10/9/2017 update:
In what may be it’s fastest turnaround time since I asked Dave Hubin for a copy of Jim Bean’s sabbatical contract, UO’s Public Records Office says today that “there are no responsive records” to the LA Times request for federal subpoenas or search warrants involving Altman or his coaches. For comparison, here are the last 3 or so months of the public records log.
Still no Tim Gleason rhabdo docs for HBO, no new Bach docs, etc:
10/30/2018 update: I’ve always had a soft spot for Kelly, because he had the sense of humor to hide his $25K payoff to Willie Lyles where no reasonable person would ever have found it – in the UO libraries financial accounts:
Unfortunately for Kelly, sports reporters are not reasonable people. Kelly will be back in Eugene this Saturday for some sort of football event, and presumably UO’s General Counsel Kevin Reed will be waiting with a overdue notice:
10/12/2015: Can Chip Kelly return to the PAC-12 w/o repaying Ducks for $20K fine?
10/12/2015: I’ve got no idea, but the sportswriters are starting to ask questions.
8/10/2013: UO tried to fine Chip Kelly $20K, but he skipped town – from a Paul Swangard tweet
From the NCAA report, here. Kelly’s contract included the clause below, but apparently he quit before UO could collect. Really. Randy Geller didn’t make any follow up efforts? Apparently not:
Contract here:
The funny part is I learned this from a Paul Swangard tweet:
Swangard is the director of UO’s Warsaw Sports Marketing program, and he’s now blocked me from his twitter feed. Let’s find out what’s going on here:
Dear Ms Thornton:
This is a public records request for any documents showing efforts by UO to collect funds from Coach Chip Kelly related to
a) the “Termination by Kelly” clause requiring liquidated damages payments if Kelly left before the end of his contract term, and
b) the “Discipline” clause allowing UO to fine Kelly for, among other things, NCAA violations.
I’m ccing UO GC Randy Geller, AD Rob Mullens, AAD Eric Roedl, FAR Jim O’Fallon, and a few others who may have information and documents, in the hope this will reduce the time you need to spend looking for these documents.
I ask for a fee waiver on the basis of the public funds involved, the general public interest in the UO AD’s affairs, and the ability of the UO Matters blog to ensure these documents are quickly and efficiently distributed to other news media and the public.
“No responsive documents”. More here.
Provides that a coach at public university who intentionally or recklessly commits or causes to be committed major violation of rules of National Collegiate Athletic Association is liable for university’s actual damages and attorney fees. Applies to major violations committed before, on or after effective date. Declares emergency, effective on passage.
The Oregonian has reported that the University of Oregon has already paid more than $150,000 to an outside law firm for that firm’s help in investigating alleged recruiting violations that took place on the watch of former Ducks football coach Chip Kelly. With the program facing major penalties, Kelly fled to the NFL, where he is now the coach of the Philadelphia Eagles. …
“When it comes to following the rules, the costs and benefits are misaligned in college sports. Coaches benefit in the short-term by breaking recruiting rules, allowing them to build their programs and sometimes getting a job in the pros,” Barton said in an email. “But the university, particularly its players and fans, pays the long-term costs of the coach’s misconduct in the form of NCAA sanctions. How many college coaches (Chip Kelly, [former USC football coach] Pete Carroll, etc.) have we seen jump to the NFL after the NCAA begins investigating, leaving behind a damaged program? This pattern will repeat itself until we realign the basic incentives.
A lawyer who understands incentives. Good combination. 5/1/2013.
4/24/2013: Secret meeting update:
SI is reporting UO held a meeting with the NCAA infractions committee last week to negotiate penalties. The charge of the UO Senate’s IAC says the IAC shall be consulted by the
3. The faculty athletics representative about all ongoing investigations and major violations.
And the Frohnmayer DOJ opinion says these investigations are a matter of public record. But FAR Jim O’Fallon and AD Rob Mullens have kept everything secret from the IAC, including this meeting. While making the academic side pay half the legal bills.
Another update: Duck sports and public records get the “O” brand priceless national recognition in the NY Times.
Update: Oregonian sports columnist John Canzano is unimpressed with Dave Hubin’s game:
Without that, there is no real transparency. There is no accountability, either. Oregon has played games with the media charged with covering one of this state’s biggest public entities, refusing to adequately and decently meet public-records requests. The Ducks have withheld information and moved slooooooooowly, then suddenly released documents on Friday nights, and on game days. UO released the original Lyles scouting reports, and said, “This is all we have,” then, a day later, recanted with, “Oh, yeah, that wasn’t all. Here’s a little more.” …
Glazier is a legend in a case such as this. And maybe he’s just trying to justify the steep cost of retaining him. The UO general counsel’s office and the athletic department are sharing the cost of his specialty law firm, which only means that taxpayers are on the hook here.
Yes, the taxpayers deserve transparency. Yes, the public deserves a quick and reasonable turnaround on public records requests. And yes, Oregon’s athletic department needs to come to the NCAA, hat in hand, accept its punishment, and let the football program move forward.
4/16/2013: That’s the conclusion from the documents UO released yesterday to KATU after 6 months of stalling by the Public Records Office. Randy Geller and Doug Park had been arguing NCAA docs were exempt, but I dug up this 1981 opinion by Frohnmayer’s DOJ saying just the opposite. Too bad guys.
From the Chronicle, 4/19/2013:
Nearly two-thirds of the 56 most powerful Division I public universities now offer multiyear awards, according to a Chronicle review of public records. Yet few of those institutions do so for more than a handful of athletes.
Among the holdouts are some of the wealthiest programs, including the University of Texas at Austin, the University of Oregon, and Texas A&M. At the University of Arizona, Georgia Tech, and the University of Louisville, this year’s NCAA men’s basketball champions, you can count the multiyear beneficiaries on one hand.
Officials from some of those colleges say their hesitation is not about the money—they just oppose making long-term promises to prospects who may not hold up their end of the bargain.
“Who gets a four-year, $120K deal guaranteed at age 17?” Christine A. Plonsky, women’s athletic director at the University of Texas, wrote in an e-mail to The Chronicle. “The last thing young people need right now is more entitlement.”
Speaking of entitlement, AD Rob Mullens and most of the UO coaches have multi-year contracts that require UO to pay their salaries even if they are fired. And of course we know what Frohnmayer/Grier gave Bellotti, who is also getting more than $500K a year from PERS, as a result of some very unusual accounting tricks.
Wisconsin wasn’t afraid to give me a 4 year guarantee. Of course that was just for graduate school, not something that would bring in millions for the coaches and the athletic director. And I wasn’t a naive 17 year old prohibited from hiring an agent to look after my interests. Nice scam these guys have got going.
for the Glazier investigation. And it still ain’t over. Adam Jude has the latest in the Oregonian. Here’s a (dated) billing statement – approved by Jamie Moffitt, showing the split. Has Gottfredson put a stop to this? Good question, I’ve put in a public records request. Meanwhile, more here from the last go-round on this.
1/16/2012: Ducks confirm Kelly’s going to the Eagles. So the contractual issues below are back on the table. Is UO going to take steps now to ensure it can recoup some of the costs of the Kelly / Lyles recruiting violations from Kelly, or is the academic side going to get stuck with the tab again?
12/20/12. Here are the contracts for AD Rob Mullens and Coach Chip Kelly, which include bonuses for bowl appearances and wins. If UO had agreed to a plea bargain over the Lyles recruiting infractions that included vacating some of these wins, could UO have clawed back the bonuses? I’ve got a question on that in to UO’s VPFA Jamie Moffitt. Due diligence, I think the lawyers call this. More later.
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