With the 2023-2024 academic year marking the 60th anniversary of intercollegiate sports at a four-year level for Colorado State University Pueblo, today's game day program article features the "Golden Jubilee" celebration for the 1973 football team.

Despite finishing with a 3-7 record (1-4 in the Great Plains Athletic Conference, the 1973 season produced a breakout campaign for then-Southern Colorado State College newcomer Glen Printers from Dallas, Texas.

A 2015 CSU Pueblo Athletics Hall of Fame inductee, Printers was the top Warrior on the 1973 team as he had transferred from Ranger (Texas) Junior College and ended his SCSC career as a 1975 National Football League draft pick for the San Diego Chargers.

Printers ranked as one of the nation's top performers on defense in 1973 while averaging 24.3 yards per touch by handling 39 interceptions, punt and kickoff returns.  Printers intercepted four passes for 158 returns yards and one score while leading the then-Indians in total tackles (104, 74 solos).

An all-league safety and team most valuable player, Printers also returned 20 kickoffs for a 31.4 average and two scores (95 and 100 yards).  To this day, Printers still ranks No. 1 in career kickoff returns for NCAA Division II players with a 34.0 average.

Joining Printers as All-GPAC first team honorees were receiver Dan Connors and tackle Mike Reppa. Center Tim Nauslar, cornerback Alan Webster and kicker Del Bishop were honorable mention All-GPAC performers. Bishop was SCSC's top scorer with 34 points, including six made field goals.

The 1973 season was the final campaign for 2016 CSU Pueblo Athletics Hall of Fame inductee Joe Prater as he coached the then-Indians for the first 11 football crusades before be replacing in 1974 by 2023 HOF inductee Mike Friedman.

Assisting Prater were Chuck Haering, Gary Richardson and Don Stutters. Glen DeMatteo was a student assistant. Haering (2015) and Stutters (2019) are CSU Pueblo Athletics Hall of Famers, while Richardson replaced Friedman as the then-University of Southern Colorado head coach in 1984.

As written in the SCSC student newspaper at the end of the 1973 season, "Prater's charges did score an impressive 32-28 upset win over Nebraska-Omaha, but lost their chance for a .500 season with narrow losses to both Adams State (7-8) and Kansas State of Pittsburg (17-20)."  Both the Adams State and Fort Hays State setbacks occurred in the fourth quarter after the Indians held leads entering the final period.

Other victories for SCSC were in the season opener at Fort Lewis (30-17) and at home against Washburn in the GPAC opener.  The Washburn win produced a school record as Prater's defense held the Ichabod's to 77 total yards.  The Omaha game saw the Indians pass for a program best 263 yards by quarterback Jim Nelson.

On offense, halfback Benny Williams, Nelson and receiver Connors paced SCSC. Willaims rushed for 627 yards and five scores while Nelson passed for 996 yards and six scores. Connors caught 28 passes for 523 yards and four scores to finish his career with 92 receptions for 1,371 yards and nine touchdowns.

Wayne Harris (395 yards) and Andy Sabo (174) were the second and third leading rushers, respectively, with freshman Clyde Kenebrew starting his SCSC career with 17 pass receptions for 229 yards and two touchdowns.

Joining Printers in the return game was Webster, who had 27 return touches for a 20.9 average. In addition to five interceptions, he had 11 punt returns for 19.3 yard average with a 93-yard scoring run and 11 kick returns for a 26.4 average.

Linebacker Rich Yonker was second in tackles with 90 stops (57 solos) followed by linebacker Tom West 63 (36), safety Chuck Schnorr 62, (34), tackle Paul Cassidy 61 (45), tackle Dustin Satterfield 48, (25), linebacker Chris Barck 47 (19), Webster 45 (29), cornerback Larry Gentry 42 (29) and end Joe Bacho 40 (25).

"It is fun to read and remember that team! Playing with Glen Printers and Alan Webster on special teams was such a great experience. They were so explosive and fast, and you knew you only had to get a piece of someone, and they had a chance to score! I remember on one of those long kickoffs returns, Glen ran one way and then reversed direction the other way and I blocked the same player twice on the same play," Yonker said. "It was a tough season, and we lost some games we should have won but, great memories playing with all those guys!"  

A total of 35 players lettered in 1973 with Cassidy, Connors and Williams receiving a monogram for the fourth time. The 10 freshman letters were the most in SCSC history. Missing from the 1973 lineup was linebacker Mike Waters, who did not play due to a preseason knee injury.