Colorado State University Athletics
In Memoriam: Rams Football Coach Leon Fuller
7/17/2026 5:08:00 PM | Football
Former head coach passed away in his home in Austin, Texas on July 11, 2026
On July 11, 2026, former CSU head football coach Leon Fuller passed away at the age of 87 at his home in Austin, Texas. The man who brought Sonny Lubick to CSU as his offensive coordinator and Dave Lay as offensive line coach, helped form a foundation of what Rams football would look like in the 1990s.
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Fuller was hired at CSU on December 7, 1981, after the Rams had posted an 0-12 record under coaches Sark Arslanian and Chester Caddas. He came to Fort Collins with a heavy defensive mindset from coaching at Texas as their defensive coordinator. His coaching tutelage began under the legendary Paul "Bear" Bryant at Alabama, and it was a shock when the Rams were an offensive powerhouse in the 1980s.
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Fuller guided several outstanding young athletes to coach at CSU, men like Kelli McGregor, Steve Bartalo, Jeff Harper, Jeff Champine, Terry Nugent, Ron Cortell and Kelly Stouffer were just a few of the Rams legends fuller guided as head coach at CSU.
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In a 2008 interview with Keli McGregor, he stated that as a walk-on in 1981, he was told he would receive a scholarship, but by the spring of 1982 no scholarship had been granted. The University of Colorado offered to bring McGregor to Boulder and without a CSU scholarship, he felt he should make the move. With his car packed and ready to drive 36 miles south to Boulder, McGregor stopped by the Rams football office at Moby to deliver his intent to transfer, only to be given his scholarship instead. Fuller honored Sark Arslanian's wishes to give the Rams future hall of famer the scholarship he was promised and deserved.
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Fuller's greatest player contribution to CSU was another walk-on who originally wanted to be a quarterback. Steve Bartalo, still the all-time rushing leader at CSU arrived in 1983 and was converted to a fullback, who would go on to tear up the Hughes Stadium turf and opposing WAC fields over the next four years. Bartalo's 4,813 career rushing yards may never be broken at CSU.
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The greatest game Fuller coached at CSU is undoubtedly the 1986 CU game in Boulder when the Rams rushed, passed and intercepted the Buffs all day. Prior to the game, fuller dedicated it to retiring athletic director Fum McGraw, the man who hired him in 1981. After Fum sang his legendary song to the team before they took the field, the energetic Rams burst out of the locker room hell-bent on beating CU for the first time since 1958. No game during Fuller's tenure could ever match the excitement and thrill of that cold, wet day in Boulder.
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Leon Fuller holds one other record no other CSU coach has ever matched. He is the only CSU football coach to guide his team in a game outside of the United States or a US territory. Fuller brought his Rams to Melbourne, Australia on December 4, 1987, for the Gridiron Bowl against BYU and lost in a close 26-30 game.
Fuller made one contribution to CSU football that remains today and can be seen in the team's equipment. When Fuller arrived at CSU, the Rams wore yellow helmets with green horns. Fuller reversed the colors to green helmets with yellow horns. CSU football has worn dark green as its primary helmet color for the last 45 seasons thanks to his uniform contribution to CSU football.
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Leon Fuller was the last head football coach at CSU who coached prior to 1992, all other coaches before him have now passed away. As we look back at the Wacky WAC days of CSU football and the men and coaches he brought to CSU, we remember the man who helped make that happen.
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Fuller was hired at CSU on December 7, 1981, after the Rams had posted an 0-12 record under coaches Sark Arslanian and Chester Caddas. He came to Fort Collins with a heavy defensive mindset from coaching at Texas as their defensive coordinator. His coaching tutelage began under the legendary Paul "Bear" Bryant at Alabama, and it was a shock when the Rams were an offensive powerhouse in the 1980s.
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Fuller guided several outstanding young athletes to coach at CSU, men like Kelli McGregor, Steve Bartalo, Jeff Harper, Jeff Champine, Terry Nugent, Ron Cortell and Kelly Stouffer were just a few of the Rams legends fuller guided as head coach at CSU.
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In a 2008 interview with Keli McGregor, he stated that as a walk-on in 1981, he was told he would receive a scholarship, but by the spring of 1982 no scholarship had been granted. The University of Colorado offered to bring McGregor to Boulder and without a CSU scholarship, he felt he should make the move. With his car packed and ready to drive 36 miles south to Boulder, McGregor stopped by the Rams football office at Moby to deliver his intent to transfer, only to be given his scholarship instead. Fuller honored Sark Arslanian's wishes to give the Rams future hall of famer the scholarship he was promised and deserved.
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Fuller's greatest player contribution to CSU was another walk-on who originally wanted to be a quarterback. Steve Bartalo, still the all-time rushing leader at CSU arrived in 1983 and was converted to a fullback, who would go on to tear up the Hughes Stadium turf and opposing WAC fields over the next four years. Bartalo's 4,813 career rushing yards may never be broken at CSU.
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The greatest game Fuller coached at CSU is undoubtedly the 1986 CU game in Boulder when the Rams rushed, passed and intercepted the Buffs all day. Prior to the game, fuller dedicated it to retiring athletic director Fum McGraw, the man who hired him in 1981. After Fum sang his legendary song to the team before they took the field, the energetic Rams burst out of the locker room hell-bent on beating CU for the first time since 1958. No game during Fuller's tenure could ever match the excitement and thrill of that cold, wet day in Boulder.
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Leon Fuller holds one other record no other CSU coach has ever matched. He is the only CSU football coach to guide his team in a game outside of the United States or a US territory. Fuller brought his Rams to Melbourne, Australia on December 4, 1987, for the Gridiron Bowl against BYU and lost in a close 26-30 game.
Fuller made one contribution to CSU football that remains today and can be seen in the team's equipment. When Fuller arrived at CSU, the Rams wore yellow helmets with green horns. Fuller reversed the colors to green helmets with yellow horns. CSU football has worn dark green as its primary helmet color for the last 45 seasons thanks to his uniform contribution to CSU football.
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Leon Fuller was the last head football coach at CSU who coached prior to 1992, all other coaches before him have now passed away. As we look back at the Wacky WAC days of CSU football and the men and coaches he brought to CSU, we remember the man who helped make that happen.
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