BOULDER, Colo. — Football coach Mike MacIntyre’s $16.25 million contract extension is being held up as the University of Colorado looks into his handling of domestic abuse allegations levied against a former assistant coach.
The Board of Regents was scheduled to review MacIntyre’s new deal this week, but will wait until the next board meeting in April. MacIntyre is coming off a turnaround season that netted him several Coach of the Year honors and an extension through 2021.
However, he has come under scrutiny over the way he handled accusations against former secondary coach Joe Tumpkin, who is facing several charges of felony assault over the alleged abuse of his former girlfriend. Tumpkin resigned last month.
A recent statement from Chancellor Philip DiStefano indicated MacIntyre and athletic director Rick George learned of the allegations in mid-December, but Tumpkin still coached during the Alamo Bowl on Dec. 29.
The school might bring in an outside consultant to review the matter, Colorado-Boulder spokesperson Ryan Huff wrote in an email. DiStefano could present the contract extension to the regents in April, when an independent review may be complete.
MacIntyre’s current contract runs through the 2018 season. On Jan. 9, he was extended three more seasons, bumping his package to $16.25 million over the next five years, pending approval from the regents.
“Mike and I are aware of the Chancellor’s decision to present his contract extension at the April board meeting. We both understand and respect that decision,” George said in a statement. “Mike’s current contract runs through the end of the 2018 season, so he is staying focused on the upcoming spring football practices and preparing for the fall.”
MacIntyre won the AP Coach of the Year award after a 10-4 season that resulted in a first-place finish in the Pac-12 South and Colorado’s first bowl game since 2007. He added defensive playcalling duties to Tumpkin’s responsibilities after defensive coordinator Jim Leavitt left to join Oregon’s staff.
Tumpkin, 45, was also a candidate to replace Leavitt on a full-time basis until the school learned on Jan. 6 that a judge had issued a temporary restraining order against Tumpkin. He was suspended at that time and resigned under pressure on Jan. 27.
In a complaint filed Dec. 20 in Boulder, the woman said Tumpkin had physically assaulted her multiple times over the course of their three-year relationship. On Jan. 31, he was charged with five felony counts of second-degree assault and three misdemeanor counts of third-degree assault.
Tumpkin received two months of severance pay ($34,000), a payout for unused vacation time ($29,607) and a one-time payment of $15,692 in his final paycheck under the campus’ postseason compensation policy.
In a recent statement, DiStefano said officials should have forwarded information about the woman’s allegations to the university’s Office of Institutional Equity and Compliance.
“I am now making it clear to all CU Boulder mandatory reporters that even when they become aware of possible domestic abuse that does not involve a person affiliated with the campus, I want them to err on the side of reporting it to OIEC,” DiStefano wrote. “In hindsight we should have done so here.”
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