CSU: Larry Eustachy intimidated, emotionally abused players

Editor's note: Related documents are embedded at the bottom of this story.

CSU men’s basketball coach Larry Eustachy created a culture of fear and intimidation and emotionally abused his players, newly obtained records from a 2013-14 university investigation show.

One high-ranking university official recommended Eustachy's contract be terminated.

In a summary of the investigation, Eustachy acknowledged he has told his assistant coaches to “shut the f--- up” and called players “f----g c--ts.” He also said he “crossed the line” and later said he went “way over the line” when questioned about whether the atmosphere in his program was one of fear and intimidation.

The CSU investigation included interviews with 14 players and basketball and athletic department staff members, according to documents provided by a source to the Coloradoan. The Coloradoan independently verified facts contained in the documentation.

The university investigation was led by former athletic director Jack Graham, former deputy athletic director John Morris and current executive associate senior athletic director Steve Cottingham and under the consent of Colorado State University president Tony Frank.

“I am deeply disappointed on a very personal level that someone chose to publicize confidential information from my personnel file," Eustachy said in a statement released by the university. "That said, I fully recognize that I’m not perfect. I have my faults and strive every day to be better than I was yesterday."

Coloradoan's Matt Stephens talks to 9News about Eustachy

The Coloradoan spoke with six people interviewed during the investigation and eight players on the 2013-14 team.

The CSU investigation documents the coach’s outbursts, including punching and breaking dry erase boards in locker rooms and throwing unopened soda cans against walls. The document is 90 pages and the investigation spanned 99 days during the 2013-14 season.

“I believed Eustachy should be terminated and believed we had the basis to terminate for cause,” Graham, who hired Eustachy in 2012, said when reached for comment. “I was advised by Tony Frank that we did not have the basis to terminate for cause and that Eustachy was to be placed on a personal improvement plan.”

Graham would not provide additional comment about the investigation.

The president of the university signs off on the termination of all CSU employees.

"Colorado State University is prohibited by law from disclosing personnel information and from commenting on confidential personnel matters, particularly where employees have a legal expectation of privacy." the university statement read. "... The university is committed to the highest standards of integrity, and when any issues have arisen, the university has taken appropriate action to maintain that integrity in our programs and ensure our standards are met. The program review at issue took place several years ago and we stand by the manner in which we dealt with the allegations — then and now. We stand behind, and are proud of, the environment our athletic department and Coach Eustachy have since created for our student-athletes."

Former CSU forward J.J. Avila, who was interviewed in the investigation, told the Coloradoan that Eustachy isn’t as hard on the team today as he was in 2013-14. Avila spent this past summer in Fort Collins working out with the current team.

Avila and former point guard Jon Octeus said they did not feel Eustachy emotionally or verbally abused them. They said playing for Eustachy is difficult and some players couldn’t handle it. Octeus transferred from CSU following 2013-14 season.

However, five former players and four others close to the program told the Coloradoan that Eustachy emotionally abused them. They declined to go on the record due to concerns of potential retaliation.

In Eustachy’s nearly five seasons at CSU, just one player, Joe De Ciman, signed with the Rams as a freshman and stayed for four years. During the same period, seven scholarship players have transferred, including five starters.

Lowell Wightman served as the mental conditioning coach for the CSU football program from 2012-14 and said he was aware of the investigation into Eustachy's behavior. He was not part of the university investigation, but he said he was concerned about how the basketball coach interacted with players and staff.

"(Players) were not able to advocate for themselves without having retribution," Wightman said. "Players need to be able to advocate for themselves. They're not allowed to do that in Larry's program. I have witnessed that."

Listen: Sports reporters talk about CSU's investigation of coach Larry Eustachy

Wightman said coaches who resort to personal attacks are crossing a line and when a coach is critical for reasons other than for athletic performance, it constitutes emotional abuse.

"If you dropped a camera inside the basketball program at CSU, you'd see Rutgers," said a mental health services employee for student-athletes at CSU who was interviewed during the investigation. He called Eustachy a "rage-aholic."

In 2013, Rutgers fired men's basketball coach Mike Rice after video surfaced of him hitting, kicking and using profanity and gay slurs against student-athletes. There is no evidence Eustachy physically abused players.

Video cited in the report depicts Eustachy berating players, throwing a chair and punting a basketball in closed practices. CSU stopped recording audio from practice either in 2012 or 2013, and Graham requested recordings be reinstated following the investigation.

One former player told the Coloradoan, “If we recorded audio, Eustachy would have been fired a long time ago.”

On Tuesday, the Coloradoan requested practice video via an open records request. It is not clear if the university maintained the video files.

On Feb. 20, 2014, the coach was no longer allowed to be alone with his team and was required to have Graham or a member of his staff present at practices, meetings and games, including in the locker room, per an athletic department letter to Eustachy.

Eustachy closed practices to media during the 2013-14 season, a policy that remains in effect. The full duration of practice was open to the media during the 2012-13 season, Eustachy’s first at CSU.

CSU wasn’t the only entity to take note of Eustachy’s behavior. After Eustachy received two technical fouls and was ejected from an 82-74 loss at UTEP in November 2013, the investigation details a voicemail from Mountain West commissioner Craig Thompson that was left for Graham stating, “The conference has no leash left for Larry … in fact, he may not even have a collar.”

Thompson confirmed leaving the message and said he has had no further discussions with CSU about Eustachy's behavior.

COLUMN:  Nothing surprising about Larry Eustachy getting in trouble again

After the investigation concluded, CSU required Eustachy to attend six anger management sessions and apologize to his team. CSU did not confirm or deny he completed the sessions.

Eustachy was also given a zero-tolerance policy in regard to throwing, punching or kicking objects and using “direct profane, derogatory, and/or demeaning language or gestures in the presence of or towards your players, staff or anyone else while acting in the scope” of his employment. Violation would result in termination for cause.

Per Eustachy’s contract, he can be terminated for:

• Determination by the athletic director that Eustachy has “engaged in dishonest, fraudulent or unethical conduct that results, directly or indirectly, in demonstrable harm to the interests of CSU.”
• Determination Eustachy has “engaged in conduct seriously prejudicial to the best interests of CSU or the Program that casts CSU or the Program in an unreasonably negative public light and which constitutes a material violation of university policy.”

In a February 2014 text message to Eustachy included in the investigation, Frank said, "I'm reaching out because as a friend and a colleague, I'm worried about you. Are there things we can be doing to help you, or to help us understand the situation? ... I only know that I'm worried about someone I care about who is a special asset to our university and who seems to be struggling with things that are not clear to me. Can we help in some way?"

Eustachy received a raise of $28,200 following the 2013-14 season (CSU finished 16-16 that year, his worst record at CSU) and subsequent 2 percent salary increases every season since, per his contract structure. He also received three one-year contract extensions. His current salary is $965,699. Should CSU reach the NCAA tournament this season, he would receive a $200,000 bonus and a $100,000 bonus for winning the Mountain West tournament.

His contract expires in 2021 and includes a $4.9 million buyout if CSU terminates him without cause.

"The program review that took place three years ago made me a better husband, father and coach and allowed me to reflect on the kind of man I wanted to be," Eustachy said. "I’m extremely proud to be Colorado State’s head basketball coach and appreciate all those who have stood by me over the years, particularly my family, our players, fans and the CSU administration."

Matt Stephens talks with 104.3 The Fan about the investigation into Larry Eustachy. Story continues below.

This season has been a difficult one for CSU off the court. Three of the 10 available players on scholarship on this year's team — four others are sitting out under NCAA transfer rules — were ruled academically ineligible for the spring semester, and another was involved in a publicized verbal altercation with an opposing coach outside Moby Arena. Two of the three assistant coaches who came to CSU with Eustachy — Leonard Perry and Ross Hodge — left in 2016 for comparable jobs at less prestigious schools.

The Rams are 18-9 this season and in first place in the Mountain West. They are 105-57 all-time under Eustachy with one NCAA tournament berth and no Mountain West championships.

“I was not here in 2014, and because it is both illegal and unethical to release or comment on confidential personnel records or actions, I won’t comment further on the specifics regarding the basketball program’s past," current CSU athletic director Joe Parker said. "I am pleased with the ongoing efforts as we work to improve every aspect of our basketball program. In particular, we have witnessed how this group of student-athletes and coaches have rallied together, overcome adversity and also achieved real success."

Eustachy, now 61, brought with him to CSU a history of questionable behavior.

Before coming to CSU, he was the head coach at Iowa State from 1998-2003. In April 2003, The Des Moines Register published photos of Eustachy kissing young women and drinking with students at a party in Columbia, Missouri, shortly after an Iowa State loss at the University of Missouri.

RELATED:  Timeline of Eustachy's downfall at Iowa State

The Register also reported Eustachy paid players for making free throws in practice and a game that season.

He was suspended following the Register’s story, and Iowa State athletic director Bruce Van De Veldia recommended Eustachy be fired for just cause for failing to represent the school in a positive manner. He resigned in May 2003.

Eustachy coached at Southern Mississippi from 2004-12.

Editor's note: The Coloradoan is publishing two letters from the CSU investigation into Larry Eustachy during the 2013-14 season. Several former student-athletes are named in the 90-page document. The focus of the investigation was Eustachy’s job performance and the two documents below provide a summary of the investigation’s findings and directives for Eustachy.