Local college coaches split on open basketball practices

BOU L DE R » The Colorado men’s basketball team practiced Tuesday before a captive audience.

More than two dozen students from the Boulder County Day School sat in the gold seats at Coors Events Center while CU coach Tad Boyle directed the Buffaloes. All eyes were glued to the drills as Boyle’s voice boomed with instructions. His coaching style was demanding and blunt — but nevertheless suited for a PG-13 crowd.

“If somebody cares enough to want to come to a Colorado basketball practice,” Boyle said, “we welcome them with open arms.”

CU’s policy is simple: Local reporters who regularly cover the team and community members with prior approval are permitted to attend. But that level of transparency is hardly guaranteed for fans and media at all college programs. A culture of secrecy, however, has the potential for dire results, as Colorado State has discovered.

Rams’ coach Larry Eustachy held open practices his first season as CSU men’s basketball

coach in 2012-13 before changing his policy. Print reporters who regularly cover the team are now typically granted about 15 minutes of access during just the opening portion of the season’s first practice, but they are not permitted to watch the rest of the season outside limited opportunities for television b-roll. With practices behind mostly closed doors during the 2013-14 season, an internal CSU investigation found that Eustachy’s behavior created an atmosphere of fear and intimidation during practices and in the locker room during and after games.

Despite Eustachy being issued a zero-tolerance policy for abusive behavior, former CSU athletic trainer Mac McDonald told The Denver Post that verbal abuse toward players continued in subsequent seasons.

Would Eustachy have been so bold to berate his players and staff with a consistent media or public presence in Moby Arena? It’s unknown, but his behavior certainly would not have been kept secret for so long. But forcing practice transparency at CSU and across the NCAA would undoubtedly receive push-back.

As it stands today, coaches establish their own practice-viewing protocols. In a survey of Mountain West schools, local media members who regularly cover their respective team are granted full practice access at Nevada, New Mexico and Air Force. Meanwhile, reporters covering Wyoming, UNLV, San Diego State and San Jose State are given at least partial access. Three schools do not regularly open practices for the media: Boise State, CSU and Fresno State.

Each coach has their own reasons for granting or limiting access, but those who side with secrecy usually claim a need to eliminate opponent advantages through information leaks. Reporters armed with social media tools can sometimes be quick to release news haphazardly — a fact not lost on Boyle. So, in return for access, media members covering CU agree not to report personnel moves, injuries or other sensitive matters seen at practice without first consulting Boyle.

“Sometimes the job you (reporters) have and the job I have, there become conflicts of interests,” Boyle said. “But as long as we understand each other, I’m good with it.”

This much is clear: Opening practice access does not diminish game success. Nevada currently leads the Mountain West at 20-4 (9-1) and reporters have been allowed to watch all workouts.

Air Force coach Dave Pilipovich said there are members of the community who attend his practices on an almost daily basis, and he added: “We don’t hide anything. … I think it’s just a part of our culture and who we are.” The programs at Denver and Northern Colorado utilize similar policies where any person can come to practice with prior approval.

“It gives our parents of our current players the opportunity to come and watch and see why or why not their kid is playing,” DU men’s coach Rodney Billups said. “It also gives the kids from around the city we are recruiting a chance to come and see what they are getting themselves into as far as how we coach, prepare for game and how we get after it.”

In Boulder, Boyle admits his practice policy might change if CU rose to national prominence with sellout crowds and increased media scrutiny. But he sees no reason to pull the veil over the Buffaloes’ game prep as it stands now.

“We’re as transparent as possible,” he said.