Boulder - CU president Elizabeth Hoffman, who suspended coach Gary Barnett last winter, applauded his selection Tuesday as The Associated Press Big 12 coach of the year. Barnett was chosen by 20 media members who cover Big 12 football......
"These things only happen when you have a great coaching staff and your coaches and your players do all the things that they've done," Barnett said.
However, the reaction at CU to Barnett's award was not unanimous. CU sociology professor Joanne Belknap said she could not believe he was selected.
"I feel like, since the whole season was beginning, there were a lot of people that perceived that if somehow the football team did well, it was some vindication about how all the rape charges had been handled," she said. "At the same time, if they did poorly, it wasn't going to be their fault because of the women who brought the lawsuits."
