An internal audit at the University of Minnesota's athletic department found serious violations of university policy on spending, including tens of thousands of dollars on alcohol, parties and expensive hotels, during Norwood Teague's three-year tenure as athletic director.
But a team of outside investigators found little evidence of sexual harassment in the department beyond the scandal that triggered Teague's abrupt resignation this summer.
"By and large, the athletics department reflects the respect toward women that Minnesotans expect from this flagship educational institution," said Karen Schanfield, an attorney who headed the external investigation. Both reports were presented to the Board of Regents at a special meeting Tuesday.
University officials expressed relief at the findings that sexual harassment was not the problem some feared when Teague resigned after he was accused of sexually harassing two top administrators in July.
But chief auditor Gail Klatt said the audit showed that the department needs "a stronger culture of financial control."
The audit found that questionable or improper spending decisions by Teague and other senior members of the department cost the U more than $200,000.
The largest was a deal that Teague struck to give Major League Baseball free use of TCF Bank Stadium to host a concert, which cost the U at least $128,229 in lost revenue, the audit found. In exchange, Teague received use of a suite at the 2014 All Star game and 50 tickets. "Assuming 50 people attended the MLB event, the cost was $2,565 per ticket," the audit notes.
The audit also found that senior leaders in the athletics department had inappropriately spent more than $51,000 on alcohol, and thousands more on parties, clothing and hair stylists. Many expenditures were coded as "entertainment and gifts" rather than alcohol, getting around a policy that bars payments from athletics funds for booze.