STrib: Pitino far exceeded budget for private jet travel

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BleedGopher

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The STrib felt this was so important it gave Joe and Amelia a joint byline on this investigative piece:

Gophers men’s basketball coach Richard Pitino has spent twice as much on private jet travel as his contract allows since arriving at Minnesota — doubling his budget in his first season, and tripling it his second season — according to an internal university audit obtained Tuesday by the Star Tribune.

In fiscal years 2014 and 2015, Pitino topped $100,000 and $150,000 in jet travel, far exceeding the annual $50,000 budget for recruiting trips and “university business” in his contract. The audit found Pitino to have spent $325,000 in three years as of February, compared to a budgeted $150,000 for that time. “Contract limitations are not appropriately monitored,” the report concluded.

The overspending occurred with permission from then-athletic director Norwood Teague, Chris Werle, senior associate athletic director, said Tuesday. Teague told Pitino there was money to fund the extra spending, Werle said.

Pitino’s private jet usage was flagged as one of seven “essential” findings in the audit of the men’s and women’s basketball teams, which was presented last Friday to the Board of Regents, U President Eric Kaler and interim AD Beth Goetz.

http://www.startribune.com/pitino-f...niversity-of-minnesota-audit-finds/378906491/

Go Gophers!!
 

I'm confused, does the Star Trib want Pitino fired? In big time athletics I would assume that this is a non-story. Jim Harbaugh just took his entire team to Florida on spring break. Now Harbaugh and the gang are going to Australia for a satellite camp. I doubt the Ann Arbour strib is digging up stories about people complaining about jet travel costs. If using the jet got us one commit, I would say use it all you want. Gophers b-ball is 16th in the country in revenue, let them put some of it back in the program. Sorry I had to vent
 

Oh No! Seriously, this is ridiculous. And the timing. Are they trying to tee this up for a new AD?
 

1. This is obviously an non-issue
2. Does anyone have any private jet budgets from other schools? This seems ridiculously low to me.
 

GopherLady said:
1. This is obviously an non-issue
2. Does anyone have any private jet budgets from other schools? This seems ridiculously low to me.
Click to expand...

According to the Strib...
The overspending occurred with permission from then-Athletic Director Norwood Teague, Chris Werle, senior associate athletic director, said Tuesday. Teague told Pitino there was money to fund the extra spending, Werle said.

So if he got permission, what's the problem?
 


With the state of the basketball program and the embarrassingly slow plodding to hire the AD, there will be added scrutiny of day-to-day affairs. Matters such as this one will be reported. I'm glad I got to see the story... it expanded my knowledge of how the department manages that piece of travel. Why the uproar?
 

Like sands through the hourglass, so are the days of our Gophers


Sent from my keyboard using fingers.
 

GopherLady said:
1. This is obviously an non-issue
2. Does anyone have any private jet budgets from other schools? This seems ridiculously low to me.
Click to expand...

Ha, I agree. Seems obvious that it should have been included in the story and the research for the article.

I know internally that people take the Star Tribune with a huge grain of salt, but the lack of integrity on their headlines really bothers me. Andy Katz is retweeting the headline to the national audience. None of that audience are going to read about how small of an amount this is and how Pitino got it cleared by the AD.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 

Was this on the front page? If so what a joke. Did they mention the other six areas of concern the audit found? Doesn't matter...the headline reads PITINO DEFRAUDING THE STATE UNIVERSITY SYSTEM or AUDIT FINDS PITINO EMBEZZLED $175,000. Yeah, fire Richard cuz I'm sure any coach with experience or success would be chomping at the bit to come work in this market with this administration. Sorry, venting as well.
 



Not a Pitino fan in the least. However, this is just piling on. He was authorized by his superiors to do this. They are the ones that should be taken to task.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 

Ryany said:
I'm confused, does the Star Trib want Pitino fired? In big time athletics I would assume that this is a non-story. Jim Harbaugh just took his entire team to Florida on spring break. Now Harbaugh and the gang are going to Australia for a satellite camp. I doubt the Ann Arbour strib is digging up stories about people complaining about jet travel costs. If using the jet got us one commit, I would say use it all you want. Gophers b-ball is 16th in the country in revenue, let them put some of it back in the program. Sorry I had to vent
Click to expand...

Found this disclaimer that probably explains the confusion...hope it helps!

"The StarTribune is owned and operated solely for the promotion and advancement of professional sports and their affiliates and is not intended for the affirmative or laudatory reporting of any University of Minnesota Athletic Deptartment activities or organizations; and its use thereof is strictly prohibited."
 


"Regent Michael Hsu said the basketball coaches themselves may not be the most culpable in the overspending."

This as well
 



This was approved spending. Total non issue. Just the Strib being the Strib.
 

GopherLady said:
1. This is obviously an non-issue
2. Does anyone have any private jet budgets from other schools? This seems ridiculously low to me.
Click to expand...

I am going to use this information the next time I negotiate my private jet travel allowance. If Richard gets it, so should I.
 

bc2211 said:
Andy Katz is retweeting the headline to the national audience. None of that audience are going to read about how small of an amount this is and how Pitino got it cleared by the AD.
Click to expand...

On NBCSports.com right now the headline right now is "Problems piling up for Pitino in Minnesota" and rehashes this news:

Three years later, it appears that the Gophers program is unraveling fast.

The latest in a recent string of issues for Pitino is an audit of his travel that found he’d spent triple his budget for private plane use in 2015 among other overspending issues, according to the Minneapolis Star Tribune.

http://collegebasketball.nbcsports.com/2016/05/10/problems-piling-up-for-pitino-in-minnesota/

Go Gophers!!
 

As a U of M alum I feel angry about this. I remember reading about when he was first hired how much it cost to transport his dog up here (ridiculously high number) and all of his other ****. And now this, overspending and not getting results pisses me off. I am not sure where all of my student loan payments go, but I know the one that is designated U of M goes to the U of M and funding these types of shenanigans. As I am shoveling my hard earned money to the U, Pitino is traveling the states not getting results. I am sure this is normal for big universities though.
 

BuckyGopher said:
As a U of M alum I feel angry about this. I remember reading about when he was first hired how much it cost to transport his dog up here (ridiculously high number) and all of his other ****. And now this, overspending and not getting results pisses me off. I am not sure where all of my student loan payments go, but I know the one that is designated U of M goes to the U of M and funding these types of shenanigans. As I am shoveling my hard earned money to the U, Pitino is traveling the states not getting results. I am sure this is normal for big universities though.
Click to expand...

Actually, I would say he has done pretty well in recruiting. Monitoring player behavior could use some work, but he has brought in some very good talent.

Would this be an issue at any other B1G University? Probably not. Especially in the top half of the conference or if we had a better record last year.

Pitino covered his 6 in this one and is still getting the BOHICA (Bend Over Here It Comes) treatment. If Mega-Tongue approved the overage then it's not on Pitino. Only in Minnesota. :confused:
 

Such a non story. I know several coaches who have unlimited private jet usage. The poor leadership at the U starts above Pitino. This is why TEAGUE got hired and a tough situation became a disaster. Kaler and the regents have failed and now they have been distancing themselves from Pitino.
 

By the way, the actual headline on page 1A reads: PITINO JET USE $175K OVER BUDGET.

....top center on front page of paper!!! I'm lost for words
 

I will give this to the Tubby guys- Tubby would have never exceeded his travel budget....
 

BuckyGopher said:
As a U of M alum I feel angry about this. I remember reading about when he was first hired how much it cost to transport his dog up here (ridiculously high number) and all of his other ****. And now this, overspending and not getting results pisses me off. I am not sure where all of my student loan payments go, but I know the one that is designated U of M goes to the U of M and funding these types of shenanigans. As I am shoveling my hard earned money to the U, Pitino is traveling the states not getting results. I am sure this is normal for big universities though.
Click to expand...

Except it has nothing to do with your loans. Athletics Department is completely separate from the school budget. TV revenues pay for this.
 

Amelia and Joe, blink twice if the Strib editors have you trapped.
 

The persistent off-court/behavioral stuff with our players -- as well as trajectory of the program -- concerns me. Those issues need to get fixed.

How much Richard is "leaving on a jet plane" -- especially if his boss gave him license to do so -- does not.
 

As many have stated, this might not be a big deal. However, not stopping to fill the tank on a rental car is also minor. But it speaks volumes of his laziness, arrogance, immaturity, or he feels he is privileged. You make your pick. In my eyes, those are the same characteristics I have seen in him as to how he runs his program. It seems to have also carried down to his players.
 

Otis said:
Actually, I would say he has done pretty well in recruiting. Monitoring player behavior could use some work, but he has brought in some very good talent.

Would this be an issue at any other B1G University? Probably not. Especially in the top half of the conference or if we had a better record last year.
Click to expand...
You hit the nail on the head here. If we were winning, a lot of this noise would go away.

However, when you've struggled like Pitino has, every little thing becomes bigger. Anyone who wants him out for basketball reasons has even more to point to when they call for his job. (fair or not)
 

3399 said:
As many have stated, this might not be a big deal. However, not stopping to fill the tank on a rental car is also minor. But it speaks volumes of his laziness, arrogance, immaturity, or he feels he is privileged. You make your pick. In my eyes, those are the same characteristics I have seen in him as to how he runs his program. It seems to have also carried down to his players.
Click to expand...

The approved air travel doesn't bother me. That's USING money. But the empty tank charge: that's wasting money. Even if it's only several hundred dollars over the course of time, my season ticket is several hundred dollars, and I don't want it going to waste.
 

Otis said:
Actually, I would say he has done pretty well in recruiting. Monitoring player behavior could use some work, but he has brought in some very good talent.

Would this be an issue at any other B1G University? Probably not. Especially in the top half of the conference or if we had a better record last year.

Pitino covered his 6 in this one and is still getting the BOHICA (Bend Over Here It Comes) treatment. If Mega-Tongue approved the overage then it's not on Pitino. Only in Minnesota. :confused:
Click to expand...

I meant results on the court, not on the recruiting trail. We can spend all this money and he can get these recruits, but it is still a waste of money if he produces nothing on the court. This is coming from a guy who has supported Ptitno since day 1, however time is running out.
 

Bad Gopher said:
The approved air travel doesn't bother me. That's USING money. But the empty tank charge: that's wasting money. Even if it's only several hundred dollars over the course of time, my season ticket is several hundred dollars, and I don't want it going to waste.
Click to expand...

You have to be kidding me. The U wasted the about same amount of money as Pitino spent flying by hiring a search firm to gather names for a potential AD that some of us could have gotten them for free.
 

BuckyGopher said:
As a U of M alum I feel angry about this. I remember reading about when he was first hired how much it cost to transport his dog up here (ridiculously high number) and all of his other ****. And now this, overspending and not getting results pisses me off. I am not sure where all of my student loan payments go, but I know the one that is designated U of M goes to the U of M and funding these types of shenanigans. As I am shoveling my hard earned money to the U, Pitino is traveling the states not getting results. I am sure this is normal for big universities though.
Click to expand...

OMG, you are exactly the audience the Strib is writing for. smh. This is just hack journalism. The editors at the Strib (one of whom is a Wisconsin alum) are pushing an agenda and if you don't see that, nobody can help you.

Pitino's control of his players is obviously a huge issue, and there's reason to doubt he's the right man for the job here. He'll probably be gone if he doesn't win this year. However, with respect to jet travel and the like, this staff spends a lot less than many of their competitors and they typically have to travel further (not just for in home visits, but to go to all of these AAU tournaments). If they're having to spend triple the budget, and it's still a lot less than Indiana, etc. spent, that tells me the "budget" wasn't high enough to begin with. And Pitino's recruiting results have been good. [Fact that two of the recruits are from MN helps, but he still has to fly all over the country for their tourneys]. The story should've been "Pitino does more with less" or "Teague negligent in budget oversight."

That crap about not refilling the rental car, etc. is downright laughable. Have you never rented a car and had a bunch of business meetings you were trying to get to? Refilling the d*mn gas tank is the least of your worries when you're trying to close a big deal, and are taking multiple flights in a week.
 

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