Highlights from the U athletic department investigation

December 9, 2015 at 1:41AM

Athletic department probe highlights

Sex harassment allegations

• Witnesses did not see Teague behave inappropriately toward athletic department employees or student athletes.

• Most witnesses described a positive work environment, in which men and women were supported.

• There was evidence of inappropriate behavior by Teague with people outside the U. Teague and the third parties declined to be interviewed.

Financial audit

• Athletic officials paid for expenses not allowed by U policy, including higher-priced hotels, $37,000 for private charter flights instead of commercial flights, first-class airfare for one staff member, and clothing and hair styling for women's basketball coach Marlene Stollings.

• Officials exceeded spending limits for meals, including a $2,741 cruise in Excelsior attended by donors Kelly Doran, Tim and Jennifer Horan, Bob and Lynne Cunningham, Teague and men's basketball coach Richard Pitino, among others.

• Teague approved expenses submitted by his staff for meals that he attended, circumventing a review by the president's office.

• Teague violated regents policy with $86,000 in no-bid contracts to a consulting firm owned by a consultant he knew from his previous job.

• There is no evidence of a contract or documentation of the U's relationship with the Villa 7 networking program for basketball coaches and its cosponsor, Nike.

• Payments to senior athletic officials for Gopher football and basketball radio interviews "bypassed institutional checks and balances."

• The U paid $19,322 in moving expenses for an unidentified senior athletics official, well above guidelines.

• Teague hired some limousines when less expensive options were available. The U paid $340 to transport seven people to a football game in Illinois and $377 for a limo to a donor event in the Twin Cities. Teague's receipts show he paid $750 to take a dozen people, including two staff members, donors and their guests, from the airport in Bloomington, Ind., to a game.

Recommendations

• Create a single sexual harassment policy and mandate reporting.

• Audit the handling of sexual harassment in the athletics department within two years.

• Update the athletic director hiring process, including background checks and interviews.

• Review athletics spending issues and make sure spending policies are followed.

• Tell senior leadership, in advance, about unusual arrangements for outside use of U facilities.

• Require staff to stop consumption of alcohol not purchased through licensed venues at athletics facilities.

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