DENVER -- University of Colorado head football coach Gary Barnett was placed on paid administrative leave Wednesday night, following his stinging criticism of an alleged rape victim and another startling revelation from a woman who said she told Barnett about her alleged sexual assault in 2001.

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CU President Elizabeth Hoffman made the announcement at a late-evening news conference in Denver, saying that the move is directly related to inappropriate statements Barnett made about Katie Hnida's playing ability hours after the female place kicker came forward with her rape allegation.

Hnida, the only woman to ever suit up for the CU Buffs football team, said that in her one year on the team she was sexually harassed, groped during huddles and then raped by a teammate. Barnett said that he was surprised by Hnida's allegations and that Hnida should have expected some problems when she joined the football team in 1999.

"It's a guy's sport. (Players) felt like Katie was forced on them. It was obvious Katie was not very good. She was awful. You know what guys do? They respect your ability. I mean, you could be 90 years old, but if you could go out and play, they would respect you. Well Katie was a girl, and not only was she a girl, she was terrible. OK? And there's no other way to say it," Barnett told reporters Tuesday afternoon.

"His remarks about her were extremely inappropriate and insensitive. Rape is a horrific allegation and it should be taken seriously," Hoffman said.

The university president also said that she was "utterly distressed" by remarks Barnett reportedly made to another woman who claimed she was raped on Sept. 28, 2001.

In records released Wednesday evening by the Boulder Police Department, the woman -- a female member of the CU Athletic Department -- said she was raped by a then-member of the CU football team at her apartment. She said she reported the assault to Barnett. According to the woman, Barnett told her he would "take care of this problem" but that if she decided to pursue criminal charges, he would "back his player 100 percent."

"That is the statment that we are very concerned about," Hoffman said.

The woman reported the alleged assault to the police department a day later and an investigation was begun. No charges were filed because the woman decided not to press charges. Hers is the sixth sexual assault allegation involving members of the CU football team.

Barnett said Wednesday night that he regrets the comments he made about Hnida, is sensitive to her rape allegation and respects CU's decision to place him on paid leave.

"I sincerely regret that yesterday a portion of my remarks were either misinterpreted or taken out of context, and I apologize for answering that question in a manner where I must have come across as insensitive," Barnett said. "What I wanted to communicate was that regardless of Katie Hnida's abilities, I wanted Katie on our football team, I wanted to give her a chance to be a part of our program."

He said that the recently disclosed police report was not entirely accurate but did not want to go into details.

Hoffman said that neither she, the chancellor nor Barnett knew that a police report was ever filed. She said she learned of the new allegation at 6:30 p.m. Wednesday.

Hoffman dispelled rumors that Barnett was "taking the fall" for CU in its current crisis.

"I think the fact that we have deliberated now for more than two weeks -- amid what can only be described as a swirl of media -- we have not acted in haste. We have not responded to the kind of pressure that all of you have been putting on us over the last two weeks, I think is an indication that we have not been allowing Coach Barnett to take the fall," she told reporters. "We have been making very careful deliberations about what to do on a day-to-day basis despite being incredibly pressured to make decisions much more quickly."

"We will not act in haste in the future but we believe we have done the right thing," she said. "At this point, everything is still allegation."

Barnett was informed of Hoffman's decison at 8:30 p.m. His suspension will last until the investigative committee formed to look into allegations against the athletic department completes its report, which is expected to be at the end of April.

"Based on the circumstances, we believe we have made the right decision (in suspending Barnett)," said CU Chancellor Richard Byyny.

Gov. Bill Owens released a statement late Wednesday night saying, "In view of the serious allegations concerning the CU football program, the action taken this evening by President Hoffman is both appropriate and necessary."

No action will be taken against CU Athletic Director Dick Tharp but Hoffman reiterated, "As I have said all along, everyone's job is on the line."

The National Organization for Women is calling for both Barnett and Tharp to be dismissed and is requesting that the investigative panel include sexual assault prevention experts and exclude those who have demonstrated bias, such as co-chair Joyce Lawrence, who they say made suggestions that the female victims weren't tough enough or brought it on themselves.

"Coach Barnett insists that nothing inappropriate has gone on with the CU football program, yet he is positive that this behavior exists at other campuses. Is he so busy watching other football programs that he doesn't know what's going on under his nose? I find that hard to believe," said Regina Cowles, president of the Boulder chapter of NOW.

It was a smart move on the school's part not to fire Barnett because it would negatively impact the school's current legal battle and could be interpreted partly as an admission of guilt, 7NEWS legal analyst Craig Silverman said. He also said that there are millions of dollars at stake when deciding whether or not to boot Barnett and end his contract prematurely.

At the heart of the ever-widening CU scandal are federal lawsuits filed by three women who said they were raped by CU football players at an off-campus recruiting party in 2001. Boulder County District Attorney Mary Keenan declined to press assault charges in the case. But Keenan gave a deposition in one of the federal suits and said the CU athletics department offered sex and alcohol to entice recruits. Though denied by school officials, Keenan said she stood by her statement.

Barnett has been the head coach at CU since January 1999 and had been an assistant under Bill McCartney from 1984 to 1991. He is contracted to stay with the team through the 2006 season. Barnett spent seven years at Northwestern University before returning to CU.

Hoffman said to get his job back the investigative panel would need to conclude that "the culture in the athletic department is appropriate (and) does not foster the kind of behavior suggested in Katie Hnida's allegations."