Harper may regret his decision
• Manhattan mismanagement mystery. The situation at Kansas State has already gone from bizarre, when an outgoing administration "discovered" a rogue deal that guarantees fired coach Ron Prince $3.2 million in deferred compensation through 2020, to worse, when disgusted donors started threatening to close the checkbooks. But it seems maybe the Prince thing was only the tip of the iceberg:
A scathing audit of Kansas State University reveals a pattern of undisclosed payments, conflicts of interest, poor accounting and possible tax problems for the school, several of its former employees and its athletic department.
The audit, released by the Kansas Board of Regents on Friday, describes thousands of dollars paid to companies owned by current and former university employees. They include head football coach Bill Snyder; former athletic director Tim Weiser; and Bob Krause, a former vice president for institutional advancement and former athletic director.
Among the grislier details in the report, according to the Kansas City Star, include "questionable spending on fees, travel and fringe benefits"; a $500,000 loan from the athletic department to Weiser that the then-AD "was not required to justify or explain"; and 13 payments totaling $845,000 to officials including Snyder, Weiser and Krause that had no supporting documentation, all amid a $2.4 million shortfall in the university's scholarship fund in 2007.
Outgoing president Jon Wefald, on Krause, who resigned in February after a 10-month stint that appears completely disastrous in retrospect: "Bob had too much to do. I probably delegated too much authority to him. I wouldn’t do that again." I think that goes without saying.
And from the same link a story about Tennessee and Tahj Boyd
• If only Tajh Boyd had a brain. Following in-state target Barry Brunetti's commitment to West Virginia last week, the latest meme from Tennessee is the Vols' sketchy quarterback depth past this year -- not that Tennessee coaches are all that picky about who comes aboard (emphasis added):
When it comes to finding a quarterback, Tennessee offensive coordinator Jim Chaney isn't too picky. He's got two major qualifications. "Just get a kid with a brain. A brain and an arm, I think that goes a helluva long way," he said.
[...]
"I think you can train them to do whatever you want them to do," Chaney said. "When they get here, they're sponges for the most part and they want to learn."
This is a strange thing to say from a guy on a staff that had one of the top-ranked incoming quarterbacks of the 2009 class, Tajh Boyd, already in the bag when it assumed the reins from Phil Fulmer's staff last December -- a prospect who, given the Vols' dire situation with inept returnees Jonathan Crompton and Nick Stephens, probably could have competed to play right away this fall -- and apparently told him to take a hike because Boyd's "style of play didn't fit Tennessee's new offense." Boyd himself said he eventually chose Clemson, whose immediate prospects at QB are better than Tennessee's, Boyd or no Boyd, because the Tigers don't have an entrenched starter, indicating his desire to play right away. So is Tennessee's position "Tajh Boyd is too stupid to be trained in our system"? Or do they just prefer to cross their fingers for Jesse Scroggins?
