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Sports with Tany:
CARDINALGATE is Out of Bounds
If you haven't heard by now, Awrey, now
in his seventh year as the Cardinals grid coach, was reprimanded by
university officials about accounting irregularities from a summer youth
football camp he directed back in mid-June.
Awrey received a letter of reprimand from
Robert Maurovich, college vice president, and also served a two-week
suspension without pay. In addition, Awrey was also placed on
probationary status.
What? They didn't take his first-born
child, too?
The "offenses" Awrey committed (and
admitted to) include purchasing pizzas for camp staffers, giving a camp
volunteer $100 after his cell phone was ruined, and allowing his and
another staffer's son to participate in the summer camp for free.
Sorry, Mr. Cardinal, but the punishment
doesn't fit the crime. Awrey may have erred in the way he handled money
from the camp, but college officials are making this something larger
than it actually is.
The first thing they could have (and
should have) done is taken Awrey aside. Officials needed to inform him
that he had accounting errors and what he needed to do procedurally to
make things right so that it wouldn't happen again. College rules
require prior permission for such expenditures. Awrey spent camp funds
and then repaid it. He obviously should have done it differently and he
knows it. Did he willfully and purposely try to defraud the university?
No.
As far as having his son participate in
the camp for free - he should have been able to attend free in the first
place. Heck, his father IS the head football coach. Anyone who
knows anything about football knows the incredible hours of preparation
coaches put into the program.
It should be noted that Dr. Eric R.
Gilbertson, SVSU president, gave Awrey a full vote of confidence
once the news hit the street. But that's the other thing that bothered
me. Why was something so miniscule as this making front-page news from
The Saginaw News?
You've got very minor infractions here
and it just doesn't warrant front-page news. You're harming a good man,
a good family and an excellent football program.
Awrey has since reimbursed the college
$125 for two camp fees as well as $150 for the phone and pizzas. But,
believe it or not, Awrey still hasn't been paid $1,520 due to him as
director of the camp. In addition, the docked pay cost him more than
$3,000.
The veteran coach obviously didn't let
the incident hinder his coaching ability. SVSU came from behind to grab
a 9-7 season-opening victory over Northwood University in the
annual Axe Bowl.
Awrey called the victory one of the best in the school's history. |
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