September 01, 2004

Grand Jury Report Said To Blast All At CU

FROM THE UBIQUITOUS �SOURCE FAMILIAR WITH THE REPORT� comes leakage of the grand jury report on the University of Colorado football recruiting scandal.

Using unequivocal verbiage such as �unqualified� and �not equipped to supervise,� the report is a strong�but not unexpected�indictment of hands-off oversight and looking the other way.

Further, the report is said to blame everyone�except for the Governor and Kobe Bryant maybe�with extra helpings of blame reserved for Chancellor Richard Byyny, AD Dick Tharp and football coach Gary Barnett.

Affirming a blissfully unaware standard operating procedure embodied by the comical Sgt. Schultz in the 60�s sitcom Hogan�s Heroes��I know notheenk! I see notheenk!��the grand jury concluded that CU athletic department officials had no explicit knowledge of the usage of sex and alcohol as recruiting tools.

How convenient.

James Martin, a university regent not seeking re-election, expressed his frustration that the Board of Regents has not held anyone accountable for the recruiting scandal, �The grand jury's report is an indictment to the whole system of governance of intercollegiate athletics at the University of Colorado. Change is not on the horizon."

With all due respect to Regent Martin as he rides off into the horizon, many observers actually do think that change is in the offing.

If any good comes of the CU recruiting mess it will be this: no longer will it be acceptable for athletic department officials to profess that they had no knowledge of illegal and illicit activities occurring under them. Expectations have clearly been clarified�know what�s going on during your watch, or suffer the consequences of finding out to late.

No more Sgt. Schultz.

(this 275 word excerpt�with attendant commentary�was distilled from a 829 word article in the Rocky Mountain News of 8-30-04 and a 618 word article in the Chronicle of Higher Education of 8-31-04)