Major Uconn Booster Wants Money Back

[Matt]

Do we have a donor of that caliber at USF????

by caliber do you mean amount of money?  some that are close. 

i wonder who are the biggest donors at usf?

Morsani?

[fhemmer209]

This will be interesting to follow. Why didn't he go to the university president? He probably could have paid for the AD's ouster.

What it does show is the power of boosters. It is a system that allows one guy to attempt that much control yet prohibits student athletes from getting measly sums. Something is wrong.

[Ruger7mmmag]

No Givesies Backsies

Hey Bull Dozer, I've had signatures and avatars "not showing" on here, but I just turned it on and saw you still had the Oberon one, that's still a great looking tag you have there and Oberon is still kickin!

[cmhatter]

Do we have a donor of that caliber at USF????

pam and les muma

frank morsani

[SRQ]

Ed Rood in the day; Witcoffs, too

[Sitting_BULL]

I guess I look at donations differently. I tend to donate in the spirit of 'here, this is for you' and assume that you'll

use it in the best interest of the enterprise. I do not, however, expect to have a voice in that -[glow=red,2,300] unless it's squandered

on alcohol induced stripper-laden parties[/glow] that wind up in the news. In that case, I'll complain, and cut off future donations, but

to expect a refund? Not gonna happen.

Now...if I'm loaning you some money and have an interest in how the funds are used going forward...that's a different

issue, as I expect return on my investment. Does he see the 'return' as veto power in coaching decisions? What's his

background - other than having a kid who played at 'Cuse - relative to what constitutes a good coaching decision? I interpret

being 'kept in the loop' as you receive a copy...not you have a voice in the decision making process.

Then again, I don't write multi-million dollar checks, so the perspective could be somewhat skewed.  :-*

In what way is that squandering?    > ;D >

[Sitting_BULL]

these type of boosters are the ones who control college football.  the mistake this guy made was letting this leak to the public or making the story about HIM.

[glow=red,2,300]ask bobby bowden about boosters.[/glow]

Hell, ask Leavitt.

[BullFan98]

I went back and read the letter. It seems to me like there should have been - if this is how things at that level are run - more inclusion of the Burton family. But wouldn't the AD know that this is how the game is played...schmooze the big donors to keep the check-writin' skills honed to a razor sharp edge? Had I received a letter from Daddy Warbucks saying he wanted inclusion, I would have run it by the AD staff /  selection committee  and made sure there was consultation, not necessarily veto power. Or did this guy know the former 'cuse coach would always be a no vote from the Burtons and chose to skirt the issue?

Regardless...it's much better to have a rich mans problems.

You hit it right on.  I think the AD wanted the HC and probably was getting lots of pressure to make a hire and didn't realize the significant backlash and ramifications his actions would have.  I cannot imagine the AD would take this approach if he had any idea that this would be the result.  Then again, what was he thinking waiting 10 days to tell the football program and universities largest booster about the hire????  Perhaps inexperience (don't know much about the AD) or straight out stupidity.

[BullFan98]

personal & confidential??

Sure...you can make it Top Secret/NOFORN but once I get it...I decide what happens with it.

Besides...what's a little exposure among friends - and everyone with internet access !

:satan

You gotta admit...on one level this is funny. I would love to hear the armada of attorneys explain how

this 'gift' is ever going to be returned to the donor. Or is this what we refer to as an expensive lesson learned?

We do not know what conditions, if any, were attached to the "donation".  I would imagine that with a significant "donation", and based on who this guy is and from reading his letter, that conditions applied to the so called "donation".  I personally know that with certain levels of "donations" come recognition and other "perks" (inside access and information to coaches, ADs, Presidents, etc.).

[widerberg]

I don't think it's so much about getting any money back, as the guy's making it clear that UConn f'd their golden goose on this one. Not only is he pulling all monetary support (and giving it to 'Cuse instead), but he's shifting football schollies to the business school and taking what I'm sure were really lucrative training contracts away from UConn's business school and giving them to 'Cuse.

I'd never heard of Burton before, but it's apparent the man violation money and for however long he now lives (and his family lives), all of that potential dosh is going elsewhere. He dropped a figurative nuke on UConn's football program.

Whether he's a douche or not, the guy's got a right to pull future money and even if UConn doesn't pay a cent back to him (which I can't imagine they will), they're losing tenfold in future income. Not to mention what would happen if other big donors start feeling the same way as Burton.

Call me spiteful and immature, but if I was laying between $7 and $31+ million on a school and they treated me like this, I'd be out, too.