FORT COLLINS, Colo. — A new era of Colorado State football is upon us. Steve Addazio, the 23rd coach in school history, was officially introduced on Thursday in the Hall of Champions.

At the afternoon event, which was located on the west side of Canvas Stadium, a brief introduction was given by the school’s new president Joyce McConnell. McConnell welcomed coach Addazio as well as his wife Kathy to the CSU community and brought up how they are both making the transition to the Rocky Mountains from the east coast.

“I told him that coming to Colorado State University is like reaching a summit,” McConnell said. “It’s one that represents a new era for both ourselves and this wonderful institution.”

“Steve brings with him incredible experience — not just on the football field but in the development of student-athletes as players, as scholars, as wonderful people who will lead overwhelmingly successful lives… We’re very excited for the future of CSU football.”

Following McConnell,  Joe Parker (A.D.) thanked everyone that was involved in the coaching search and even laid out some of what went into the decision making process. (We’ll get into this more below).

“Those of you that were involved, I want to thank you for the time and effort, and guidance and thought, that went into it,” Parker said. “We went through a really rigorous process and I appreciate everything you did to contribute to the outcome we’re talking about today.”

Aside from McConnell, Parker did not give specific names but it’s well documented that Urban Meyer was one of the individuals involved in the search process. And if there were still any doubts about that, Addazio made it even more clear when he unpromptedly talked about his relationship with the infamous former Ohio State coach.

“I know the great tradition that’s been here,” Addazio said. “Urban Meyer and I were assistants together at Notre Dame — where we started our friendship. I can remember, as a young coach, all he talked about was Fort Collins and Colorado State.”

With a smile, Addazio then joked that he’s been hearing about CSU and this community since 1999, and Meyer hasn’t stopped talking about it since.

“I’m finally here,” Addazio said.

Here’s everything else we learned at Addazio’s introductory press conference.

What Joe Parker was looking for in a new coach

Joe Parker listed eight qualities that he emphasized in the coaching search, starting with someone that was a proven leader and someone who has an extremely high football acumen.

Some of the other points of emphasis were someone that has high character and is a “crafter of culture”. Parker also listed community engagement, attention to academic success, an ability to recruit and a demonstrated track record of developing talent as important qualities.

Addazio will emphasize rivalry games

Along with recognizing the proud tradition of the CSU Rams and the glory years under Sonny Lubick,  Addazio made it extremely clear that he knows the team needs to perform better in the games that most.

After not beating a single local rival since 2015, CSU’s newest leader expressed that the Rams will be preparing for the games against Air Force, Colorado and “the team up north” every single day of the year.

“I understand the importance of those rivalries. We’re going to get that boot and we’re going to bring it back here,” Addazio said.

Unworried about lack of local ties

While Addazio is familiar with CSU’s enemies, he has very few ties to the state as a whole.

“I have to level with you, I have never been here,” Addazio said of CSU. “I’m blown away by how beautiful it is and the magnificent facilities.”

Due to his lack of time in Colorado, one might assume that recruiting could be a struggle for him, especially at first. Addazio, however, isn’t concerned about this because he has been recruiting nationally for more than two decades.

The fact that Addazio is so confident is an encouraging sign. And he does have a reputation of being able to send guys to the NFL, which should help his cause as well. As long as Addazio makes the right hires, recruiting should not be a major concern for the Rams. No matter who he hires, though, it’s going to be an uphill battle to fill out the 2020 class.

Staff is TBD

Speaking of a staff, Addazio doesn’t have one at this point in time but intends to talk to every member of Mike Bobo’s administration. According to Addazio, Bobo’s staff deserves that respect and he hopes to meet with them all soon.

There is no estimated time table for when Addazio intends to complete his staff — he said that he will take his time with the process. That said, Addazio conceded that with everything that needs to happen in the coming weeks, he understands that moving quickly is important.

While we may not know who will be on Addazio’s staff, we do know that he does not intend to call plays. Addazio said that there are too many other responsibilities for him in this rebuild process and wants to be able to focus on the bigger picture.

One of the names for Ram fans to keep an eye on for this role is current wide receivers coach Joe Cox. Cox is widely respected as an up-and-coming assistant and is a dynamite recruiter. Not to mention his ties to the current players would be extremely useful.

We have no inside information regarding Cox’s status but he was in attendance for Addazio’s intro on Thursday.

What being a “Dude” means

Finally, there were plenty of “Dude” references on Thursday and Addazio gave a little insight into what exactly he means by it.

“A dude is someone who is great at what they do,” Addazio said, before making a variety of jokes and laying on the charm.

“We would say in coaching sometimes, ‘that guy is a dude — like he’s a DUDE.’ So it kinda came out like that and it just took a life of its own,” Addazio said. “It’s kinda cool I think”

All jokes aside, Addazio’s energy was a refreshing site for sore eyes in Ram Country. From start to finish, Addazio was upbeat, optimistic and confident. Obviously, there were plenty of cliches tossed around — there are at all press conferences. But after day one, this writer’s assessment is that Addazio is the type of guy that can win over a room quickly, and that’s a valuable skill as a head coach.

Whether or not he’s a good game manager and will be able to win games is still to be determined. But Addazio certainly won the day.