THE BEHREND BEACON
Anatomy of the Minnesota investigation
by Kermit Pattison
Knight-Ridder Newspapers
ST. PAUL Some witnesses lied.
Others refused to talk. A few
vanished. And some changed their
story at the last minute. In the end, it
took eight months of sleuthing and
more than 250 interviews to nail down
the truth: there had been widespread
cheating in the Gophers basketball
program.
"This was not a criminal
investigation into one act or set of acts
at one point in time," said Mark
Rotenberg, the general counsel at the
University of Minnesota, who
oversaw the investigation. "This is
something that allegedly went on for
years. This makes the investigation
very complicated and costly,"
The investigation cost the
university more than $1,5 million,
investigators interviewed more than
150 witnesses and sifted through more
than 55,000 documents. Further
complicating the matter was the time
span of the alleged cheating.
Investigators tried to reconstruct
events that took place more than five
years ago and were unable to track
down three witnesses.
The university hired two outside
law firms to investigate the charges.
Attorney Michael Glazier led the
investigation for Bond Shoenick &
King, an Overland Park, Kansas firm
that specializes in NCAA violations.
And attorney Don Lewis led a group
of local investigators from the
Minneapolis firm of Halleland Lewis
Nilan Sipkins & Johnson.
The civilian lawyers lacked some
of the weapons available to law
enforcement agencies. Investigators
could not subpoena witnesses or file
perjury charges against those who
lied. More than 20 witnesses refused
to cooperate. Bobby Jackson, a former
Gophers player who is now a member
of the Minnesota Timberwolves, said
he refused to meet with investigators,
partly because he already publicly
proclaimed his innocence.
"They called my agent to ask me,
did I want to talk," he said. "And I
said no. Why did they need me to talk'?
I'm not involved with the University
of Minnesota no more, and that's how
Religion thriving on campuses across U.S.
TMS Campus
CHICAGO (TMS) Religion is
thriving on college campuses, but it
doesn't look much like the high
church services students' parents
may have attended years ago.
Students these days are more into
spiritual exploration than formal
worship, report researchers behind a
new study funded by the Lilly
Endowment. They presented their
findings last week at the annual
conference of the American
Academy of Religion.
The study focused on four
campuses that were not identified but
chosen for their distinct character.
They included a state university
enrolling more than 30,000 students;
a Lutheran liberal-arts college with
about 3,000 students; a private,
N. Y. man accused of threatening
TMS Campus
November 29, 1999
WHITE PLAINS, N.Y. (TMS)
A man is accused of terrifying
dozens of women on college
campuses in the Midwest and West
by calling them from his upstate
New York home and threatening to
rape and kill them.
Sean Robert Francis, 21, of
Middletown, N.Y., was arrested
Nov. 22 as he arrived for a meeting
with his probation officer. He was
charged with making more than 75
calls to young women he threatened
to rape or murder.
Francis was held without bail in
NATIONAL CAMPUS NEWS
I left it. Not to say I didn't want to,
but what were they going to get out
of me? I was going to say the same
thing I've been saying the whole time.
And it's just not right to put somebody
into it that has nothing to do with it.
And to try to accuse Clem Haskins of
all these accusations is ridiculous.
I know what type of person he is.
And all these guys that are saying
these things must have a chip on their
shoulder or something, because I've
never seen any special gifts from
Clem, or the University of
Minnesota."
Alonzo Newby, former basketball
academic counselor, refused to answer
investigators' questions. And some
key witnesses maintained an
antagonistic relationship with
investigators and the university. In
their report, investigators faulted Jan
Ciangelhoff, a former office manager,
and Elayne Donahue, former
academic counseling director, for
revealing information to the media
with a chilling effect on other potential
witnesses.
And university officials complained
that their inquiry was hampered
historically black university with
fewer than 1,500 students; and a
Roman Catholic university with
more than 8,000 students.
Researchers studied each campus for
two years. They talked with hundreds
of students and professors and
observed religion classes and
worship services.
Despite each campus' distinct
religious character, researchers said
students shared some common traits:
they were more likely to Consider
themselves "spiritual" than
"religious." Students viewed
spirituality as a continuing journey
and religion as a fixed set of rules
handed down from their ancestors,
said Conrad Cherry, director of the
Center for the Study of Religion and
American Culture at Indiana
University-Purdue University
the Westchester County Jail and
could face five years in prison if
convicted. His attorney refused to
comment about the case. Francis'
arrest relieved students at the
University of Nebraska at Lincoln,
the University of Kansas at
Lawrence, Montana State
University in Bozeman, North
Dakota State in Fargo, the
University of Oregon in Eugene and
Oregon State University in
Corvallis.
The calls, dorm officials said,
didn't include the typical heavy
breathing. "It was, 'Here's what I'm
going to do to you,'" Tiffany
Arrington, a dorm director at the
because Gangelhoff and Donahue
both retained the same attorney,
James Lord. Rotenberg called the
arrangement a "flagrant conflict of
interest."
"How those two ladies could have
managed to see it was OK to have one
lawyer represent them both is one of
the marvels of this situation," he said.
"You can quote me on that."
"University administrators
received regular updates on the
inquiry. They heard alarming reports:
Newby had pressured the registrar
staff to change a player's grade; a
professor had given a student a "B"
even though he suspected a paper had
been plagiarized; another instructor
gave a student an incomplete in order
to protect his eligibility in the NCAA
tournament.
"There was this kind of piling-on
effect as more and more information
came out, - said Tonya Moten BroWn,
chief of staff to university President
Mark Yudof. By June, university
officials were convinced there had
been widespread cheating in the
basketball program.
Then came one of the most
Indianapolis, who led the project.
They were not likely to
participate in religious organizations
or attend worship service, but they
didn't think that was an accurate
indicator of their interest in religion.
They were very interested in
courses on religion and deemed
them a useful means by which they
could sort out their own beliefs.
They felt spirituality and social
service were closely linked. And
while they may have their own
unique approach to religion, they
still considered public service an
expression of their religious beliefs.
With the exception of the state
university where no one religion
appeared to dominate each of the
campuses studied had its own
religious identity, researchers said.
They also noted that the campuses
"There was definitely the threat
of violence and sexual violence."
- Tiffany Arrington,
a dorm director at the University of
Kansas
University of Kansas, where
Francis is believed to have made 14
calls in three hours, told the
Associated Press. "There was
definitely the threat of violence and
sexual violence."
DECEMBER 3, 1999
dramatic moments of the entire
investigation. Rotenberg and Yudof
drove to Haskins' home to speak to
the coach. Haskins recently had
undergone knee surgery and received
the visitors in his bedroom along with
his personal attorney, Ron Zamansky.
"Clem told us directly that he had no
knowledge of any academic cheating
and he never had done anything in
violation of NCAA rules regarding his
student athletes," recalled Rotenberg.
"The president and I believed him."
The next day, Haskins agreed to
step down. But Rotenberg said they
still had not seen clear evidence that
Haskins knew of the cheating. Then
came an 11th-hour coup de grace. In
the final month, unnamed players
revealed that Haskins had given them
cash payments and urged them to
conceal information from
inveitigators,
"They came forward And told us
that clam had instructed them not to
be fully truthful with me when I
questioned them in Seattle right
before the NCAA tournament," said
Rotenberg,
At that point, Rotenberg said,
investigators confirmed what they
already suspected: Haskins had lied
and interfered with the investigation.
"That had an impact on the tone and
conclusions that the investigators
reached," said Rotenberg. "it firmed
up their view that coach Haskins had
done some bad things." Investigators
gave their report to university
administrators. Yudof, a former law
school dean at the University of
Texas, approached the issue as a
lawyer.
"He read every page of that
document," said Brown. "He
probably read more exhibits than I
have. He is very meticulous. He is not
of the opinion this should be decided
by an opinion poll."
But did the inquiry uncover
everything? Brown said she was
confident the investigation would
satisfy the NC'AA but left open the
possibility that there may be more
revelations. "I think there could be
surprises," said Brown. "You could
have someone who refused to
cooperate say you got it wrong or it
wasn't complete."
appeared to enjoy a significant
amount of religious tolerance an
indication, researchers said, that
students aren't as loyal as their
parents to any one denomination.
The study did reveal some
tensions. Evangelical Christian
groups were perceived by many to
be anti-intellectual and superficial.
Some professors also reported that
they had a hard time persuading
evangelical Christians of the
importance of better understanding
non-Western religions. Researchers
said they also found discord among
religion professors, some of whom
viewed themselves as teachers of
religious history, and others of who
felt they should contribute to a
student's spiritual growth.
Police in Bozeman said the caller
threatened to rape or murder
women who didn't answer his
sexually explicit questions. He also
told many of his victims that he was
watching them and would attack if
The blotter: a weekly look
at campus crime
by William Lee
Campus Correspondent Western
Illinois University
EAST LANSING, Mich. (TMS)
The fallout continues from last
March's riot that erupted in downtown
East Lansing after Duke bounced
Michigan State University's men's
basketball team out of the
championship playoffs.
Of the 132 people charged with
participating in the melee, 71 are MSU
students. Though nearly all of the
charges are misdemeanors --- such as
disorderly conduct and public
possession of open alcohol containers
61 are felonies. Those charges
include accusations of people setting
cars on fire and destroying property
belonging to downtown businesses,
Public outcry moved many Fast
Lansing residents and MSU students
into action. They provided hundreds of
tips that led police to many of the
suspects, The department's "Hull of
Shame" -- a Web site (wwwci,east
lansing.nii. us) featuring images of
many of the suspects allowed
residents to identify rioters. The site
alone generated more than 100 tips,
said Judith Taran, administrator for the
city's office of communication.
"Because students at [MSU] have
access to the Internet, many of them
were able to just hop on and send us
tips," she said said.
CHAPEL HILL, N.C. (TMS) Police
at the University of North Carolina at
Chapel Hill made an arrest in
connection with a rash of suspicious
fires that plagued students living in one
campus dormitory.
Daniel Sarrell, 19, a junior political
science major from Arden, N.C.. was
charged Nov. 22 with one count of
first-degree arson and was jailed on a
$lO,OOO bond, which was raised to
$250,000.
Police reported four fires in five
days. The latest blaze took place the
day Sarrell was arrested, when
furniture in a student lounge was set
on fire. The hall was evacuated and the
fire quickly extinguished. No one was
injured during any of the tires, which
investigators said were similar in
nature.
Sarrell is expected in court this
CARBONDALE, 111. (FMS) -- A
former Southern Illinois University-
Carbondale student convicted of
selling LSD to a 19-year-old, who
jumped to his death after ingesting the
drug, was sentenced to six years in
prison.
Nicholas Gootee, 20, was given the
minimum sentence Nov. 19 for his
involvement in Ben Ward's death on
May 1. Gootee also was fined $3,000
after pleading guilty to a charge of
possession of LSD with intent to sell.
"I take full responsibility for
possessing drugs and selling them,"
Gootee said in court. "I know what I
did was wrong. Nothing I can say can
take back what's happened in this
tragedy.
I'm sincerely sorry, and I'm ready
to take responsibility for my actions."
His sincerity was called into question
when he hurled obscenities at Ward's
mother and uncle as officers
handcuffed him, according to the Daily
Egyptian.
female students
they didn't follow his orders. One
student living in an apartment near
Oregon State was convinced the
caller was in her apartment and was
so frightened she jumped from a
second-story window, injuring both
of her ankles during the escape,
police reported.
After receiving numerous reports
about the threatening calls,
university officials and police
worked together to trace phone
records. Investigators found that the
calls came from a house Francis
shared with his father, stepmother
and stepbrother.
University of Oregon police said
some of the calls may have been
Another former SIUC student, Neal
Rosenthal, who also was involved in
the sale of LSD to Ward, has been
sentenced to six years in prison
MEMPHIS. Tern. (TMS) -- Police
questioned a University of Memphis
student to determine whether she was
ever harmed by the school's forme]
men's basketball coach.
The coach, Tic Price, resigned Nov.
14 after allegations surfaced that he
had had an affair with the student
Price, 43, apologized Tuesday to the
university for his relationship with the
23-year-old woman, to whom he also
admitted giving as much as $17,000.
"I not only violated my marriage
vows, but also my role as a coach and
a moral leader of my players," he said
during a press conference. University
officials looked into the matter after
someone faxed an anonymous note to
the school about Price's relationship
with the student, The note contained
an accusation that the young woman
was seen running bleeding and crying
from Price's home and then later
returning to it.
Police said the student refused to
talk to them or tile a complaint. No
criminal charges have been tiled. Price
reportedly has signed a confidentiality
agreement with the university,
guaranteeing him a full annual salary,
plus expected earnings from radio and
television deals in all, about
5456,400.
STANFORD, Calif. ITMS)-- Excited
revelers who attend future Stanford
football games may find it much more
difficult to nish the field for a post-
game celebration.
Stanford, wanting to ensure student
"I take full
responsibility for
possessing drugs and
selling them."
-Nicholas Gootee,
convicted of LSD
possession with
intent to sell
safety and to prevent damage to the
field, increased security at this year's
"E3ig Game - between the Cardinals
and their archrival, the University of
California at Berkeley's Golden Bears
Stantbrd won the Nov. 20 game.
Past "Big Game - experience has
shown the need for stronger security.
Stanford officials said. The new
precautions included magnetically
scaled gates, the positioning of
Stanford police officers inside the
fence and a camera that would have
captured images of anyone running
onto the field.
Two years ago, Stanford police were
forced to open gates allowing students
onto the field after a crowd swelled
against the barriers threatening to
injure students forced up against them.
"The whole reason for this is student
safety," Bob Carruesco athletic
director of marketing and ticket sales,
told the Daily Stanford. "It's been our
directive to see that students don't get
hurt."
spurred on by a Playboy magazine
featuring "Women of the Pac-10. -
They suspect the caller may have
gotten the students' names and
numbers from campus listings
posted on the Internet. As a result,
Montana State University already
has changed its Web site.
This isn't the first time Francis
has been accused of making
threatening phone calls. He pleaded
guilty in February to aggravated
harassment in connection with two
calls made to women in Goshen.
N.Y. He was sentenced to three
years probation.
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