reprinted without permission from:
THE NCAA REGISTER (February 5, 1996)
 
Administrative Review Panel Actions
Case No.: 1221
Sport: Men's ice hockey (I)
Citation: B 11.3.2.2
Special circumstances: The applicant institution is in the process
of investigating allegations of violations involving its men's ice
hockey program. Institutional policy requires the institution to
evaluate an employee's actions before the institution may pay legal
fees associated with that employee's conduct. If the institution
subsequently determines that the employee was not at fault, the
institution may pay legal fees associated with that employee's
conduct. However, paying the legal fees of the employee in question
before completing the evaluation of the employee's actions would be
an admission by the institution that the employee was not at fault.
At this point, the institution has not determined that the coach
was not at fault, and thus does not wish to pay the coach's legal
fees; rather, the institution would like the fees to come from a
source outside the institution.
Application of legislation: An outside source is prohibited from
paying or regularly supplementing an athletics department staff
member's annual salary and from arranging to supplement that salary
for an unspecified achievement. This includes the donation of cash
from outside sources to the institution earmarked for the staff
member's salary or supplemental income. It would be permissible for
an outside source to donate funds to the institution to be used as
determined by the institution, and it would be permissible for the
institution, at its sole discretion, to use such funds to pay or
supplement a staff member's salary.
Request of institution: Waive the normal application of the
supplemental-pay rule and permit an outside source to pay the legal
fees of the coach in this situation.
Action taken: Denied.
 
 
John H ([log in to unmask])
I hesitated posting this at all.  It's really none of our business.
But, some might be interested in the situation, or simply the NCAA
legislation.  I personally find it interesting that the institution "at its
sole discretion" may use donations to supplement a staff member's
salary.  I don't think any donations to Michigan have been
appearing in my paycheck. :-)
 
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