BOULDER, Colo. (AP) -The president of the University of Colorado has decided to reinstate suspended football coach Gary Barnett, the Rocky Mountain News reported Wednesday.

The school scheduled a news conference for Thursday to make an announcement about its football program.

President Betsy Hoffman and Chancellor Richard Byyny will discuss “decisions related to the athletic department and football program,” the school said in a statement.

No other details were provided, and university spokeswoman Michele Ames would not elaborate.

Barnett’s attorney declined comment, and the coach could not be reached.

No other changes are planned for the athletic department, which will be more closely monitored by the university, the newspaper reported.

Colorado director of football operations David Hansburg told the paper he was not privy to any decision Hoffman might have made about Barnett’s return to the Buffaloes.

“It wouldn’t surprise me,” he said. “We’ve said that all along.”

Hoffman placed Barnett on paid administrative leave Feb. 18 after comments he made about some of the nine women who have alleged that they were sexually assaulted by Colorado football players or recruits since 1997.

One of the women was former Buffaloes kicker Katie Hnida, who said she was sexually assaulted by a teammate in 2000. While answering questions from reporters after the story appeared, Barnett said Hnida was a “terrible” player.

Earlier this month, an investigative panel appointed by the Colorado Board of Regents and a special liaison whom Hoffman named to study the school’s sports programs recommended more oversight of the athletic department, which has been led by Dick Tharp since 1997.

Last week, the investigating commission concluded that sex and alcohol were used in recruiting but that there was no evidence that Colorado officials “knowingly sanctioned” them. The report criticized Barnett, Tharp, Hoffman and Chancellor Richard Byyny for lax oversight and slow reactions to recruiting problems.

Regents, though, affirmed that Hoffman’s job was safe, and Hoffman expressed her confidence in Byyny. Hoffman issued no statement regarding Barnett and Tharp.

AP-ES-05-26-04 2059EDT