The use of alcohol in recruiting has never been condoned by athletics officials at the University of Colorado, the director of football operations told a panel investigating the school's recruiting scandal.

The official, David Hansburg, said it is up to athletics officials to train players but athletes also must be responsible for their actions.

"Where is the line that you draw on who has responsibility for students at a university?" Hansburg asked. "Where do trust and accountability come into effect?"

Hansburg is one of the first officials from Colorado's embattled football program to appear before the panel. The commission, appointed by the Board of Regents, is investigating whether the school used sex and alcohol to lure recruits to the Boulder campus.

A separate investigation headed by the state attorney general is looking into whether criminal charges are warranted. Ten women since 1997 have accused football players or recruits of rape, though no charges have been filed. Three of the women have sued the school in federal court, saying it fostered a hostile environment that contributed to the assaults.

Boulder police and other law enforcement officials were scheduled to address the panel later Tuesday.

Raising his voice at times to make a point, Hansburg described how the football program is structured and how recruiting works at a major university. He said the school has never looked the other way when it comes to alcohol use.

Colorado, labeled the nation's top party school by one publication, has already made sweeping changes to its football recruiting program, including the elimination of player hosts, mandatory chaperones and approval of activities by athletics officials.

Football coach Gary Barnett has been suspended until at least April 30 pending the outcome of the panel's investigation. He was put on leave for comments he made about two of the accusers, including a former place-kicker, Katie Hnida, who said she was raped by a teammate in 2001.

Hansburg said he thought Barnett should be a part of the effort to improve the situation at Colorado.

"I know a good guy when I see one," said Hansburg, who worked with Barnett at Northwestern in the 1990s. "He's been a proponent of all this."

Hansburg said he thinks other schools will eventually look to Colorado as a model of how student-athletes should be handled.

The panel investigating will also talk to former student Billi Hazel, who as a student journalist at the school, interviewed a number of football players about a reported policy between players and the Boulder police.

Her story revealed that CU coaches had football players go on ride-alongs with police officer so that they might have someone who could help them out should they get into trouble.