Colleges

The mess mounts for CU, Barnett

By wire services
Published December 13, 2005

DENVER - In another unseemly glimpse inside the Colorado football program, state auditors said Monday that former coach Gary Barnett's offseason camp was such a bookkeeping mess they couldn't be sure whether more than $400,000 worth of transactions broke any rules.

The long-awaited audit detailed three years of sloppy accounting within Barnett's camp and cited repeated examples of financial carelessness inside the athletic department. Missing paperwork, a lack of spending oversight, even a failure to check the criminal backgrounds of staff working with young campers - all of it points to a need for big changes, the auditors said in a 72-page report.

"The worst audit I've seen in my 11 years in office," state Sen. Ron Tupa of Boulder said near the end of the two-hour hearing.

There were many ugly aspects to the audit, but the report and the reactions to it illustrated the large disconnect between the political climate surrounding CU athletics and the realities of running a big-time program with an annual budget of more than $36-million.

"I don't know that Colorado is any worse than anywhere else, but it's just that it's gotten a lot of visibility," said John DiBiaggio, a former university president who was hired by CU to look into its problems.

Barnett stepped down under pressure last week after his team lost three straight games by a combined score of 130-22. Athletic director Mike Bohn reiterated that Barnett's departure was based on a combination of factors, but not timed with the release of the audit.

Bohn said he plans to hire Barnett's replacement before the team plays in the Champs Sports Bowl Dec. 27 in Orlando.

COLUMBIA: Norries Wilson became the first black football coach in Ivy League history, taking over a program that hasn't had a winning season since 1996. He was UConn's offensive coordinator before being hired by the Division I-AA program.

LOUISVILLE: Defensive end Montavious Stanley will miss the Gator Bowl with a torn muscle in his chest.

MIDDLE TENN.: Rick Stockstill was hired as coach. The former Florida State quarterback spent the past two seasons at South Carolina, working under Lou Holtz and Steve Spurrier.

MURRAY STATE: Matt Griffin was named coach, hired away from Ohio Valley Conference rivalTennessee-Martin.

NOTRE DAME: The school has received 45,589 ticket requests for the Fiesta Bowl against Ohio State and school officials believe they've never had more for a bowl game.

Soccer

Florida State junior India Trotter was named second-team All-American by the National Soccer Coaches Association of America, the first Seminole to garner the honor.

TAMPA: Bobby Johnston was named South Region women's coach of the year, the first Spartan to earn the honor in the sport. Four UT players made the All-South team: Shannon Aitken, Maria Mohammed, Samantha Robinson and Malana Winskas.

Other sports

BASEBALL: Former LSU assistant coach DeWayne "Beetle" Bailey, who helped the Tigers to national titles in 1991 and 1993, died of cancer in Denham Springs, La., at 60.

TENNIS: USF junior Dirk Britzen is ranked No.11 by the Intercollegiate Tennis Association. Juniors Gabriela Duch and Neyssa Etienne are ranked first in South Region doubles.

[Last modified December 13, 2005, 01:31:15]