In the winter of 2016, the Colorado athletics department announced that for the first time in 15 years, Folsom Field would host a concert, with Dead & Company putting on two shows that summer.

Athletic director Rick George received a call from NBA legend and renowned “Deadhead” Bill Walton.

“Where we really hit it off is when we started hosting Dead & Company concerts,” George said. “He would always say to me, ‘You have to let me know before you announce anything when they’re going to be here, so I can get a room at the St. Julien.’ That was really important to him.”

Walton died on Monday at the age of 71 after a battle with cancer. Walton loved Boulder, loved basketball and really loved the Grateful Dead, as well as Dead & Company — a band that included John Mayer, three former Grateful Dead members and others performing Grateful Dead songs.

“Every year he would come in and he would be down there on the field and enjoying everything,” George said.

Walton enjoyed a lot about life, which is what George and others at CU remember most about him.

“He had a great spirit,” CU men’s basketball coach Tad Boyle said. “He had zest for life, I think is how I would characterize it. It never seemed like he had a bad day, and it wasn’t an act. It’s kind of who he was. I think if you talk to anybody that dealt with him, that worked with him or worked around him, they would all say the same thing.”

Walton made a name for himself as a star basketball player at UCLA from 1971-74 and in the NBA from 1974-88. He was a two-time NBA champion, with the Portland Trail Blazers and Boston Celtics, an All-Star, and the league MVP in 1978.

After his playing career, Walton became an Emmy Award-winning broadcaster, including in recent years providing color commentary for Pac-12 basketball games.

The sports world has mourned Walton’s passing this week, including at CU. The free-spirited Walton had a special connection to Boulder, and he made an impact on George, Boyle and many others he came in contact with around CU and the Pac-12.

“I was shocked,” Boyle said of hearing the news of Walton’s death. “I had no idea that he was sick at all, so I was shocked because Bill always had a great spirit about him. He always had a smile on his face. He was always energetic. That never changed in the time I dealt with him. He didn’t do as many of our games this year as maybe he has in the past, for whatever reason. Maybe it was because he was not feeling well, but I was shocked and saddened, obviously. We lost a great one. He was an icon.”

As a broadcaster, Walton was known for his colorful, fun-loving style. Listeners never knew what Walton might say or do, but Boyle always appreciated not only the basketball knowledge Walton had, but the work ethic he possessed.

“I loved my interactions with Bill Walton,” Boyle said. “He worked hard at what he did. When he did one of our games, he was at shoot-around. He would be at practice the day before, depending on his travel schedule. Bill was a guy that really took his job seriously and worked hard at it.

“I’ve been in the Pac-12 for 13 years and got to know him pretty well, and really developed, I felt like, a really good relationship — both working relationship and also he did love to come to Boulder in the summer.”

Boyle enjoyed his non-basketball conversations with Walton as much as the hoops talk.

“We’d talk about his trips here,” Boyle said. “He loved music, he loved the outdoors, he loved bike riding. He was more than just a basketball guy. I really enjoyed my time with him.”

Walton was polarizing as a broadcaster. Some fans loved to watch games with him on the call and others did not. George loved it, but not just for the basketball aspect of what Walton brought to the table.

“The thing that he did that I have not seen any broadcaster do, is he knew more about the school and the intricacies of how things worked and the different programs,” George said. “He would talk about your business school, or he would talk about your research projects, or that we were the most sustainable university in the conference. I mean, he was constantly talking about those things outside of basketball during those broadcasts, which I thought was interesting and a lot of fun.”

Boyle has a lot of great memories of Walton, but will always remember post game scenes in Boulder.

“I’d come out and do my radio bit with Mark Johnson (on KOA) and it seemed like every game there was a line from the court all the way up to the concourse of people wanting to take pictures with (Walton), visit with him,” Boyle said. “He took time for everybody. He did it every single game he was here, and he didn’t have to do that. So I think it’s just his ability to connect with people and spread his personality that made him so special.”

Walton was well-known for his love of the Pac-12, dubbed “The Conference of Champions,” and Walton used that phrase perhaps more than anyone ever did.

“I know a lot of people had drinking games around every time he said, ‘Conference of Champions,’” George said with a laugh. “It was a lot.”

It is ironic that Walton died two days after the Pac-12 Network’s last live event and just before 10 members of the “Conference of Champions” — including CU — depart the conference for new homes this summer.

Around the sports world, and especially at CU, however, Walton will never be forgotten.

“I have not met many people, if any, that just were happy with life and enjoyed it and always had a smile, always had complimentary things to say, and he was just a fun guy to be around,” George said. “They’re going to meet a great guy in heaven. That guy is just a wonderful individual.”