HOUSTON -- Colorado coach Gary Barnett reiterated Friday that former Buffs coach Rick Neuheisel should be punished if the football program is found guilty of recruiting violations.

Colorado faces 51 alleged rules violations, all but three of which were said to have occurred during Neuheisel's time as Colorado coach from 1995-98. Neuheisel will be in Philadelphia on Aug. 9 to respond to the NCAA in person regarding the alleged violations.

"In these cases there isn't one thing the University of Colorado or the University of Mexico could have done ... to (prevent) these violations," Barnett said during Big 12 preseason media days. "You're either going to violate it or you're not. You're either going to do it or you don't and that comes down to an individual making choices."

Barnett didn't say how Neuheisel, now the coach at Washington, should be penalized. It is a rare situation because Neuheisel has left Colorado. Colorado could be penalized for wrongdoing committed by the former coach who is not penalized at his current job. It is possible that Neuheisel could face a fine but there won't be any direct sanctions against the Washington program.

Neuheisel has said the alleged violations were "inadvertent" and there was no intentional wrongdoing by him or the staff. It is clear that since the case surfaced a year ago, Barnett has doubted that.

"That becomes a personal matter," Barnett said when asked what should happen to Neuheisel. "I don't know if I'm prepared to share an opinion on that with you. I don't think me being vengeful or having an attitude about that would help you or me or any of our followers."

All of the 51 violations have been deemed secondary. But what concerns Colorado is the NCAA could decide to lump the secondary violations into one, big major violation citing a lack of institutional control.

"The NCAA is an institution aimed at safeguarding its members," Barnett said. "If a violation occurred here they're going to blame the institution for institutional control. In some cases, that's absolutely right. However ..."

The school already has self-penalized itself by putting the program on a one-year probation. Also, an assistant coach has been taken off the road during the spring recruiting period in 2003.

The NCAA, however, will have the final say.

"Loss of scholarships, that would bother me the most," Barnett said. "That would be the most difficult thing for me to handle."

Twenty-three of the 51 charges have to do with improper recruiting contact or "bumping." Bumping is a somewhat common occurrence during a period when coaches aren't allowed to have face-to-face contact with recruits.

In one situation, Neuheisel called a recruit on his cell phone from a parked car outside the player's house. He later asked him to come to the front door where both continued talking on phones. When asked about the tactic, Neuheisel told the NCAA there was no violation because he did not have a "face-to-face encounter" with the recruit.

It has been a troubling offseason for Colorado, the defending Big 12 champs. In December, recruits were accused of wrongdoing involving hostesses and alcohol during a recruiting weekend. Assistant coach Tom McMahon died of cancer this summer.

"It's been very time-consuming," Barnett said. "I always have concerns with dealing with the NCAA. It's not known as a compassionate organization ... I fear the worst and sort of prepare myself for the worst."