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
Is this the University of Alaska – Anchorage or the University of Some Third World Country run by a dictator ? This would be comedic if it were not so disgustingly sad. These allegations, if true, certainly should be on the top 10 list of bureacrats gone stupid. To. Think that this is tolerated in a democratic government in 2013 is a travesty. I am a republican by registration and am embarrassed that this type of blatant and arrogant bureacracy is tolerated by a government lead by a Republican legislature and Governor. It’s leadership like this that can morph into a more serious taking of our rights. This sounds like a retired General suffering from post traumatic stress disorder or has become delusional with hatred and power. Guess you can be menttal and know one cares?
This is an outrageos, unbelieveable story. Chancellor Case is acting like an immature, punitive little dictator. Hmm, sort of like a pompous General that he once was. Is this the kind of leadership and example we want future generations to look up to? Clearly,, Chancellor Case’s star, or three stars, are tarnished. Who the hell is he to decide this ? This isn’t a third world country run by some military hunta. It is a democracy where people have rights. Where are our state’s leaders ? Where I’d the Governor? He tals about “Choose Respect”. Unless he involves himself his “choose respect” initiative is little more than talk. How did the university system we all were so proud of stoop so low ? Where are our Board of Regents ? This is a travesty and an example of insensensitive arrogance. This is bad.
It’s time for Case to go. His tenure at UAA will be remebered as disgusting.
These allegations are serious and an indication that our university system lacks good leadership. They certainly seem to operate without a moral compass. If. Seems incredulous that the Board of Regents would allow such behavior. Then again, they showed little interest or remorse in the hockey coach assaulting a student-athlete. Or maybe the problem is that the school is run by a retired general who doesn’t really see any harm or foul with a male coach playing grab you know what with a female stident-athlete. Afterall, from what I read, the military doesn’t really seem to protect our female soldiors from harrassment. Chancellor Case should wake up from his cushy retirement job and realize that things changed in the millenium and that his inactions and behavior is unacceptable. What an embarrassment. If Keithley’s story isn’t true, we should be hearing from UAA today. But, unfortunately the allegationms are probably factual. UAA should receive the award for most disgusting institution.