Kansas Board of Regents to audit athletic departments

TOPEKA, Kan. -- The Kansas Board of Regents voted Thursday to require state universities to conduct regular audits that include their athletic departments after revelations that Kansas State football coach Bill Snyder and others received tens of thousands of dollars in undocumented payments.

The decision came less than a week after an audit of Kansas State disclosed questionable financial dealings, including 13 undocumented payments totaling $845,000 to Snyder, former athletic director Tim Weiser and former vice president and athletic director Bob Krause.

A similar audit is also being conducted at the University of Kansas.

The board's decision marks a substantial increase in state oversight of college athletics. Like many major universities, Kansas and Kansas State have kept their athletic departments immune from state interference by making them private corporations.

Jon Wefald, who is retiring after 23 years as Kansas State president, has come under criticism for allegedly lax oversight. He said he favored the idea of regular independent audits.

The audit of Kansas State did not include what most Wildcats fans would deem the most damning revelation: that Krause had signed an agreement to funnel more than $3 million to former football coach Ron Prince in deferred compensation. The unpopular Prince was fired in November with an overall losing three-year record.

Wefald contends he did not know about the deal, and the university is seeking to invalidate it through the courts.

"I really couldn't follow what [Krause] had in mind," Wefald said. "I don't think anybody knows. Maybe he thought (Prince) was going to win nine or 10 games."

Weiser and Snyder, an icon in Kansas, have both issued statements saying they did nothing wrong and were not paid any money that were not due them. Krause, who resigned last month, has not spoken publicly.