UC knew party rumors earlier
Athletes told official of recruits in sex acts
BY BILL KOCH |
[email protected]University of Cincinnati athletic department officials were notified for the first time Feb. 8 of allegations that four UC football players and four recruits engaged in sex acts with a former women's soccer player during a recruiting visit.
"That was the first time anybody was officially notified that people felt like this was anything more than a training-room rumor," UC senior associate athletic director Mike Waddell said Monday.
According to Waddell, on that day, two student-athletes informed Maggie McKinley, director/compliance and student services, of rumors that there had been a party in a residence hall at which the incidents are alleged to have taken place.
According to allegations made in a Feb. 14 letter sent to university President Nancy Zimpher and signed by "A Concerned Athletic Department Employee," the sex acts were videotaped and distributed on the UC campus.
Waddell said he didn't know if the student-athletes who first met with McKinley were football players, nor did he know in which residence hall the sex acts are alleged to have taken place.
McKinley's first response was to phone the training room to verify the extent of the rumor. Later that afternoon, she met with Bob Arkeilpane, deputy director of athletics, to inform him of the allegations. Arkeilpane then met with football coach Brian Kelly and subsequently with UC athletic director Mike Thomas.
Following the meeting with Thomas, Arkeilpane, McKinley and Kelly met together to discuss the allegations. Kelly then called in some football players to ask them what they knew about the allegations.
Waddell said he could not say which players were called in or how many.
"Later in the afternoon, Maggie and Bob got together again, and Mike (Thomas) talked with Brian Kelly about it for the first time," Waddell said.
The following day, Friday, Feb. 9, Kelly called Thomas from Columbus, where he was speaking at the Ohio High School Football Coaches Association clinic, to "follow up on anything that had been learned overnight," Waddell said.
Also Feb. 9, McKinley met with women's soccer coach Meridy Glenn "because it involved a former member of her team," Waddell said.
Monday, Feb. 12, Kelly met with his football administrative team to make sure that all proper recruiting procedures had been followed and was assured that they were. Kelly then met with Thomas and Arkeilpane and reported on his meeting with the administrative team.
UC's policy for official recruiting visits states that "student-hosts cannot arrange and/or use host money for sexual encounters or adult entertainment for prospective student-athletes."
The policy also states that "student-hosts cannot consume alcohol or take drugs while performing hosting duties during the official or unofficial visit" and "cannot purchase or provide alcohol or drugs" for a recruit.
The student-hosts and recruits are also prohibited from participating in any illegal activity, including underage drinking. According to the Feb. 14 letter, alcohol was present at the party where the sex acts are alleged to have occurred.
Non-essential personnel were sent home from UC later Feb. 12 because of inclement weather, and the school was closed Feb. 13, also due to bad weather.
Waddell said Thomas met again with Kelly Feb. 14 "to discuss anything more the coach had learned over the past few days and we continued our internal looking into this."
They met again Feb. 15.
"They were in constant communication about this," Waddell said.
The UC athletic director first saw the Feb. 14 letter, Waddell said, when the president's office forwarded a copy of it to Thomas.
Thomas then called McKinley for an update on what she had learned about the alleged incident.
"As soon as he got that, upon receipt of that letter, you realize it's more than just a training-room rumor," Waddell said. "It's something that's now in official channels."
Later that day, McKinley met with Barbara Rinto, director of the UC Women's Center.
At that point, Waddell said, "the investigation officially changed over from the athletic department to the office of Dan Cummins (director of judicial affairs)."
The allegations became public last Tuesday when The Enquirer published a story on its Web site quoting UC officials, who acknowledged that an investigation was under way. The Enquirer also posted the letter on its Web site.
Waddell said the athletic department has fully cooperated with Cummins' investigation.
"Any time they've called over and Dan has asked for anything, they've gotten it from us," Waddell said. "It's in the proper hands now."
Waddell said he hopes Cummins' investigation will be completed quickly, perhaps this week.
"It's still out there," Waddell said. "Whether it's being written about in the paper every day or talked about on the radio. You want there to be a proper conclusion to this investigation. That's something that Dan and his staff have worked very hard on."
