Dec 7, 2005 12:55 pm US/Mountain
Barnett To Meet Bohn About Future At CU
by Shaun Boyd
BOULDER, Colo. (CBS4) ―
University of Colorado Athletic Director Mike Bohn was set to meet with head football coach Gary Barnett at 5 p.m. Wednesday to talk about the future of the program and Barnett's future at the school, CBS4 reported. Bohn was flying back from meetings in New York Wednesday afternoon.
The meeting comes amid published reports that Barnett will be fired by CU.
The Denver Post cited a source Wednesday morning close to the contract negotiations. The Post report said Barnett will not be retained and was on his way out.
Bohn told The Associated Press Wednesday morning it would be "inappropriate" for him to comment.
Football players at CU again defended Barnett Wednesday on campus.
"I think every man on this team looks at coach Barnett as a father figure," Quinn Spniewksi, a tight end said. "He's had our backs through all the turmoil a couple years ago, he's so passionate, he's so loving, he just .. to do what he's done in a climate that's not contusive to football or athletics in general is a tremendous feat."
Barnett had felt good a few weeks ago about talks to extend his contract past next season.
"I think the coaches could only do so much," Abraham Right, a defensive end on the team said. "If you're talking about how we lost against Nebraska and Texas, that's the players. He's kept us motivated, talking to us with tears in his eyes before games, making us practice hard. He's done everything, in my opinion a coach can do. Everything, and even more."
CU's buyout of Barnett's contract would cost somewhere around $1.8 million since there is still a year left.
Barnett was quoted as saying Monday that "prior to the Iowa State game, I felt like (an extension) was a done deal. Since then, the climate has changed."
The CU Board of Regents was set to meet at noon Wednesday on the CU-Boulder campus at the Coors Events Center. The meeting was planned in advance.
The 59-year-old coach had emerged relatively unscathed from a recruiting scandal, winning Big 12 Coach of the Year honors and advancing to the conference title game for the second straight year.
The president, chancellor and athletic director all stepped down in the aftermath of the scandal, which resulted in an investigation that concluded drugs, alcohol and sex were used to entice recruits to the Boulder campus, though none of practices were sanctioned by university officials.
(© 2005 CBS Worldwide Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)
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