Joe Parker hopes to conclude Eustachy’s assessment early next week as tensions build

Colin Barnard

February 8, 2018

Tensions are building between athletes on Colorado State basketball and the athletic department.

According to sources close to the program, the team boycotted its scheduled practice at 3 p.m. Thursday afternoon due to frustration over the lack of communication between them and the athletic department.

Eustachy points at court — Larry Eustachy talks to his team during the game against Wyoming on Jan. 31. (Joe Oakman | Collegian)

“Our student athletes have expressed concerns to us and we are working with them to address those concerns,” athletic director Joe Parker said in a statement. “Student athlete welfare has always been our top priority.”

After the climate assessment of head coach Larry Eustachy has unfolded in hidden fashion over the last week-plus, the frustration reached its boiling point before Thursday’s practice. During the process, players have found out information from Twitter and media members rather than the athletic department, according to a report from Sean Starr of the Loveland Reporter-Herald.

The uncertainty of the process has caused some annoyance with players and other members of the team. Parker revealed that the university is nearing the end of the investigation and hopes to finalize things by early next week.

“Our collections of data to inform the assessment is nearly complete, pending our conversation with Coach Eustachy,” Parker said. “Coach Eustachy and his representatives are unable to meet with us until early next week. The University intends to resolve this as soon as possible.”

The day has been filled with bad news for CSU, beginning with a report from the Denver Post stating that the university was set to fire Eustachy after breaking a zero-tolerance policy from a 2013-14 internal investigation. Despite the report, nobody on the team received information from Parker.

Hours later, CSU lost coveted four-star junior college recruit, Jordan Brangers. Brangers tweeted out his decision to reopen his recruitment, presumably in light of the worsening state of the program.

Current players have been divided on their support of Eustachy. Guards Prentiss Nixon, Anthony Bonner and Raquan Mitchell have vocally supported their head coach on Twitter. However, according to previous reports, the majority of players spoke out against Eustachy during interviews with the athletic department.

Collegian sports director Colin Barnard can be reached by email at sports@collegian.com or on Twitter @ColinBarnard_.

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