Mike Bohn Talks Expansion, Doesn't "Anticipate Any Problems" Collecting Bzdelik's Buyout
Colorado Athletic Director Mike Bohn answered questions Tuesday afternoon at the annual Colorado College Football Kickoff Luncheon regarding a wide range of topics including expansion and former basketball head coach Jeff Bzdelik's buyout.
The Associated Press article noted that lawyers from both the Big 12 and the Pac-10 are in discussions regarding the penalty fee that both Nebraska and Colorado may be forced to pay after declaring a move to a different conference. Bohn said there's some gray area in the contract which the lawyers are now working through. He hopes to know the penalty fee within the next month:
"There's some ambiguity in the buyout, so we're trying to figure it out," Bohn said before the annual College Football Kickoff Luncheon. "We really have a desire to come up with answers because we want to continue to fuel that interest" in joining the Pac-10.
"I do know that it is extremely complex and we recognize that the timing of the University of Colorado's departure has implications to 22 institutions," Bohn said.
Bohn sounded a little frustrated by the process mentioning that the only thing decided is the Buffs will be in the Pac-10 in 2012-2013. The University is still hoping for an early departure in 2011 like Nebraska intends to do but those details are still being worked out. Some of the other topics that must be decided other than when Colorado will move conferences or how much the buyout will be is whether the Pac-10 conference will have a championship game, if the Buffs will add sports and how the Pac-10 teams will be divided up.
"I think that's the most frustrating thing is as we're gaining excitement associated with this move, we don't have all the details," Bohn said. "We want to continue to fuel that intensity of interest that our program desperately needs, and you can fuel it by talking about championships and models and schedules and that's the hardest thing is not being able to share that yet."
But Bohn did say regardless of the penalty, the move was a good one and is benefiting the University every day:
"We're benefiting every day with that intensity of interest in the program that helps us with recruiting, it helps us with our donor base, it helps us with the media, it helps us with our faculty," Bohn said.
When asked about Dan Hawkins, he noted that Hawkins has done everything asked of him off the field. In year five, they are hoping success translates to on the field.
"I have a lot of confidence in Dan," Bohn said. "He's done everything we've asked him to do off the field and he recognizes in Year 5, as we all do, that the expectations are high for the scoreboard this fall."
Bohn was also asked whether or not he expected the University to receive Jeff Bzdelik's $500,000 buyout clause after he left the basketball program for Wake Forest. It sounds like he does and that they have been a little busy with the Pac-10 move to fully address the situation. The $500,000 would certainly help the cash strapped athletic department considering a potential $10 million penalty is due to the Big 12 conference. Pac-10 and University officials have stated that any penalty to be paid to the Big 12 may be financed by the Pac-10 conference and repaid by Colorado overtime in the form of future television revenue.
"We're working through that and I don't anticipate any problems (collecting the buyout from Jeff Bzdelik)," Bohn said. "It's just kind of taken a back burner with all these other issues. But we remain very respectful and appreciative of what Jeff did for us."
0 recs |
10 comments
|
Comments
Just out of curiosity (and I know I should be asking the Utes),
if Colorado doesn’t go to the PAC until 2012, would Utah wait until then as well, or would the PAC have 11 teams for one year?
Yes, 11 teams for a year
The Ralphie Report - Covering the Colorado Buffaloes on SBNation - http://www.ralphiereport.com/
Yep Utes go in 2011 no matter what
Lucky for us the MWC has no exit fees. We have a 3 year period before we become full members in the PAC 12 so it will take some time for the revenue increase to actually come to fruition.
Colorado will be a full member in 2012 as per the current agreement. If you come in 2011 it is undecided.
Call me crazy
I’m still skeptical that they get the 500k from Bz, Hope I’m wrong obviously.
Also given’s Bohn’s comments about Hawk from this article and even from the PAC-10 press conference interviews he sounds like there is absolutely no confidence there. I don’t think I have ever seen a lame duck coaching situation like this anywhere. Just makes me wonder why he hasn’t done anything. I realize its not ideal to hire a new staff only a month or so before Fall practice but talk about killing the positive momentum, whehn the athletic director can’t muster anything better than “he has done what we asked him to do off the field” yikes. Maybe some people can look past that and towards the PAC-12 but I think he would have done a tremendous job maintaining excitement if he had worked to bring a new staff in.
Season is only two months away…………
Crazy
I think we’ll get it. He’s contractually obligated to pay up. Worst case scenario, we bring in the lawyers and he has to pay the buyout plus legal fees while earning a bad reputation on top of it all. It’s in everyone’s interests to get this settled and move on.
by highlandsbuff on Jun 30, 2010 8:13 AM MDT up reply actions
one more year of Hawk
As distasteful as “one more year of Hawk” might sound, there’s no way that Bohn can bring in a new staff ar this point. The time for doing that was Nov 2009.
by HBbuff on Jun 30, 2010 6:28 PM MDT via mobile up reply actions
Yeah....everyone knows the FIFTH year is the "money" year...I'm sure Hawks got it all put together now....
Dancin' in the streets of Hyannis.
魏 多福
Dan Hawkins comment
I don’t understand what you mean when you say that Dan Hawkins has “done everything” that you have asked of him. The teams over the past 5 years have looked completely different from the ones that were around when I was attending school. These past few years the Buffs have not had winning records or even been competitive. I always end up turning the channel in disappointment and wonder what has happened to the team that I love? What is it that we are “seeing”? From a distance it looks like politics.
he is just trying to be diplomatic
It doesn’t do him any good to be antagonistic towards Hawk since they have to put up with each other through the end of the season.

by 














