Coach gone wild?

ISU coach Eustachy remorseful after party photos leaked

Local Look See the photos taken by a student at the party published by The Des Moines Register.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) -- Iowa State University's men's basketball coach has told the school's athletic director he used "bad judgment" and made "bad decisions" at a party near the University of Missouri campus in late January.

Athletic Director Bruce Van De Velde said coach Larry Eustachy came to him and President Gregory Geoffroy this month after finding out that a student at the party had given photographs of Eustachy to The Des Moines Register.

According to The Register's copyright story, 12 photos show Eustachy during the early hours of Jan. 23 with beer. In several photos he's embracing and kissing women on the cheek or being kissed on the cheek. The Register printed a few photos in its Monday edition.

Eustachy, 47, went to the party at a student apartment with Missouri men's basketball player Josh Kroenke hours after the Cyclones lost, 64-59, to the Tigers. A Missouri spokesman said Kroenke confirmed attending the party with Eustachy.

Neither Iowa State officials nor Eustachy, through his lawyer Jerry Crawford, disputed the photos' authenticity. Van De Velde has previously confirmed the authenticity of a photo of Eustachy and a group of young adults posted on a Missouri Tigers' fan Web site. That photo appeared days after the January game.

Eustachy, paid more than $1 million a year, is the state's highest-paid public employee.

Eustachy's contract with Iowa State runs through 2011. It stipulates that he must provide "positive representation of the university and the university's athletic programs in private and public."

In a statement issued by Eustachy, he confirmed meeting with Geoffroy and Van De Velde last week about "a variety of issues."

"In the past, I have made some poor decisions that I regret," Eustachy said. "It's important to represent ISU in a manner that sheds a positive light on the university and the Cyclone men's basketball team."

Van De Velde wouldn't say if disciplinary action has been taken or was pending against Eustachy.

"Larry understands that he has made a poor decision and not used good judgment. He understands, and we have made it clear to him, the importance of his public image and the obligations he has for the institution. And he has expressed remorse ... to our university administration and to me," Van De Velde said.

Eustachy, Cyclones' coach for five seasons, won back-to-back Big 12 Conference championships in 2000 and 2001. The team advanced to the NCAA's Elite Eight in 2000, when Eustachy was named national coach of the year.

The photos were taken by Sean Devereaux, a junior English major at Missouri who lived at the apartment where the party was held. Devereaux said he took the pictures because he wanted to show that Eustachy had attended a party at his apartment.

Devereaux said he later decided to make the photos public because he was bothered by Eustachy's being at the party for more than three hours.

"He was here and acted very uncoachlike," Devereaux said.

Van De Velde said Eustachy didn't provide him with a full explanation about the party or his activities when questions were first raised in January.

"Coach Eustachy has been forthcoming since and has expressed remorse," Van De Velde said. "He has told us he has used bad judgment and that he made bad decisions. He has admitted that."

 

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