Over the past year, the Outlaws of CSU have become a staple of the game day experience for anyone familiar with Colorado State University athletics. 

The rowdy group of cowboy hat-wearing super fans is made up of six second-year students: Anthony Barse, Dallas Fleck, Todd Osoba, Jason Allen, Logan Eastwood and Ella Fredrikson.

Despite the group’s current prominence, its founding came informally. Originally having acquired their signature hats for a cowboy-themed party, the friends decided to coordinate and wear the hats to last year’s men’s basketball game against Saint Mary’s College of California. 

The group became an instant hit with others at the game, especially the nonstudent Fort Collins community. 

“Almost every sport now, from softball to lacrosse to basketball, we walk in that door or close to the field, and the fact that we know 90% of the players and they know who we are, it’s crazy. It’s definitely a nice feeling to have that connection.” -Dallas Fleck, Outlaw of CSU 

“Our fan base kind of started with the (nonstudent) community at the basketball games,” Barse said. “They see something that maybe reminds them of when they were in college.”

Two members of the group, Barse and Fleck, were born into the Colorado State community. Barse, whose parents met at CSU, is studying journalism and sports management in hopes of working within CSU Athletics upon his graduation. 

Fleck, a third-generation Ram, has deep ties to the Fort Collins campus, most notably Moby Arena. His grandfather’s graduating class was the first to have their graduation ceremony in the building after it opened.

Two of the original Outlaws, Adyn Cox and Roman Smith, have since stepped away in order to focus on their academics. Fredrikson, who recently joined the Outlaws, became the group’s first female member.

“Having a new person come in, it’s been nice and refreshing to have another perspective within the group,” Fleck said.

As last year’s basketball season went on and the Outlaws continued to make their presence felt at games, the group developed a relationship with the team. As the end of the season approached, the Outlaws set up a GoFundMe with the hope of funding a trip to Las Vegas to support the CSU men’s and women’s basketball teams at their Mountain West Conference tournaments.

Shortly after the fundraiser page went live, the group received a $900 donation from men’s basketball head coach Niko Medved and his wife, Erica Medved. The donation put the group over their goal of $1,500, displaying the impact the Outlaws had on Medved and his team.

“It was really cool what Medved did with the GoFundMe; it really brought us closer with him and the team,” Barse said. “We saw the basketball team was rallying around us after we rallied around them.”

The trip ended up being a success, and it is now something the Outlaws plan to do every year.

“It’s like we’re climbing a mountain, and the peak is the Mountain West (basketball) tournament,” Barse said. “We’re climbing up and building up all of our energy up to the tournament.”

After the basketball season ended, the Outlaws branched out to other sports. They became regulars at softball games as well as repeatedly showed support for club sports, like lacrosse.

“Almost every sport now, from softball to lacrosse to basketball, we walk in that door or close to the field, and the fact that we know 90% of the players and they know who we are, it’s crazy,” Fleck said. “It’s definitely a nice feeling to have that connection.”

Despite expanding their support to all sports at CSU, the group is excited to get back to their basketball roots in Moby Arena for the upcoming season.

“We can’t wait for basketball season,” Barse said. “It has kind of been our bread and butter from the start.”

Reach Kaden Porter at sports@collegian.com or on Twitter @kqporter5.