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December 20, 2007

West Va. U. Donors Pull Back Millions After Coach Leaves

Donors to West Virginia University have withdrawn gifts of about $12-million — which one former donor called “the tip of the iceberg” — after the university’s head football coach left to work for the University of Michigan, reports the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.

Several donors say they blame the university for not trying hard enough to keep coach Rich Rodriguez. Last December, supporters gave millions for a six-year, $1.9-million-per-year contract for the coach, and the university was about $200,000 away from finalizing the deal, some of the donors told the newspaper.

But Ben and Jo Statler, who earlier this year gave the university $25-million, said they would not pull back their donation, the largest gift ever to the institution.

University leaders say the institution tried hard to keep Mr. Rodriguez: His salary was recently increased by 70 percent, a $2-million academic center was built for the football team, and the university was spending $6-million to renovate the locker rooms, according to the newspaper.

“At the end of the day, the university is governed by its board and its president, and the people they appoint to positions of responsibility,” said Stephen Goodwin, chairman of West Virginia University’s board of governors. “Making donations to a public university does not entitle anyone to dictate policy or personnel.”

The newspaper said some gifts had “escape clauses” that permitted the donors to seek the return of money already paid.

Thursday December 20, 2007 | Permalink

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