Boron nitride films were grown by sputtering a hexagonal boron nitride (BN) pressed powder target in Ne/N-2 discharges at two levels of substrate bias. Optical emission spectrometry was used to monitor the N-2(+) ion population in the discharge. Postdeposition, information about B-N bonding in the films was obtained using near ultraviolet-visible spectrophotometry to determine optical absorption edge characteristics, and infrared transmission spectrometry to determine vibrational frequencies of B-N groups. The results are compared to films grown in Ar/N-2 discharges at the same excitation conditions. The goal was to examine the effect of an enhanced N-2(+) ion population (characteristic of Ne/N-2 discharges) on B-N bonding. The results show that N-2(+) enhancement alone, without substrate bias, cannot produce sp(3) bonding. Biasing results, in sp(3)-bonded BN with wurtzite short-range order. Without exception, films on grounded substrates have sp(2) bonding. A simple model is proposed to relate optical edge disorder in sp(2)-bonded BN (associated with B-N bond length randomness) to N-2(+) adsorption at the growth interface.