Last evening, I posted an article about Brad Keithley’s allegations against the UAA athletics program and UAA Chancellor Tom Case. Keithley claims that he is in the process of being barred from any association with UAA athletics. He says that it’s because he’s been critical of the athletic program, that he expressed concerns to Case about the hiring of a UAA women’s basketball coach who had a reputation in other schools and who resigned shortly after he was hired amid allegations of “professional misconduct.” He also wrote to the university about a student athlete who felt uncomfortable working with the basketball coach.

He also indicates that he might be being punished for a trip by the women’s basketball team that he paid for and which appears to be against NCAA rules.

The allegations are serious. I sent an email to the university about them. The questions and the response are below:

• Why is the university considering barring Keithley from further association with its athletic program? Keithley says that it’s because he’s been critical of the program and has raised concerns with the treatment of a female student athlete. Is this true?

• What action was taken when Keithley came to Chancellor Case expressing concern about a female student athlete’s concerns about working with women’s basketball coach Nate Altenhofen?

• What, if any, action has the NCAA taken against the university regarding the 2011 trip Keithley paid for involving the UAA women’s basketball team?

• The NCAA has indicated that the trip was against rules. Whose responsibility is it for ensuring that the university would follow such rules in this case?

• In 2012, women’s basketball coach Nate Altenhofen resigned following accusations of “professional misconduct.” According to news accounts, he was being investigated for such allegations. What is the latest in that investigation? If complete, can you release the results? If not, can you tell me when it will be complete and what the public will know about the investigation? When he resigned, was he given any kind of severance package?

• Does the university have an overall quote on Keithley’s accusations?

Here’s how the UAA chancellor’s office responded to the above questions:

UAA has been working with the NCAA since July 2012 on an investigation that looked into the women’s basketball program and the conduct of former head coach Tim Moser. It was not focused on UAA athletics generally, nor was it focused on Altenhofen. NCAA bylaws prohibit UAA from commenting further on an ongoing NCAA investigation.

Former coach Altenhofen resigned in the midst of an investigation into professional misconduct in August 2012. In accordance with Board of Regents policy, UAA will not comment further on personnel matters.

Contact Amanda Coyne at amandamcoyne@yahoo.com

New allegations have surfaced about UAA’s athletic department which include accusations that the UAA chancellor’s office turned a blind eye to improper treatment of at least one female athlete. Brad Keithley, a lawyer and a possible candidate for governor, is making these allegations on his website. He is also charging that UAA is involved in retribution against him for, among other things, speaking about these issues. Keithley says he is in the process of being permanently barred from further association with its athletic programs

These are serious allegations, and I’ll try to get a response from the university on Tuesday.

Until recently, Keithley was a major donor and was highly involved in UAA’s athletic department.

In his blog, Keithley details how he had a meeting with UAA Chancellor Tom Case about the 2012 hiring of women’s basketball coach Nate Altenhofen and about his concerns with Altenhofen’s sketchy reputation, the lack of adequate community involvement in the hiring, and background checks. Three months later, Altenhofen resigned amid allegations of “professional misconduct.”

Keithley writes that he contacted Case again about a female student athlete who was uncomfortable with Altenhofen, and wanted to transfer, but was denied that transfer by UAA. Keithley, who was then working for a firm that had represented the university, was asked by the university to withdraw the letter because of potential conflicts of interest. The student never got her transfer and enrolled in is now at a community college, according to Keithley.

Most recently, Keithley says he is in the process of being permanently barred from further association with its athletic program for what he says is retribution for criticism of the program and for paying for the UAA women’s basketball team to travel from the University of Virginia to Washington D.C., where he hosted a tour of the Capitol followed by dinner for the team and coaches with the Alaska congressional delegation.

This is against NCAA rules, something that Keithley didn’t know at the time. Neither, apparently, did the university, which touted the trip and Keithley’s involvement with it on its website. He was given a special award following the trip for supporting UAA’s athletic department.

He was recently interviewed by the NCAA about the trip, which so far has not recommended sanctions against Keithley. However, Keithley says that he was not interviewed by UAA about the trip.

When he heard about being barred from the athletic program, Keithley sent an email that was distributed to the president of the University of Alaska, the chair of the Board of Regents and the UAA chancellor, questioning the university’s process and proposed actions, he writes. He has yet to get a response.

Keithley’s allegations fall on the heels of the firing of UAA Athletic Director Steve Cobb after an incident involving a coach slashing a hockey player with a stick began to make headlines and Gov. Sean Parnell expressed serious concerns about the public’s perceptions of the UAA athletic department.

Keithley writes:

To paraphrase an NCAA standard, UAA has become an institution out of control.  There appears to be no accountability remaining in the system for bad decisions or for arbitrary and biased procedures.  Put another way, when UAA screws up the first reaction appears not to be, how did that happen and how do we fix it, but instead, how do we silence or undermine those who call us out on it so that we don’t have to worry about that again.

Contact Amanda Coyne at amandamcoyne@yahoo.com