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Regents delay approval of Mike MacIntyre's contract extension until after investigation
Colorado coach Mike MacIntyre signed a contract extension with the school earlier this year. But that contract extension won’t be official for a while.
Regents at the school have delayed approving MacIntyre’s extension until they see results from a pending independent investigation into the way the athletic department handled allegations of domestic assault against former assistant coach Joe Tumpkin.
Tumpkin’s ex allegedly called MacIntyre in December to inform him of the allegations. In the period between her phone conversation with MacIntyre and Tumpkin’s suspension in January, the defensive backs coach was named Colorado’s interim defensive coordinator for the Buffs’ Alamo Bowl loss to Oklahoma State.
Contract extensions with high-profile coaches are typically a formality. MacIntyre’s extension is worth over $16 million and runs through 2021.
“The university is going to engage in some outside consultation on this situation and so we really need to see that investigation run its course before we take any further action on MacIntyre’s contract,” Regent Jack Kroll, a Denver Democrat, told the Daily Camera on Monday.
A spokesperson for the school told the paper a contract hadn’t been agreed to with a firm for an investigation. The chancellor of the school targeted April for the approval.
The timeline of the abuse allegations against Tumpkin and Colorado’s reactions became public in a Sports Illustrated story earlier in February. She said first told MacIntyre of the allegations because she felt she could trust him and their first phone conversation was December 9. She obtained a temporary restraining order against Tumpkin on Dec. 20, four days after he was promoted to interim defensive coordinator in the wake of Jim Leavitt’s departure to Oregon.
Tumpkin was suspended on Jan. 6 and resigned three weeks later. He’s facing charges of felony assault.
MacIntyre released a statement last week with his side of the story. He said Tumpkin was named the team’s defensive playcaller for the game because “at the time of the decision, there was no police report or legal complaint” and noted the decision was approved by those higher up in the athletic department.
Colorado athletic director Rick George admitted in a statement last week that the situation could have been handled better. He said he felt responsible for not knowing the restraining order existed until Jan. 6.
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“I feel particularly bad that I did not personally reach out to the woman involved,” George said in the statement. “I realize it would have been helpful for her to hear from me directly, letting her know the steps we would take and just checking in with her to offer personal help and support.”
Athletic department officials are, like other supervisors at the school, required to report information regarding accusations of possible sexual misconduct to the school’s office of institutional equity and compliance. The school said last week it would be adding a athletic department liason to the school’s office. George also admitted that the athletic department “should have engaged” the OIEC immediately upon hearing of the allegations vs. Tumpkin.
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Nick Bromberg is the assistant editor of Dr. Saturday on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at nickbromberg@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter!
