For nine days in July 2025, Colorado College became something few campuses ever experience: the center of a national celebration of resilience, recovery, and service.
From July 18-26, nearly 200 wounded, ill, and injured service members and veterans traveled to Colorado Springs to compete in the 15th anniversary of the Department of Defense Warrior Games. Representing the Army, Marine Corps, Navy, Coast Guard, Air Force, Space Force, and U.S. Special Operations Command, the athletes competed in 11 adaptive sports while demonstrating the perseverance that defines the Warrior Games.
The event marked a historic milestone for Colorado College. The College became the first non-service academy selected to serve as the primary venue for the Games, placing its campus at the heart of one of the Department of Defense’s premier adaptive sports competitions.
That distinction didn’t happen by chance.
It grew from years of collaboration among CC, the Colorado Springs Sports Corporation (Sports Corp), the City of Colorado Springs, and community partners who share a vision of making Olympic City USA a destination for national sporting events.
“It takes relationships,” says Lesley Irvine, Vice President of Athletics for Colorado College. “We’ve built critical relationships with Colorado Springs Sports Corporation and the City. They’d been in talks with the Department of Defense. Sports Corp called us and asked if we’d be interested in being considered as the primary site for the Games. Not only do we pride ourselves on being entrepreneurial at CC, but the Warrior Games aligns with the College’s priorities of supporting the local community. We leaned in and here we are!”
Ed Robson Arena became the centerpiece of the Games. Designed as the home of Tigers hockey, the arena also proved to be an ideal venue for adaptive sports competition, supported by Reid Arena and the broader El Pomar Sports Complex. Colorado College’s walkable campus, modern athletic facilities, and location near downtown hotels and restaurants made it an attractive choice for athletes, families, volunteers, and organizers.
The selection reflected more than outstanding facilities. It demonstrated how the institution has become an active civic partner in the life of Colorado Springs.
That partnership was strengthened by alumni like Davis Tutt ’15, Senior Director of Sports Tourism and Olympic Engagement for the Sports Corp. Working with Irvine and community leaders, Tutt helped bring the Warrior Games back to Colorado Springs while highlighting Colorado College as the ideal host site.
“It’s really exciting for me to bring events like this to CC,” Tutt says. “I suppose I have a more vested interest in getting things to CC as an alum and season ticket holder and as someone who loves and supports the school wholeheartedly.”
Serving as the host of the Warrior Games also reflected the College’s growing role in attracting nationally recognized events. Recent years have seen the campus welcome major competitions, including the USA Weightlifting Championships and the International Jump Rope Championships, introducing thousands of visitors to the campus and the city.
It also delivered meaningful economic benefits to the city. Close to 200 athletes, along with their families, coaches, support staff, volunteers, and spectators filled downtown hotels, dined in local restaurants, and visited area businesses for more than a week. While the Warrior Games’ economic impact is reported separately from the region’s annual sports tourism figures, events of this scale reinforce Colorado Springs’ reputation as a premier destination for national competitions. They also highlight CC’s growing role as a community partner that helps attract visitors, strengthen the local economy, and showcase the city to a national audience.
Yet the lasting impact of the Warrior Games wasn’t measured by attendance, economics, or television coverage.
It was found in moments of determination unfolding across campus each day. Athletes recovering from combat injuries, illnesses, and other life-changing challenges competed in archery, cycling, swimming, wheelchair basketball, sitting volleyball, indoor rowing, powerlifting, track and field, and other adaptive sports. Every event reflected the Warrior Care Program’s mission of using sport to support recovery, rehabilitation, and renewed confidence.
Those competitions transformed Colorado College into far more than an athletic venue. For one week, it became a place where recovery was visible, perseverance was celebrated, and service members inspired thousands of spectators through their determination.
Hosting an event of that scale required support from across the College. Faculty and staff worked alongside Athletics, Facilities Services, Campus Safety, College Events, Dining Services, the Office of Communications & Marketing, and numerous other departments to welcome competitors and visitors from across the country.
“I can’t think of another event we’ve hosted that’s had nearly every division present,” Irvine says. “I want to give credit to the spirit of CC, of the leadership here. We do courageous things. We think outside the box. I think it’s cool that we’re a campus that embraces experiences like this and finds a way to make it happen. If you can dream it, you have a shot at doing it here. That’s not the case at every institution of higher ed.”
The Warrior Games showcased the strength of adaptive sports. The Games also demonstrated something about CC itself. They reflected an institution willing to partner with its community, open its campus to a national audience, and use its resources in service of something larger than itself.
For nine remarkable days, Colorado College wasn’t simply where the Warrior Games happened. It became part of the athletes’ stories—and part of a community that came together to honor courage, resilience, and the enduring power of recovery.
