Chancellor Gray-Little says pay up...
By MARÁ ROSE WILLIAMS
The Kansas City Star
TOPEKA | The University of Kansas is revising how sports tickets will be divvied up, bought and sold — and the new system will include more safeguards to prevent the kind of fraud uncovered this spring.
Chancellor Bernadette Gray-Little on Thursday promised the Kansas Board of Regents more transparency in KU’s points system that dictates which donors get the best seats at sporting events.
Although some call the system flawed and argue to junk it, she responded: “I think it is responsible, and it is here to stay.”
Gray-Little reviewed a list of reforms in a restructured system — the hiring of a forensic auditor, a fraud hot line and more employees to spread out duties — that should be in place “within the next three months.”
All tickets will be monitored from the point of printing through their sale, she said, and formal requests for complimentary tickets and “who is selling to whom” will be documented.
A large diagram will be displayed publicly, showing what seats have been assigned and which ones are still open. The diagram also will show the minimal level of points needed to get seats in certain areas.
“I think she is making good progress, but obviously this is something that isn’t going to get fixed overnight,” regent Ed McKechnie said Thursday.
Over several years, thousands of basketball and football tickets were sold for personal gain, costing KU nearly $3 million, auditors estimate. Five employees of Kansas Athletics Inc. were involved, according to an internal investigation. None of them still works for Kansas Athletics.
Investigations by the U.S. attorney and other agencies continue.
In addition to taking steps to safeguard the ticketing process against further fraud, Gray-Little said, “we are reviewing other legal options, including filing civil litigation against the perpetrators,
and have filed notice of a claim with our insurers to recover as much of the loss as we can.”
In the meantime, a fraud hot line has been set up for KU employees, students and alumni. In addition, a forensic auditor will supplement regular audits done on the athletics department, and ticket-sales duties will be segregated to build in safeguards.
Some donors were outraged when they found that good seats were being occupied by fans who had obtained their tickets through other channels. KU’s points system was established in 2004 by athletic director Lew Perkins. It rewards donors points for their support of KU athletics — more points yield better tickets.
Perkins’ announced resignation for next year did not come up at the regents meeting, other than a question of how the search was going for his replacement.
On Wednesday, Gray-Little underwent her annual evaluation in a closed meeting. What was discussed was not disclosed. But regents Thursday praised Gray-Little’s handling of the ticket scandal inherited when she became KU’s 17th chancellor nearly a year ago.
Said one regent, Jarold Boettchern: “There is a very good level of comfort with her level of awareness about the seriousness of this situation.
“She is committed to do something about it quickly. Sure, there are a lot of regrets. But if you have a problem, you fix it and fast. I really think she is doing just that.”
Read more:
http://www.kansascity.com/2010/06/24/2042607/ku-is-overhauling-system-for-distributing.html#ixzz0ruoyRz4a
