The College Football Hall of Fame released its 2010 ballot on Thursday, and there are three Buffs on the list.

Advancing to the national ballot were former coach Bill McCartney, along with two stars from the Mac glory years, running back Eric Bieniemy and linebacker Alfred Williams.

I have to believe Mac has a great shot. He took a Colorado program that had hit bottom in almost every way and turned it into a national power.  Two outright Big Eight titles, a tie for another and a national title. Those are numbers that should get him in.

I also think Williams and Bieniemy deserve berths, but it might be tougher to convince voters in their case.

There are 77 players and seven coaches on this year’s ballot.

Click here for an electronic view of the ballot that voters will receive.

OK,  I might be jumping the gun here a little.  The Colorado men’s basketball team has to beat Texas Tech on Wednesday to just get to the point that the Buffs would be NIT-eligible.

And, there’s always the outside chance that CU could run the table in the Big 12 tourney and earn an NCAA Tourney berth. (Granted, way, waaayyy outside.)

But in the event that the Buffs do beat Texas Tech and then lose to Kansas in the Big 12 quarterfinals, here’s a scenario I’d love to see.

Sunday night, the Buffs earn an NIT berth. Defending national champion North Carolina also has to settle for an NIT bid. And, the folks who determine the pairings decide to send the Tar Heels to Boulder, where Roy Williams used to bring his Kansas Jayhawks on an annual basis.

Guaranteed, the Coors Events Center would be sold out for that one.

Just a thought …

My apologies. I’ve been using bad information passed on to me; I should have checked.

When the CU Board of Regents voted in 1994 to decline the Pac-10 invitation, the final vote was actually 6-3 .

Three regents who had been elected in November but had not yet been sworn in as voting members favored the move.  Had they been members, the vote would have been 6-3 to join the Pac-10.

Sorry for the error.

CU hoops boss Jeff Bzdelik and associate head coach Steve McClain haven’t stopped in their pursuit of a big man to fill what appears to be the one glaring gap in the Buffs’ roster.

Two of the players are on their wish list are currently playing JC ball in Idaho.

One they’ve been chasing for a while is Aziz Ndiaye, a 7-0, 245-pound native playing for the College of Southern Idaho.  A native of  Senegal, Ndiaye is a solid rebounder and shot blocker. Other schools pursuing Ndiaye include Oklahoma, Washington and Oregon State.

Also on CU’s list is  Guy-Marc Michel, a 7-1 native of Martinique playing at North Idaho College.  North Idaho won its conference this year and is ranked sixth in the nation. Michel led the conference last year in blocked shots, and he’s being pursued heavily by Gonzaga.

Word is Michel has been cleared for admission at Gonzaga.

Of course, nothing is ever so easy at Colorado. The task of getting JC players admitted to CU isn’t simple. Michel is fluent in three languages, and would appear to be the kind of student CU officials would like to have on campus. CU folks are quite strident about their quest for diversity, and one would think that someone such as Michel would fit those goals quite nicely.

Here’s hoping Michel at least gets the go-ahead for admission to CU before he makes a decision.

That was a big win for Jeff Bzdelik’s Buffs in Nebraska on Tuesday. Along with ending the dreadful road drought, the Buffs kept themselves in contention for a postseason spot. If they can get a win Saturday at home against Texas Tech — and pick up a Big 12 tourney victory — they’ll be in position for an NIT berth.

That’s a good step in the right direction for Bzdelik’s program. The Buffs lose just one senior, Dwight Thorne. They also have a host of quality players coming back, beginning with Cory Higgins, Alec Burks and Marcus Relphorde.

Honestly? This is a program that should be an NCAA Tournament team a year from now. I guarantee you, Bzdelik will be greatly disappointed if it doesn’t happen.

As for this year, an eighth-place conference finish is by no means a monumental achievement. But eighth place in a conference that’s likely to send seven teams to the NCAA tournament is moving in the right direction.

The Buffs’ practices will be open this year again, beginning with Saturday’s opening workout.

Here’s the entire spring schedule  (NT indicates no tackling in practice) …

CU spring schedule

March 6 — 8:30 a.m. meetings, 10 a.m.-Noon practice, shorts-helmets; Junior Day

March 9 — 2:30 p.m. meetings, 4-6 p.m. practice, shorts-helmets

March 10 — Pro timing day for 2009 seniors, 9 a.m.

March 11 — 2:30 p.m. meetings, 4-6 p.m. practice, pads-NT; Coaches clinic

March 12 — 2:30 p.m. meetings, 4-6 p.m. practice, pads; Coaches clinic

March 15 — 2:30 p.m. meetings, 4-6 p.m. practice, pads

March 16 — 2:30 p.m. meetings, 4-6 p.m. practice, pads-NT

March 18 — 2:30 p.m. meetings, 4 p.m. scrimmage, pads

March 20-28 — Spring break

March 29 — 2:30 p.m. meetings, 4-6 p.m. practice, pads

March 30 — 2:30 p.m. meetings, 4-6 p.m. practice, pads

April 1 — 2:30 p.m. meetings, 4-6 p.m. practice, pads-NT

April 2 — 2:30 p.m. meetings, 4 p.m. scrimmage, pads

April 5 — 2:30 p.m. meetings, 4-6 p.m. practice, pads

April 6 — 2:30 p.m. meetings, 4-6 p.m. practice, pads-NT

April 8 — 2:30 p.m. meetings, 4-6 p.m. practice, shorts-helmets

April 10 — Spring game, 1:30 p.m.

First, the rumor of the day from Ames, Iowa. When the Cyclones were in Boulder over the weekend to play the Buffs, we heard that Iowa State is thinking about showing hoops coach Greg McDermott the door. We also heard that Cyclone officials are allegedly interested in former UTEP, A&M and Kentucky head coach Billy Gillispie. If that’s the case — shame on the Cyclones. We hope they learned their lesson with ex-football coach Gene Chizik, who bolted Ames at the first opportunity. Gillispie would no doubt take the same route … after all, how long did he stay at any of his previous schools? …

Blair Kerkhoff, the Kansas City Star’s terrific columnist, looks ahead to Wednesday’s Kansas-Kansas State matchup in Lawrence. The Jayhawks have clinched a share of the Big 12 title, but after their loss to Oklahoma State on Saturday, they could still end up in a tie with the rival Wildcats. KSU would have to win out (including Wednesday in Allen Fieldhouse), and the Jayhawks would also have to lose their regular season finale at Missouri on Saturday. …

The San Antonio Express-News says Texas hoops coach Rick Barnes was embarrassed after the Longhorns were thumped by Texas A&M on Saturday.  The ‘Horns, once the nation’s No. 1-ranked team (really?) have lost seven of their last 12. …

The Aggies’ football program, by the way, made a great hire in mid-February when Mike Sherman added former Tulsa and Louisville head coach Steve Kragthorpe to his staff, along with former Aggie All-American Dat Nguyen. Kragthorpe will coach WRs; Nguyen will coach inside ‘backers.

And, Nebraska just received its fourth football commitment for its 2011 recruiting class. Here’s the info. …

Interest in Texas’ spring football opener … in the words of Allen Iverson, “we’re talking about practice” … is apparently so strong that UT has moved the first day to Texas Stadium.

The practice is open to the public, one of just three practices that will be open this spring (including the spring game).

But open doesn’t mean free — at least when it comes to parking.  Fans who don’t have regular parking permits will have to pay anywhere from $7 to $10 for parking to watch Tuesday’s opening drills.

Ran into former CU director of football operations Dave Hansburg at Saturday’s CU-Iowa State basketball game.

Hansburg came to CU with Gary Barnett, and spent a year working for Dan Hawkins before heading off into the private business sector, where he’s still utilizing his expertise in running camps.

He hasn’t regretted the move. He was attending Saturday’s game with his two daughters, a luxury he seldom had time for when he was working at CU. Then, his weekends more often than not involved football duties, from recruiting to spring ball to fall camp and another season.

Now, he’s enjoying life that features a little more spare time. He and his wife, Holly, run Rocky Mountain Day Camp in the summer, a camp for kids age 4-12.  (Holly is the nice one in the family, by the way.) The camp involves … well, just about everything a kid can imagine, from archery and arts and crafts to rocketry and rugby and everything in between.

And, yes, the kids can also play a little football.

Hansburg is also still involved in “big guy” football. He helps former Buff QB Joel Klatt run the Joel Klatt Football School in late July, and they’ll also be putting on a youth football clinic in Littleton in May. More information on the Klatt camps can be found at www.joelklattfootballschool.com

Hansburg is also helping former Buff and current Denver Bronco Tyler Polumbus get a youth camp started. Polumbus’ get-together is scheduled to be held in Cherry Creek/Greenwood Village in mid-July.

For more information on the Hansburgs’ Rocky Mountain Day Camp, you can check the website at www.rockymtndaycamp.com For more info on the other camps, call Hansburg at (303) 495-5204.