Love is on the brain today with hearts popping up all over the place and the PDA on campus reaching new levels of inappropriate. However, despite what we have witnessed, people have love for more than just other human beings or themselves.

With the celebration of Colorado State’s birthday falling on the week of love, it got those who hold the university close to their heart feeling warm and fuzzy inside. From people who have walked the hallowed grounds of CSU since before the freshmen could count to some who are just paving their paths — here are the fondest memories from their time in Ram country.

“In a short period of time, there have been many memories I love, and most involve seeing our student-athletes achieve their goals and grow. To isolate one, I’d have to say the victory in the New Mexico Bowl for the sheer joy I saw on the faces of our student-athletes. They understood the challenge, never gave up and finally got to see the reward for their perseverance. For the seniors, it gave them a memorable end to their career, and for the returning players it reinforced that everything they had invested in themselves and the program pays dividends. It lets them know there’s far more ahead for them—individually and as a team—when they keep setting their goals higher. I’ll never forget seeing the joy they felt in that moment.”

-Paul Kirk, director of football media relations (2012-present)

“Having been on campus for 35 years and four more as a student, I have many cherished memories of my time Colorado State.  The memories I cherish the most are the people, the friendships and the relationships, which can never be lost or replaced.  As for a single memory, it would be watching as my son and daughter attended CSU and how proud that made me feel as a parent that they would both choose to attend my alma mater. But there is no more exhilarating feeling than I had recently, walking through the snow-covered  Oval with a very special friend on a moonlit night during holiday break.”

-Gary Ozzello, senior associate athletic director (1978-present)

“There are many candidates, both of academic and non-academic natures.

Still…

My favorite memory at CSU was tearing down the goal posts in a 1994 win over Wyoming at Hughes Stadium. Colorado State appeared in the AP top-10 that season, and an infectious wave of Ram pride washed over our campus and community. In a very real sense, the football program was reborn that season and I was there to witness it firsthand – unforgettable.”

-Darrell Blair, 1997 CSU alum and instructor (2012-present)

“Winning at The Pit this year is by far my favorite memory. There have been other good wins I’ve had as a Ram in my four years, but this team has been fun to play with, and there was so much on the line and we hadn’t won there since 1998. We played together, we had a comeback, came in the locker room and started chanting ‘I’m proud to be a CSU Ram,’ we are dancing, coach walks in and it just got even more exciting. That was just a point where we came together and realized what we could do as a team.”

-Sam Martin, women’s basketball forward (2010-present)

“There’s two that come to mind. One is during the 2012-2013 season when we were playing SDSU at home. It was an orange out, and in the closing seconds of the game Moby was completely full, it was sold out. Jon Octeus stole the ball at half court and in the closing seconds slammed the ball in the basket and closed the games for us. It was really something.

Then this past football season in Tulsa. We lost the football game and it was a very hard loss for us. We were in the locker room and I just remember how distraught and upset these guys were, but also how convicted they were to fix it, you could see it in their eyes. I just remember thinking that we would fix it, and were going to be just fine. It’s one of those experiences I will never forget. Even in their lowest moment, you could really see who these guys were.”

-Jack Graham, 1978 CSU alum and director of athletics (2011-present)

So if you don’t have a date to woo this Valentine’s Day, take heart in knowing that you are creating your own special memories from your time as a Colorado State Ram.