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The Missoulian's Correction
- Thread starter AllWeatherFan
- Start date
hawaiiangriz said:But dude - they are bringing in new onion rings!! You know you want them!!!!
I see they are going to stop putting pink slime in the burgers. :thumb:
Anybody else find this a little odd?
Fired UM athletic director takes in Final Four with Griz boosters
By CHELSI MOY of the Missoulian missoulian.com
The same day that University of Montana athletic director Jim O’Day was fired, he got on a plane and flew to New Orleans to watch the Final Four with a handful of Griz boosters.
It’s a relationship-building event that O’Day has hosted for several years now. Each university is allotted a certain number of tickets to the national basketball championship and UM shares them with generous athletic donors.
Except this year, the NCAA tournament’s finale came at an awkward, even problematic, moment.
“We felt we needed to move forward,” said Greg Sundberg, executive director of the Grizzly Scholarship Association. “Jim’s stuff was already booked and ready to go. It was his decision to go. The folks we take down, they’ve become great friends with Jim.”
Sundberg says O’Day is paying for the trip on his own dime and that he’s not attending events as an official UM representative.
“We felt it was important to continue the trip with our boosters,” Sundberg said.
UM invites between 6 and 10 boosters to the NCAA Final Four Tournament. The other UM employee attending as a representative of the university is Kent Haslam, associate athletic director for development.
Haslam and Sundberg, and in the past O’Day, use privately raised dollars that are for the purposes of building donor relations. Expenses are reimbursed to the employees through the foundation, Sundberg said.
All of the boosters, however, pay their own way to the tournament and for their own tickets to the NCAA basketball games.
The GSA did discuss whether to cancel the trip. However, the entire trip was already planned and they didn’t want to renege on promises to donors.
Plus, O’Day is still a dedicated Griz supporter – every bit as much as he was a week ago, Sundberg said.
O’Day did not return phone messages left for him requesting comment. However, Sundberg said O’Day has been nothing but a class act.
“He still holds this institution dear to his heart,” Sundberg said. “He’ll always be a Griz. That’s the kind of guy Jim is. He’s taught me so much. He just taught me another chapter in his book, which is class and integrity. He’s telling our donors nothing but support the university.”
Reporter Chelsi Moy can be reached at 523-5260 or at [email protected].
Read more: http://missoulian.com/news/local/fired-um-athletic-director-takes-in-final-four-with-griz/article_0dbffc6a-7d34-11e1-a2a4-0019bb2963f4.html#ixzz1r0IAQKX5" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
Fired UM athletic director takes in Final Four with Griz boosters
By CHELSI MOY of the Missoulian missoulian.com
The same day that University of Montana athletic director Jim O’Day was fired, he got on a plane and flew to New Orleans to watch the Final Four with a handful of Griz boosters.
It’s a relationship-building event that O’Day has hosted for several years now. Each university is allotted a certain number of tickets to the national basketball championship and UM shares them with generous athletic donors.
Except this year, the NCAA tournament’s finale came at an awkward, even problematic, moment.
“We felt we needed to move forward,” said Greg Sundberg, executive director of the Grizzly Scholarship Association. “Jim’s stuff was already booked and ready to go. It was his decision to go. The folks we take down, they’ve become great friends with Jim.”
Sundberg says O’Day is paying for the trip on his own dime and that he’s not attending events as an official UM representative.
“We felt it was important to continue the trip with our boosters,” Sundberg said.
UM invites between 6 and 10 boosters to the NCAA Final Four Tournament. The other UM employee attending as a representative of the university is Kent Haslam, associate athletic director for development.
Haslam and Sundberg, and in the past O’Day, use privately raised dollars that are for the purposes of building donor relations. Expenses are reimbursed to the employees through the foundation, Sundberg said.
All of the boosters, however, pay their own way to the tournament and for their own tickets to the NCAA basketball games.
The GSA did discuss whether to cancel the trip. However, the entire trip was already planned and they didn’t want to renege on promises to donors.
Plus, O’Day is still a dedicated Griz supporter – every bit as much as he was a week ago, Sundberg said.
O’Day did not return phone messages left for him requesting comment. However, Sundberg said O’Day has been nothing but a class act.
“He still holds this institution dear to his heart,” Sundberg said. “He’ll always be a Griz. That’s the kind of guy Jim is. He’s taught me so much. He just taught me another chapter in his book, which is class and integrity. He’s telling our donors nothing but support the university.”
Reporter Chelsi Moy can be reached at 523-5260 or at [email protected].
Read more: http://missoulian.com/news/local/fired-um-athletic-director-takes-in-final-four-with-griz/article_0dbffc6a-7d34-11e1-a2a4-0019bb2963f4.html#ixzz1r0IAQKX5" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
:lol: :lol:wbtfg said:
That too. Sundberg better start polishing his resume...
disclaimer: I have no idea whether Sundberg's employment is in any way related to the University or Mr. Engstrom, nor whether the university or Mr. Engstrom have any part of the decision-making process regarding Mr. Sundberg's employment....my comment was strictly for effect.
There are a few things I don't get.
What does Sundberg mean when he says "we take [the boosters] down," when, on the other hand, he says the boosters pay their own way.
When he says O'Day paid his own way, does that mean he repaid the University for all of the travel arrangements that had already been made before he was fired? Or, when he says that foundation money is used to "reimburse" employees, does that mean the employees pay all their expenses out of pocket, and are later reimbursed?
When Sundberg says the GSA discussed cancelling the trip, but didn't want to "renege on promises to donors," what kinds of "promises" are we talking about? Why would UM need to make any promises if the boosters are traveling on their own dime?
I'm not implying that there's anything underhanded going on, but it just seems a little strange, and I'm curious if anybody knows how this stuff works. Anybody?
What does Sundberg mean when he says "we take [the boosters] down," when, on the other hand, he says the boosters pay their own way.
When he says O'Day paid his own way, does that mean he repaid the University for all of the travel arrangements that had already been made before he was fired? Or, when he says that foundation money is used to "reimburse" employees, does that mean the employees pay all their expenses out of pocket, and are later reimbursed?
When Sundberg says the GSA discussed cancelling the trip, but didn't want to "renege on promises to donors," what kinds of "promises" are we talking about? Why would UM need to make any promises if the boosters are traveling on their own dime?
I'm not implying that there's anything underhanded going on, but it just seems a little strange, and I'm curious if anybody knows how this stuff works. Anybody?
Okay, I'll admit it, I have a sneaking suspicion that these people party their brains out. Not that there's anything wrong with that.
AllWeatherFan said:
Its means the university doesn't pay for it (in order to avoid any impropiety.) The GAA slush fund does. If a university employee attends his expenses are reimbursed by the GAA not the university. For the boosters they supply the game tickets (and I imagine "the party) and "access" to Oday........
poorgriz said:
The access to Oday part? During normal times that kind of insider access is the best schmooze of all. During these times if it was all about money there are guys who would pay a fortune for access right now. But in reality this is the final get together for these guys. O'day is a professional. Heck for all we know his next gig will be with the GAA...... As far as suing the university, he's got the wrong lawyer for that (this is the guy who muffed the Kramer deal) But a reasonable severance package is likley to be negotiaated.
Thanks, tnt. What's the deal with the GSA and the GAA? Are they separate organizations? And they're not considered "University" operations? Where are they physically located? Do they hire their own employees? (I assume they're 501(c)(3) organizations, right? Which is why I get to deduct part of my season ticket costs?)
This answers some of my questions.
http://www.umt.edu/self-study2010/std3/Std3Exhibits/RE3-01/AthleticsManual-GrizzlyScholarshipAssociation.pdf" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
http://www.umt.edu/self-study2010/std3/Std3Exhibits/RE3-01/AthleticsManual-GrizzlyScholarshipAssociation.pdf" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
Thanks for posting this All Weather!
Hey, no problem, I'm just trying to figure it all out. And the more I think about it, the stranger it all seems, like the line between UM and the GSA is so thin there isn't even a line.
AllWeatherFan said:
Yeah its together but seperate about as clear as mud but watched very closley. This isn't the first time we have had some Great success with the programs and had pissed away by NCAA violations because the boosters and athletic department got too close and forgot they answered to main hall. At least this time they were pulled up short before it took 10 or 15 years to recover........ They picked the coach, banked the work study hours and dang near lost it all. But nobody wants to remember the 70's
No kidding! Using TNT's idea: theoretically O'day's next job could be with the GSA where he would have an office on campus and receive a paycheck from U of M and NOT be an employee of the University.
