Boulder – In a move designed to streamline the administrative process, Colorado athletic director Mike Bohn said CU plans to run all of its sports camps through the university.
Bohn said the change is not in response to allegations of misuse of camp funds levied against football camps run by CU coach Gary Barnett. An IRS audit of Barnett’s camp expenses is pending.
“It is not a result of one specific coach or one specific program,” Bohn said. “It is about all of us trying to get better.”
Barnett agreed.
“I think it’s been something that we sort of hoped we could do,” Barnett said. “It makes operating the camp so much easier for us. It simplifies so many things, and we’re all for it.”
All accounting practices now run through the university. Insurance and housing are taken care of by CU as well.
“We had just a couple of coaches and a secretary doing the accounting,” Barnett said. “Now, we have access to the university for that kind of stuff. It makes it a lot simpler.”
The cost to run Barnett’s camps, however, will rise from $185,000 to approximately $200,000 because of increased benefit costs for each full-time assistant coach and a 5 percent tax CU will collect from money the camps make.
Barnett said about half the Big 12’s football coaches have sole proprietorship camps. The other half are run through the university.
It will take two years to get all camps under the CU umbrella. This year, football, women’s basketball and soccer have been folded into the university.
Coaches’ contracts will be tweaked to reflect the changes. Pay from the camps will now come from payroll checks issued by the university.
Bohn said CU can market all camps in similar fashion, and, as with football, administrative issues such as insurance and housing can be dealt with at one time.
“It’s something that’s probably been a little bit overdue,” associate athletic director Ceal Barry said. “It allows us to be fundamentally sound with how we put it together. When you have 400 kids on campus and you’re running them through the dorms, it’s good to know you have the support of the university behind you.”
Bohn announced the change in a round-table discussion with the media. He also announced:
CU has signed a home-and- home football series with Georgia beginning Sept. 23, 2006, in Athens. Georgia returns the trip in 2010. Georgia’s payout of $725,000 to CU is the highest the Buffs have received. Bohn also added he would like to schedule games with Air Force in all sports, but wasn’t sure when a football matchup would happen.
The school has set a fundraising goal of $3.7 million by Sept. 1. Buoyed by a recent donation of $1 million, CU has raised $1.245 million toward the goal.
The weight room at the Dal Ward Center will receive $350,000 in upgrades despite 10 percent cuts in each program’s athletic budget on top of last year’s 15 percent cuts. Upgrades also are planned for Prentup Field in Boulder, the new home of CU soccer. Also, talks have begun between CU and the Millennium Harvest House for use of its indoor tennis courts.
CU has renewed 84 percent of its season tickets from a year ago. Nine hundred customers have requested seat upgrades, which Bohn said will result in $50,000 in additional revenue. CU has sold 999 club seats and 30 luxury suites, both of which are more than were sold all of last year.
The athletic department is down nine positions, which it will not fill, Bohn said. Current employees will be shifted to meet needs.
Chris Dempsey can be reached at 303-820-5455 or cdempsey@denverpost.com.
