Colorado & Denver News

BOULDER, Colo. (AP) ― Despite all the embarrassment and low moments Gary Barnett endured, he almost always managed to put a good product on the field. Recently, though, the product stopped looking so good, and that threw open the door for his ouster.

The coach's tumultuous, seven-year stay at Colorado ended Thursday when he reluctantly stepped down at the behest of athletic director Mike Bohn, accepting a $3 million payment to leave the school with one year left on his contract.

"I respect that decision," Barnett said. "I didn't like that decision -- I didn't resign my position -- but I wholeheartedly respect the responsibility and decisions leaders have to make. Mike felt like he had to make this decision."

Barnett said he plans to coach again, and with his resume, he shouldn't have trouble finding takers.

He went 49-38 at CU, won one Big 12 championship and four Big 12 North titles. He was named AP Big 12 Coach of the Year twice.

All of it came under the microscope at a university that has never fully accepted the big business of big-time college football. The last two years came with allegations and the aftermath of a sordid recruiting scandal dogging him everywhere he turned.

"We withstood every piece of scrutiny," Barnett said. "We held our heads up high and came out of this thing clean."

Maybe so, but in the end, it was three straight losses by the combined score of 130-22 that proved his undoing.

Bohn said he couldn't pin his decision to part ways with Barnett on a single reason. He insisted that to say he made it because of the team's current struggles "would be erroneous."

Still, the AD conceded the program appeared to have lost some luster, "swagger" and confidence over the past month.

"A lot of things were revealed in the last month on many, many fronts," Bohn said. "And it became clear to me it was time to make a change."

The new athletic director knows how valuable December can be for recruiting and, without a coach in place, he used the farewell news conference to make a pitch to players.

"The University of Colorado is a gold mine ... and we're going to work our tail off to bring a great coach to this program to match the academic standing of this institution," Bohn said. "That will be my sole focus."

As recently as last month, Barnett said he felt secure about his future with the Buffs and had been talking about a contract extension. A 70-3 loss to Texas last Saturday on top of a 30-3 loss to Nebraska the week before ended all that talk and essentially sealed his fate.

"It's pretty simple. We lost," he said. "I think our team has been overly concerned about a contract extension ... We ran out of juice, the well went dry."

He said he was leaning toward not coaching CU against Clemson in the Champs Sports Bowl on Dec. 27, but didn't want to make an emotional decision. Bohn interpreted that as meaning Barnett wouldn't be on the sideline and said he'll soon choose an assistant to lead the team.

Thus marked a fairly rapid -- though not all that stunning -- reversal for Colorado, which indeed did appear ready to offer Barnett a contract extension as recently as a month ago.

The coach said he pretty much thought it was a done deal when the Buffs began the season 7-2. Many others figured it was only a matter of a state audit of Barnett's football camps, due out next Monday, that was holding things up.

That didn't turn out to be true and now, "I've got to go out and do something else. It's that time," Barnett said.

He came to Colorado from Northwestern, ironically, to help spruce up the image of a program that had earned something of a renegade status under Rick Neuheisel.

At first, Barnett was successful. By the end, he found himself in the center of a sordid recruiting scandal, which resulted in an investigation that concluded drugs, alcohol and sex were used to entice recruits to the Boulder campus, though none of the practices were sanctioned by university officials.

No charges were filed, but Barnett got into further trouble when he used derogatory terms in talking about kicker Katie Hnida, who came out with allegations that she was raped by a teammate in 2000. Barnett was suspended by the school in the spring of 2004 and had restrictions placed on his recruiting, which have since been eased.

When Barnett returned from his suspension, he still had his job, but the president, chancellor and athletic director were all soon gone.

Now, it's a clean sweep, though Barnett said he has nothing to be ashamed of.

Others, however, felt it was time for a change.

"It's not necessarily fair at times," said Tom Lucero, a member of the Board of Regents. "But a change certainly can bring fresh air to the university."

Added Regent Cindy Carlisle: "I think it was warranted in that there was many reasons on the field and off that called for a change. I do think that the amount of the payout is an outrage. Three million? It's beyond my comprehension."

The $3 million was about what Barnett would have received had he completed the contract, counting a backloaded incentive bonus, his base salary and moneys from apparel deals, football camps and the like.

Bohn said the cash-strapped school will get the money largely from extra revenue generated by the 12th game, which all Division I schools will start playing next season.

"It's important to respect and honor our contractual obligations," Bohn said.

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