U. of Colo. Foundation Won't Offer Records
AP
DENVER (AP) -- The fund-raising arm of the University of
Colorado on Thursday refused to turn over some documents requested
by the independent commission investigating a recruiting scandal in
the school's football program.
The commission asked for meeting minutes and other records
from the University of Colorado Foundation, which raises and manages
private donations for the university.
"One wonders whether the foundation has something to hide,"
commission co-chair Peggy Lamm said.
Foundation Chairman John DeLauro said the group refused to
turn over internal documents it does not release as a matter of
policy, but he added that the foundation already has turned over
detailed financial records. He said the group "vigorously objects"
to allegations that it is not cooperating.
"We are dismayed that the (commission) seems to have
abandoned a fair and impartial posture and has resorted to threats
and media pressure," he said.
The commission is investigating allegations that the CU
football program used sex and alcohol to recruit athletes. The
commission does not have subpoena power and cannot force the
foundation to surrender the records.
DeLauro said the foundation supports the commissioners'
mission, "but we are certain their most recent demands reach outside
their scope of work."
Commission members wanted the records because they are
looking at the role of finances in athletics, commission spokesman
Evan Dryer said.
"In trying to understand the bigger picture, they wanted to
see all the relevant documents and the relevant sources (of money),
and the foundation is one of those sources," Dryer said.
The foundation, a private organization, is not covered by
open records laws. Its board includes university President Elizabeth
Hoffman, Chancellor Richard Byyny and a member of the CU Board of
Regents, which established the investigative commission.
Hoffman and Byyny declined to comment on the records
request.
The football program was plunged into scandal earlier this
year as details leaked out from civil lawsuits filed against the
school by three women who say they were raped by football athletes
in 2001.
In one deposition, Boulder County prosecutor Mary Keenan
said sex and alcohol were used to entice recruits to the Boulder
campus. Five other women have also accused football athletes of rape
since 1997, though no charges have been filed.
Aside from the commission, the state attorney general also
is investigating the allegations.
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