Regents Suspend Chancellor, Discipline Coach Over Domestic Violence Probe
BOULDER, Colo. (CBS4) - The chancellor of the University of Colorado Boulder has been suspended and Buffaloes head football coach Mike MacIntyre and Athletic Director Rick George have also been punished as part of a domestic violence probe.
"I know some will say these measures and changes go too far, others will say they don't go far enough. Not everybody will be happy. The board and I believe they are appropriate and will make us a better university," said University of Colorado President Bruce Benson on Monday.
The discipline was announced late in the afternoon by the school's Board of Regents. It comes in the wake of an outside investigation into the school's handling of domestic violence allegations against involving former assistant coach Joe Tumpkin.
CU Board of Regents Chair Irene Griego began the special meeting with an apology to the victim in the case on behalf of the university.
"We cannot and will not tolerate domestic violence," Griego said.
Chancellor Phil DiStefano was given a 10-day suspension. MacIntyre and George have been ordered to make $100,000 donations to anti-domestic violence organizations.
Tumpkin's ex-girlfriend accused him of hitting and choking her last year. Despite reports that the university knew about the allegations, he was promoted within MacIntyre's coaching ranks before the Buffaloes Dec. 29 bowl game.
Tumpkin was also a candidate to replace departed defensive coordinator Jim Leavitt on a full-time basis until the school learned on Jan. 6 that a judge had issued a temporary restraining order against him. Tumpkin was suspended at that time and resigned under pressure on Jan. 27. He now faces five felony charges.
About a month after the resignation, the board hired an out-of-state law firm to look into how DiStefano, MacIntyre, George and other school officials handled the information they were given regarding Tumpkin.
University of Colorado President Bruce Benson acknowledged a lack of understanding of policy on the part of those school officials.
"We didn't handle it as we should, particularly in how we communicated with Tumpkin's former partner and how we reported the matter internally," Benson said.
MacIntyre's proposed multi-million dollar contract extension remains on hold. That is scheduled to be discussed at the next meeting of the Regents later this month but the Denver Post reported it could be approved later this week.
In a statement, MacIntyre said in part "All of us involved have learned that we have additional reporting responsibilities, and we will follow those procedures in the future. I had never been in a situation where one of my coaches was accused of abusing a spouse or partner. But, as the Regents and President Benson recognized I never acted in bad faith."
