Northern Colorado Backup Punter Stabs Fellow Kicker

By Mark Hoerrner

If you think your job is competitive, how many times have you been stabbed by a colleague? And to think, this is just collegiate athletics.

Mitch Cozad, a student athlete at the University of Northern Colorado was arrested this week for allegedly stabbing fellow kicker and student Rafael Mendoza in the leg. Cozad was released on a $30,000 bond, according the Associated Press.

"I'm looking forward to getting back to playing with my team. I'm upset this happened but at the same time there's nothing I can do and just move on," Mendoza told Denver’s KCNC-TV during an on-air interview.

The Associated Press reported that the incident took place on late Monday night in the town of Evans, about 50 miles north of Denver. Cozad allegedly attacked Mendoza from behind, stabbing him in the leg and then escaped with an accomplice in a waiting car. A liquor store attendant who noticed two men peeling tape off an obscured license plate spotted the car and called police.

Cozad was evicted from his on-campus dorm housing by the university administration. He was also suspended from academic pursuits at the university pending the outcome of both collegiate and law enforcement investigations.

"Our first priority at the University of Northern Colorado is the health and well-being of our students," said UNC Director of Athletics Jay Hinrichs. "The administrative processes we have in place support that philosophy and allowed us to respond swiftly to this situation. We continue to hold the behavior of our students to a very high standard. We will continue to emphasize this expectation with all of our student-athletes."

Upon hearing of the incident, Hinrichs and UNC Head Football Coach Scott Downing said they were quick to respond.

"The No. 1 priority of our coaching staff and program is the welfare of every student-athlete. Each decision we make takes this into account," Downing said in a statement on the UNC web site. "We also hold our student-athletes to a high level of accountability, and they understand our expectations. We responded quickly to address the situation with Mr. Cozad. He was suspended from the team before noon on Tuesday. It is our intent to minimize disruption of the team's activities as much as possible. We are trying to avoid any disruption to our team as it prepares to take on nationally-ranked Texas State this weekend."

While the police speculated that the motive for the stabbing was internal competition for starting spots on the team, the coaching staff was not as quick to arrive at that conclusion.

"I guess the only identified motive at this point in time is the competition for that position," said Lt. Gary Kessler, spokesman for the Evans Police Department.
The UNC coaching staff said they had not noticed any extreme pressure between the two players prior to the attack.

"The competition was no different than starting quarterback or starting right tackle," Downing said during a phone interview. "I hold all of my players to the same standard. There’s competition, but not enough to warrant this action."

Mendoza has been treated at a local hospital and released, though Downing said it was unlikely that he would be able to play against Texas State on Saturday.