On Oct. 2, 1926, the University of Denver football team stepped onto the gridiron of Hilltop Stadium for the first time, achieving a 27-7 victory over archrival Colorado School of Mines. With room for up to 25,000 fans, the new stadium far surpassed the makeshift field at University Park — where Buchtel Boulevard now runs — and its 10,000 capacity grandstand, which had served as the Pioneers’ stomping ground since 1909. Hilltop’s construction was made possible by DU alumni, who raised funds through a bond drive, whereby bonds would be repaid with stadium revenue. The stadium hosted many events, including a 1927 victory parade for aviator Charles Lindbergh and the historic Aug. 5, 1967, football game when the Denver Broncos became the first AFL team to defeat a NFL team, the Detroit Lions. In the end, Hilltop Stadium would survive DU’s football program — which was canceled in 1961 — by a decade. Although Hilltop was demolished in 1971, athletic competitions still take place on the hallowed ground where it once stood, with Division I Pioneers athletes taking the court and pitch at the Stapleton Tennis Pavilion and CIBER Field.
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