UH athletic department spending reviewed

A review of financial records reveals thousands of dollars in spending by the UH athletic department.

But it wasn’t taxpayer money but private donations being spent.

Lax oversight by University of Hawaii athletic, fiscal and legal staff appears at least partly to blame in the loss of hundreds of thousands of dollars over the Stevie Wonder concert that never was.

"We had to raise the revenue to go into those accounts, and we would raise between 100,000 to 200,000 a year in discretionary donations into those accounts." said Jim Donovan, UH Manoa External Affairs.

That’s former athletic director Jim Donovan who spent an average of more than a hundred thousand a year over four years from foundation funds that were specifically flagged by donors to let him spend as needed. He says each year ended with a positive balance of about $70,000.
here are assurances by a number of people who have signed off on it that there is a true business purpose for the expenditure of the funds," said Dr. J. Kuhio Asam, Chairman UH Foundation.

The business purpose stated included a lot of travel, sports tickets, clowns, meals, entertainment and drinks. UH foundation says alcohol is allowed.

Kanoa Leahey was seen on a guest list. Several one on one lunches, dinners and drinks were paid for newspaper sports writers and Star-Advertiser publisher Dennis Francis, even a bottle of Dom Perignon for him.

Star-advertiser editor Frank Bridgewater said the reporter outings helped cultivate sources and added We’re very clear with what we expect from our reporters, and they have followed the policy, which is if they accept a meal and haven’t paid for it at that time, we make sure they repay them with a meal later."

"Didn’t expect anything from them, never asked them to do anything, i’ve never asked a media person ever to write or do a story," said Donovan.

Expenses also covered gifts and outings with lawmakers. Some of the same have been vocal in their support of donovan and critique of the administration after donovan was moved out of the Ad’s role to a job with the Manoa chancellor’s office, post-wonder-blunder.

"It might be a gift basket or something and it was well blow the annual limit, and again we didn’t see it as influencing them" said Donovan.