Former lawmakers to investigate CU recruiting scandal
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AURORA, Colorado (AP) -- The University of Colorado chose two former lawmakers Friday to head a commission that will spend the next three months investigating whether the school's football program enticed recruits with alcohol-fueled sex parties that may have led to rape.
Two university regents questioned the plan, suggesting the commission will not be impartial and lacks leaders familiar with sexual-violence issues.
Speaking in front of a packed crowd at an emergency meeting of the regents, university President Elizabeth Hoffman chose Democrat Peggy Lamm and Republican Joyce Lawrence to co-chair the commission.
The panel must report its findings by April 30 on whether "sex and alcohol are used as recruiting tools" -- claims school and athletics officials have insisted are untrue.
New allegations surfaced late Friday when police in Broomfield, near the Boulder university, said they were investigating claims that CU's athletic department is tied to an incident involving an escort service at a hotel.
CU officials said they will take "swift and decisive action" if the claims are true, but added that there was no evidence the claims were credible.
David Hansburg, director of football operations, said Friday night that an anonymous caller last week told him a CU staffer was using the escort service and then asked him to help her get a job at the university.
Hansburg said he didn't consider the woman credible because she told him the CU staffer last used the escort service in March. "March is not a recruiting month for us. There are no recruits on campus in March," he said.
The state's flagship university has been caught in a firestorm since depositions surfaced last week about a December 2001 off-campus party in Boulder attended by football players and recruits. Three women who say they were raped at or just after the party sued the school, saying it fostered a hostile environment for women.
Boulder District Attorney Mary Keenan declined to file rape charges but said in a deposition leaked to reporters she believed sex was used to lure recruits and that athletics officials had ignored her demands to crack down.
The fallout has been dramatic: Gov. Bill Owens warned the university to take action or he would step in, Regent Jim Martin said he received a death threat from a CU booster and football coach Gary Barnett said he lost two potential recruits.
"This has been a horrific week," Regent Pat Hayes said. "It's like having a knife in your heart and every day someone's turning it a little more."
The regents backed the commission plan on a 7-2 vote, with Martin and Regent Cindy Carlisle dissenting.
"We have a black eye with the state of Colorado if not the country," said Martin, who questioned whether the university could thoroughly investigate itself.
Copyright 2004 The
Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
