. Kirkham, 50, women’s head basketball coach at Mesa State College, Grand Junction, was selected following a national search that drew more than 100 applicants. His appointment is effective July 1 pending approval by CU President Betsy Hoffman.
Kirkham replaces Randy Cubero, athletic director since 1998. Cubero will remain with the university.
“I am pleased that Steve Kirkham will bring to us his winning tradition and a proven emphasis on academic achievement by student athletes,” Chancellor Pam Shockley-Zalabak.
In his career, 100 percent of senior members of Kirkham’s teams received degrees.
Since 1988, Kirkham has coached the Mavericks women’s basketball team to a 282-153 record and four Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference championships. His team was ranked in the Top 25 five times. He also served as Mesa State’s assistant athletic director from 1993 to 1995.
“CU-Colorado Springs is a sleeping giant and everybody in the RMAC knows it,” said Kirkham. “As a native of Colorado Springs, I’m confident that I can bring in the funding to take the program to the next level and increase the community’s awareness of Mountain Lions athletics.”
Prior to joining to Mesa State, Kirkham was head women’s basketball coach and assistant athletic director at Butler County (Kan.) Community College. He earned a bachelor’s degree from the University of Northern Colorado, a master’s degree from Fort Hays (Kan.) State University. He earned his high school diploma from Air Academy High School, Colorado Springs.
The CU-Colorado Springs Mountain Lions compete in 16 sports at the NCAA Division II level. The university is a member of the RMAC and has produced 10 All-American athletes and has won four conference championships.
CU-Colorado Springs, located on Austin Bluffs Parkway in northeast Colorado Springs, is the fastest growing university in Colorado and one of the fastest growing universities in the nation. The university offers 25 bachelor’s degrees, 17 master’s and two doctoral degrees. The campus enrolls more than 7,600 students annually.