(03-04-2016 07:23 PM)nzmorange Wrote: (03-04-2016 04:11 PM)Lenvillecards Wrote: (03-04-2016 01:00 PM)nzmorange Wrote: I know there have been articles posted in this thread that describe the situation, but can anyone give me a very quick, very high level overview of the scandal(s)?
And, can someone give me a very quick overview of Ramsey's approval rating (on the BoD and in general among the UL faithful)?
If not, I can read about it on my own. It would just be useful if someone who has been following it closely can patch everything together for me.
In general a university auditor has found discrepancies in the budget starting about 2 years ago. When he looked into them Ramsey allegedly told him to back off. Apparently a few people have been paid to keep quiet, a committee that was assigned to look into it were told to standby for instructions & were never given any. The FBI came in & are investigating possible embezzlement. The auditor has since quit his job saying that he no longer feels like he can do the job appropriately. The university is being sued under the whistle blower law. There's been apparently millions of dollars in the budget that has been misappropriated.
Ramsey apparently lied to the board about his salary, which has turned out to be 2.5 times more than any ACC president despite the university having the lowest ranking. For his staff Halloween picture he had them dress up in Mexican attire. Some board members have recently said that he hasn't included them in important university decisions, including the post season ban.
The fans view are mixed. Obviously these scandals are worrisome but Ramsey has done a lot of great things for the university. Academically U of L wouldn't be were they are today without Ramsey, maybe not even in the ACC. He has also raised a lot of money for the university. I think this latest basketball scandal has just pushed a lot of fans & trustees over the edge.
While I don't agree with Ramsey imposing the postseason ban this year, it is what was best for the university. I would've preferred the ban next season for the sake of the student athletes but he has more information than I do. I don't think that Ramsey could have handled this basketball scandal any better, except for better communication, so I disagree with some of the board members here. I think they are just trying to capitalize on the basketball scandal to oust Ramsey, possibly so that 1 board member can get a family member nominated for university president.
The average tenure for a university president is about 7 years nationally. Ramsey tenure has absolutely been a success but over the years he has ruffled a few feathers while making university decisions, that's typical. I think his tenure has just run it course.
The BOT's makeup is, or was, made up of enough minority's to satisfy state law. Board members are appointed by the governor & Kentucky newly elected governor decided to support a lawsuit against the university. 1 board member had already resigned & another has also since Tuesday & so now two minority's can be placed on the board to satisfy state law & to drop that lawsuit. Also there apparently are more than a few UK alums on the U of L BOT's. This has led to some conspiracy theories by some fans.
Did this help?
This was perfect. Thank you so much!
There is also this issue that was posted in a different thread. In a perquisite I need to mention that Matt Jones is a die hard UK fan that has his own radio show & handles the UK call in show. He is completely anti UofL & is more than happy to make it known. Before UofL announced their post season ban & even before the UofL "insiders" knew of what was going on, Jones went on air that morning & informed his audience of the ban. Also, days later, he told everyone that Ramsey had a private meeting with trustees with them wanting his retirement. Ramsey, of course, denied it. These incidents led to the university to find the mole that was giving university secrets to Jones, the enemy.
Edit: RunSwitch wrote U of L's statement about the postseason ban the evening before it was announced.
[url=http://fanhotspot.com/discussion/906/the-mole-is-exposed]http://fanhotspot.com/discussion/906/the...is-exposed
After research it was found that a UK supporter was employed by UofL in public relations and public affairs company co-founded by said supporter. Scott Jennings, a good friend of Matt Jones, and the co-founder and partner in the PR firm hired by UofL, has been outed as the "mole" who has been supplying Jones with confidential information within the UofL athletic program. His firm, known as RunSwitch, is a political consulting company. Jennings is a political and crisis communications council for national and international clients. Their motto is "To ensure that the right people know the right thing about your issue". This motto has most certainly been compromised in this instance.
Jennings was the Ohio state director for Mitt Romney's Presidential campaign. He was also a special assistant to former US President George W. Bush and Deputy White House Political Director. (He was a broadcast journalist for WHAS radio from 1996-2000) Jennings is currently a senior advisor for Jeb Bush's Presidential campaign. He has also served as an advisor for Senator Mitch McConnell.
Strange that he would be involved with Democrat Matt Jones who just yesterday announced he was in partnership with former Democratic Kentucky State Auditor Adam Edelen, planning to launch a political organization on developing new ideas and talent to rebuild Kentucky's ailing Democratic party.
Bottom line - UK fans know no political boundaries. The common thread is the hatred of everything UofL. And Matt Jones is the President of that organization.
[url=http://cardinalsportszone.com/2016/02/16/have-we-found-the-mole/]http://cardinalsportszone.com/2016/02/16...-the-mole/