"I don’t know what I would have done if my brother was not recruiting Chicano students to the University of Colorado."

As a teenager growing up in Trinidad, Colorado, during the early 1970s, attending the ���������� seemed out of the question for Bernal Baca (A&S’75). Instead, he planned to follow the advice of his high school guidance counselor and enter an auto mechanics program after graduation. But his older brother Richard Baca (Edu’71) intervened. 

Richard, a student at ���������� at the time, was back home visiting his former high school. As a United Mexican American Students (UMAS) member, he was recruiting Hispanic students like Bernal to attend the university. Bernal was hesitant, insisting he wanted to become an auto mechanic — but Richard wouldn’t take no for an answer. Bernal heeded his brother's advice and applied to the school, where he was accepted and enrolled.

In retrospect, following in his brother’s footsteps to an education on the Front Range turned out to be the best thing that ever happened to Bernal — and future generations of Baca family members. 

“I don’t know what I would have done if my brother was not recruiting Chicano students to the University of Colorado. That signaled to me that we had a chance,” Bernal said. “So I took that chance, and I’m glad.”

Deep Roots

Richard and Bernal earned degrees from ���������� and went on to achieve doctoral degrees in psychology and education, respectively. According to Richard, these feats were considered improbable at the time, given the siblings’ humble upbringing. 

The Baca family’s history in the United States dates back to the 1600s, when a settlement from Spain’s Oñate Expeditionary Group landed in northern New Mexico. Eventually, the family migrated to the southern Colorado city of Trinidad, whose establishment in the 1870s by Felipe Baca and his wife, Dolores, was a catalyst for Hispanics to settle in the area. 

“In essence, [Bacas] have been here for a long time,” Richard said. “We often hear the notion that ‘America came to us’ because our family was here long before the United States was founded.” 

The Bacas, a family of farmers, ranchers and entrepreneurs, were influential in southern Colorado. However, after Richard graduated from Trinidad State College in 1969, he thought his only two choices in the rural town were to work in the coal mines or join the military. An unlikely opportunity arose, though: Richard was selected with a cadre of other Latino students to apply to ���������� under what was then called the Educational Opportunity Program, which was established in the 1960s to recruit young Latinos who might not have met all the established admissions criteria at the time.

"My brother was the one who showed me the way, and he was able to teach his own son and granddaughter the same thing. I love it." 

Without this program, the thought of attending the university would have been as unlikely as eating “frijoles sin tortillas” (beans without tortillas), Richard said. “Formal admission to the university opened an educational dimension immeasurable by traditional means and inexplicable to [my] mother who had all of a third-grade education,” he wrote in a letter about his family to the Coloradan this past August.

Boulder or Bust

When Richard told his mother he was accepted to ����������, she replied, “Ah, que bueno jito. ¿Dónde está Boulder?” which translates to, “That’s good news, my son. Where is Boulder?” 

Over the next few years, Boulder evolved from what Richard called “a strange land” into his second home. He credits his success to living of campus with a group of graduate students and to his participation in student groups and campus activities. Richard’s tenure at CU coincided with the Chicano movement of the 1960s and 1970s. 

“At that time, the movement was really becoming strong, so I just became involved in campus activities related to Chicano students and learned more about my roots, my heritage and the importance of trying to advance ourselves as a grouping,” Richard said. 

"I got my spark at [����������] because I was mentored by one of the best professors I think I’ve ever met."

As a result of initiatives such as the Educational Opportunity Program that supported Richard, ���������� began recruiting hundreds of students from new communities — including Native American, Mexican American, Black/African American and Asian American communities — to attend the university. Some of these students formed organizations inspired by broader civil rights movements, including UMAS. 

Bernal also became involved with the Chicano Movement, joined UMAS and studied under Salvador Ramírez — who taught Chicano studies. When Ramírez moved to the Pacific Northwest, Bernal followed to help him establish the first Chicano studies program at Washington State University. After a long career as a college professor, Bernal now serves as executive director at a nonprofit called , which provides social, cultural and educational services to the Latino community in the greater Tacoma area.

“I got my spark at [����������] because I was mentored by one of the best professors I think I’ve ever met,” Bernal said. “I feel really honored to be bestowed that university bachelor’s degree because it was the most important degree I have received.”

Passing the Torch

While Richard is now retired, his career in higher education, mental health, consulting and politics spanned over 40 years. He even ran for University of Colorado regent in 1994 and served as the assistant vice president of student affairs and enrollment management at Mesa State College (now Colorado Mesa University) in Grand Junction. Richard raised his family on the Western Slope, and his son Ryan (Bus’96) was admitted to ���������� in the 1990s, continuing the legacy started by his father and uncle nearly three decades prior.

Ryan’s daughter, Alexandra (Bus’28), is the latest Baca family member to become a Buff. She moved into student housing at ����������’s Cheyenne Arapaho Hall in fall 2024. Like her father, Alexandra was admitted to the Presidents Leadership Class, which Ryan said was key to his success as a student and later as a management professional. The university also offered her scholarships from the Latinx Association and the Business and Engineering Women in Leadership program. 

“I don’t know another place I would want to go to for a university experience,” Bernal said. “My brother was the one who showed me the way, and he was able to teach his own son and granddaughter the same thing. I love it.” 

While Richard, Ryan and Alexandra each experienced the university in different eras, they’re united by their love for the beautiful campus, Boulder’s ever-evolving cultural scene and their love for Colorado Buffaloes football. 

The legacy they continue to nurture is one we know Alexandra’s late abuela would definitely be proud of.

  Submit feedback to the editor

Have a ���������� family legacy to share? Email us at editor@colorado.edu with your story.

���������� is involved in several programs in Trinidad, Colorado. Visit the  for more information. 

Illustration by Emiliano Ponzi; Photo courtesy Richard Baca

Off

After an extraordinary 11-1 season with the Buffs in 1994, running back Rashaan Salaam (Soc ex’96) . Salaam, then a junior, was the fourth Division I player to top the 2,000-yard rushing barrier. He also led the nation in scoring.

“It was a special season, especially after the Miracle at Michigan game,” said Dave Plati (Jour’82), who was assistant athletic director for sports information during Salaam’s time at CU. 

Thirty years later, cornerback and wide receiver Travis Hunter (�ʲ��⳦��’26)&�Բ�����;, the university’s second, bringing Salaam’s name back into the spotlight.

“Rashaan hated the attention he was receiving,” said Plati. “He was the consummate team player, and after he won all his awards, most of his comments were directed at saying his success was due to his teammates.”

Salaam died in 2016 at the age of 42. 

  Submit feedback to the editor

Photo courtesy Heisman Trophy Trust

Off

Parts of the story are well known — documented, verified, as certain as can be. Others are subject to interpretation.

A few parts have been repeated so often that they feel true and important, though the evidence may be thin, contested or dubious.

That’s the nature of legends.

In this case, it all adds up to the story of a live buffalo mascot called Ralphie, admired by generations of alumni, friends, fans and — dare we say it — rivals of the ����������.

You’ve probably heard about the time, back in 1934, when the Silver & Gold student newspaper sponsored a contest to identify a new and permanent nickname for CU, which had been known variously as the Silver and Gold, Frontiersmen, Thundering Herd and other names. More than 1,000 responses flooded in, including six recommending the buffaloes.

We all know who came out on top.

Legends are a mix of hard truth and inherited belief. This fall, should you witness all 1,200 pounds of Ralphie V charging down Folsom Field, there won’t be anything vague about the feeling you get. In honor of the 50th anniversary of the Ralphie live mascot tradition, we’ve assembled pieces of Ralphie's story, some past, some present. Some of you surely know details that escaped us, or perhaps remember things differently. For posterity’s sake, we hope you’ll let us know.

As a mascot, Ralphie has entered her sixth decade. Won’t you come see her again?

Read more about Ralphie:

Photo by Randy Parietti Photography (top); University of Colorado, Colorado State University 

Off

Lucinda Garbarino (BA 1901; MA 1902), pictured in front row, far right.

Louis Garbarino wasn’t the type to give up.

In 1859, the 20-year-old Italian immigrant headed west from St. Louis with three of his brothers, hoping to strike it rich in Colorado’s gold rush. They’d made it part way when attackers stole their supplies and slaughtered their animals. The brothers retreated to Missouri and soon tried again, triumphantly. 

That’s how the family of Martin “Marty” J. Miles (Math’60; MS’67) came to Colorado, setting the stage for a remarkably enduring relationship with ����������.

“Without his determination and dedication, none of it would have happened,” Miles — one of more than 50 members of his extended family to attend CU over five generations — said of his great-grandfather.

Instead of panning for gold, Louis Garbarino opened a restaurant in Boulder, which soon became home to the University of Colorado. In the late 1890s a daughter, Lucinda Garbarino (BA 1901; MA 1902) — Miles’ greataunt — set the family’s CU tradition in motion, enrolling as a student. She went on to teach at the university for nearly 40 years, personally tutoring President George Norlin in Latin and Greek. Derek Miles (Jour’15), Martin’s grandson, is the family’s latest graduate. Derek’s sister, Elise (IntPhys’19), is a student now.

In between, dozens of other Garbarinos and Mileses have become Buffs, among them Marty Miles’ father, siblings, children and various aunts, uncles, cousins and others. Myron Witham, CU’s head football coach from 1920-31, is a relation by marriage.

Even as CU courts first-generation college students, broadening the tapestry of the CU clan, it benefits from a sturdy backbone of loyal legacy families, which give a literal dimension to the kinship many alumni feel and which provide reliable support for the evolving university.

The exact number of legacy families is unknown. But a 2015 campus study found that nearly 25 percent of 67,000 students who attended from 2005 to 2013 had some kind of family relationship with a prior CU student. Ten percent had more than one Buff relative and five percent had an alum grandparent.

An unbroken chain of more than three generations is rare, making the Garbarino-Miles clan exceptional for its continuity and longevity. “A lot of us think of fellow Buffs as family, and for more than a few, they literally are,” said Ryan Chreist (Kines’96; MPubAd’09), executive director of the ���������� Alumni Association, which offers graduating legacy students special tassels for their commencement caps.

Last year the association also awarded more than $50,000 in scholarships to legacy students.

For Marty Miles, an 83-year-old mathematician retired from the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), tradition and proximity combined to produce ideal conditions for a multi-layered, lifelong affinity for ����������.

Something amazing is happening right here in Boulder."

Growing up on The Hill in the 1930s and ’40s, he could hear Old Main’s bell ringing several times a day. He recalls that his grandmother, Talitha Garbarino Miles (A&S ex1899), would suddenly stop what she was doing to say, “Just listen to that. Isn’t it wonderful?”

Marty treated campus as his own backyard and personal playground. When he was about 10, he discovered something magical while exploring there — football players practicing in full gear.

“I remember thinking, ‘I can’t believe something so amazing is happening right here in Boulder,’” he said, noting he’s missed fewer than 10 home football games since then, and those only due to Navy service.

When it came time for college, there was no question where Marty Miles would go.

“Back then, no one really left home to go to college,” he said, “but I was so determined to go there, I didn’t even consider anywhere else.”

It didn’t hurt that his father, Boulder physician Martin B. Miles (BA’23; MD’31), had preceded him.

One day, in an English class in Hellems, Marty met Betty Thompson (PolSci’61), who would become his wife. Their union would yield a fourth generation of Miles Buffs, Barbara Miles (A&S ex’78) and Martin W. Miles (�ʳ�ٳұ�Dz�’93).

Martin W. is now a climate researcher in Bergen, Norway, and an associate of INSTAAR, the Institute of Arctic and Alpine Research, CU’s oldest institute. An expert in Arctic Sea ice and paleoceanography, he faithfully follows CU football from his home, often staying up through the night to catch the video feed of the games. Barbara began her studies at CU, then transferred to USC for a taste of Southern California. Her son, Derek, pursued the reverse course — starting at the University of Arizona, eager for his own out-of-state experience, then transferring to CU.

“Call it the curse of the Buffalo!” Derek joked.

Marty said most family members stay engaged with CU their whole lives. His brother, Patrick Miles (PolSci’64; MPubAd’77), is an alumnus of both the Boulder and Colorado Springs campuses and a past president of the Springs’ alumni association.

What is it that keeps so many Mileses and Garbarinos coming to CU — or compels them to return after a dalliance with another school?

Each member of the family explains it differently, but all describe it as something they’ve felt all their lives.

To Marty, his family’s CU affiliation is a renewing gift, generating a fresh burst of pride as generation after generation chooses to take part. He talks of huge summer barbecues where nearly everyone in the extended family is decked out in CU gear.

“CU is a unifying factor in our family, the one thing we all have in common,” he said.

He’s thrilled when someone in the family applies to the university, and he never makes anyone feel guilty for going elsewhere.

But, he admits, “I’m usually thinking, ‘It’s a great school, so why would you want to go anywhere else?’”

Writer Lisa Friedrich Truesdale (Ling’86) lives in Longmont, Colo.

Photo courtesy Miles family

Off

Did you happen to spy the black-and-gold cords some graduating seniors wore during commencement in December?

As part of the Forever Buffs initiative, the CU-Boulder Alumni Association began a new tradition by providing “legacy cords” to graduating students whose family members are CU alums. The cords are worn with the student’s graduation gown to recognize his or her family ties to CU.

“The goal of the program is to recognize legacies, especially those of parents and of grandparents,” says Clark Oldroyd (MEdu’75), Alumni Association associate director. 

Students graduating in May who have CU family ties should stop by Koenig Alumni Center at 1202 University Ave. during the two weeks before commencement to receive a free legacy cord. The cords also are available at The Herd’s Senior Sendoff on May 3 at Koenig. The Herd is the student arm of the Alumni Association.

Photo courtesy M. Douglas Wray

Off