Zach Ruebesam, the eighth men’s head basketball coach at CSU Pueblo since 1963, organized the first men’s basketball alumni reunion during the football season as he and his staff of Michael Ranson and Jonathan Scott welcome former players, coaches, and staff back to the ThunderBowl for the ThunderWolves game against Adams State on September 27.

In addition to players returning from the days when the school was known as Southern Colorado State College and the University of Southern Colorado, the inaugural reunion will feature players from the junior college era, with two returnees from the 1961 Junior College national championship team – Ron DeLeon and Lenny Roybal.

Joe Folda, the fourth of the eight head coaches at CSU Pueblo, will also return for the reunion.  Folda replaced Dick Dragmeister in the fall of 1987 as the coach and posted a 314-196 record in 18 seasons in leading the Pack.  A 2018 inductee into the CSU Pueblo Athletics Hall of Fame, Folda served as the school’s Athletics Director from 2005 to 2018.

SCSC/USC/CSUP returnees – Maurice Blanding, 1995-1997 (CSUP Hall of Fame, 2019); Jamar Brown, 2000-2002; Ron DeLeon, 1963-1965; Mark Gregory, 1985-1989; Mike Lynch, 1963-1966; Jermanine Mason, 1998-2001; Elijah Moleon, 2021-2023; Meek Payne, 2021-2023; Brad Ranson, 1980-1983; Clay Ranson, 1985-1986; Steve Shirley, 1987-1992 (CSUP Hall of Fame, 2019, with the 1990-1991 team); Ty Trahern, 2007-2012 (CSUP Hall of Fame, 2023 with the Trahern Family Legacy); Jim von Loh, 1969-1973 (CSUP Hall of Fame, 2019, and 2015 with the 1971-1972 Elite Eight team); and Brevin Walter, 2023-2025. Coach Joe Folda, 1987-2018 (CSUP Hall of Fame 2018, 2019 with the 1990-1991 team). Staff members include Gene Rickey, manager (1965-1969), and Tim Simmons, information manager (1965-1969), sports information director (1971-1974), and athletics historian (2021-present).

PJC returnees – Norm Colglazier, 1959-1961 (pending); Ron DeLeon, 1959-1961; Mike Lynch, 1962-1963; Lenny Roybal, 1959-1961.  NOTE – Colglazier, DeLeon, and Roybal were inducted into the CSU Pueblo Athletics Hall of Fame in 2009 as players on the 1961 national championship team.  The trio was inducted in 2012 with the 1959-1960 team that placed eighth nationally.

The below interview with Coach Ruebesam starts at the 10-minute mark in the podcast.