 He was hired as head coach at Colorado at age 29 in February 1959, succeeding recently fired Dallas Ward at a salary the Buffaloes to controversial greatness, including a Big Eight Conference championship in 1961 and an Orange Bowl berth on New Year's Day.However, shortly after their bowl loss to LSU, it became rumor that he had been using a slush fund to pay between 15 and 30 top recruits and their families.The NCAA investigated and released inconclusive findings on April 27, 1962, which led to more controversy; the university regents had fired Grandelius six weeks earlier Only one regent of the six, Charles Bromley, voted not to fire Grandelius, saying the firing ""violated every principle of fair play since the Magna Carta.""