Joe Parker forced out of Colorado State University athletic director role
Colorado State University announced on Monday that Joe Parker will no longer be the school's athletic director. Parker is stepping aside from his AD role and will become what the university calls a "special advisor" to CSU's president.
Parker has been the athletic director at Colorado State in Fort Collins for approximately 9 years.
Overall, CSU Rams sports teams have seen a fair amount of success in recent years. That includes a men's basketball team that is nationally ranked. But President Amy Parsons said in a prepared statement that a "new style of leadership" is needed in part because of the "rapidly changing landscape" in collegiate sports.
Parsons appointed John Weber as the interim CSU athletic director. Weber has most recently been the executive director of the Rams' NIL collective called Green and Gold Guard.
Students on campus had a wide range of reactions to the sudden dismissal, with most saying they were shocked at the timing.
"I was surprised. I thought he did a lot of good things for our program," said Maxwell Hass, a sophomore at CSU
While many students on campus were unaware of Parker's removal from the position, most of those CBS News Colorado spoke with about Parker said they felt many teams at CSU could improve.
"I think it's about time. It's about time he's gotten fired. Our sports have been on the rise lately, but I don't think it's thanks to him," said Lev Shogren, a freshman.
"Our football team has done better than it has in previous years. I don't really know what the management is doing here in the higher-ups at CSU," Hass said.
Leah Cackowski, a sports reporter for campus media, told CBS News Colorado's Dillon Thomas that most longtime followers of CSU sports were caught off guard by the announcement during the middle of the school year.
"I was a little bit shocked at first," Cackowski, a junior, said.
Cackowski said she had spoken with some student athletes about the move and many were just as surprised as the public. She said some students have had issues with Parker in the past, but most were content with his role.
"A lot of student-athletes have been shocked by the news. I know athletes who have amazing relationships with Joe Parker. The biggest thing is we didn't know the news was going to be today." Cackowski said. "With all the recent successes and Mountain West championships we have secured, I definitely was surprised by the stepping down of Joe Parker."
