Colorado & Denver News

BOULDER, Colo. (AP) ― A state audit of the University of Colorado athletic department will reportedly criticize a football camp once run by former coach Gary Barnett as well as "sloppy" accounting.

The audit, scheduled to be released Monday, makes 15 recommendations for change, according to the Rocky Mountain News, which cited unidentified sources who have seen or have been briefed on the document.

The audit will come less than a week after Barnett reluctantly stepped down for a $3 million settlement of his contract. He had largely weathered a scandal in which at least nine women alleged they were sexually assaulted by athletes -- no criminal charges were ever filed -- but had watched his team lose three straight games to end the season.

The audit may address allegations raised by a grand jury report that alleged money from Barnett's football camp was used as a "slush fund" outside of regular university audit procedures. The grand jury found a total of $780,679 in undocumented deposits over a two-year period, a local TV station reported.

The audit is also expected to criticize the relationship between the school and football camps run by former CU recruiting coordinator Brian McNeely, The Denver Post reported Sunday, citing an unidentified source and a university document.

The Post said the audit also will question cash advances to staff and courtesy-car agreements for coaches, and it will review the Dear Old CU Fund, a nonprofit organization set up to fund football camps.

University President Hank Brown last week announced an overhaul of CU's accounting and purchasing practices, which included tightened spending controls in athletics.

McNeely told the Post all the money given to the camps by the Dear Old CU Fund was properly spent. He also said records were well-kept during his tenure, something Barnett has also said in the past.

McNeely, who ran CU's football recruiting program in 2001, wasn't interviewed as part of the audit. He said he did talk with the Internal Revenue Service about football camps run by Barnett and others. The IRS is reportedly looking into funds surrounding the athletics department.

Last month, a separate state audit of the CU Foundation, the school's multimillion-dollar fundraising arm, cited vague records tracking gift money and a now-defunct expense account that allowed school officials to avoid state rules when spending up to $700,000 a year.

The school has already conducted its own audit of the athletics department, concluding there was no system in place to ensure the accuracy of outside income reported by department employees; no mechanism to verify NCAA rules are not being violated when it comes to athletes' vehicles; policies regarding the distribution of equipment and clothing are "minimal and not being used"; and there was no written policy for giving away equipment or apparel "as a gesture of goodwill" or for renting out equipment.

Barnett and some of his staff gave depositions for federal lawsuits that alleged the school was responsible for three separate alleged sexual assaults in 2001. One suit was dropped and the other allegations have been dismissed by a federal judge.

An anonymous two-page letter, which was leaked to the media last week before Barnett was fired, asserts there was an effort to coordinate stories among football staffers, the News reported.

Vince Okruch, a defensive coach, and David Hansburg, the director of football operations, acknowledged they read Barnett's deposition before they answered questions.

University attorneys are looking into allegations raised in the letter and the News reported that it has been shared with state and federal prosecutors.

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