Thank you for being here today.

The Chancellor and I are here to announce an Action Plan regarding the administration and oversight of the CU Athletics Department.

This plan is preliminary only in that we intend to present a more detailed version at the June Board of Regents meeting.

But make no mistake, the organizational and structural changes we are announcing today are serious, sweeping and will dramatically alter the relationship between the Athletics Department and the rest of the University.  We believe the new structure and procedures are unprecedented among major universities.

They are aimed at ensuring accountability, maintaining a climate that is supportive of women, ensuring integrity and ethical behavior, rebuilding public confidence, ensuring fiscal responsibility and integrating the Athletics Department fully into the campus and academic environments.

The changes are based on very careful consideration of the input and recommendations from many sources including: The Boulder Faculty Assembly; The Independent Investigative Commission; Dr. John DiBiaggio; Amy Robertson, the director of the University’s Office of Victim Assistance; the special prosecutor; our own internal audit; the Board of Regents and many others.  We greatly appreciate their hard work and assistance.

I personally have spoken with hundreds of students, parents, faculty, alumni, victims’ assistance professionals, CU supporters, government and civic leaders, national collegiate leaders and many others about our situation and how we should respond. 

I want to thank the Regents for their support last week They expeditiously turned the matter over to me so that the Chancellor and I could act swiftly to take the necessary steps to restore this University’s proud reputation, which it so deserves.

If there is a silver lining to the ordeal we have been through, it is that it has become abundantly clear there are literally thousands of people and numerous stakeholders who care passionately that the University of Colorado be recognized as a great institution, and not have its reputation tainted by the actions of a few.

These people also believe change is imperative so that we can emerge from this painful experience as a national leader in the administration and oversight of athletics at a major university.

Our Action Plan is aimed at correcting the conditions and structural problems that have been highlighted in the past few months. It deeply integrates the Athletics Department in the University, corrects some of the autonomy and isolation issues, and puts the department on a par with academic departments in its reporting and accountability relationships. 

I now want to ask Chancellor Byyny, the head of the Boulder campus, to highlight some of the changes we will be making.

See Chancellor Byyny's comments