A recent Wichita Eagle article said the payout to former K-State football coach Ron Prince would be $4.4 million instead of only $1.2 million.
Combined with the related $1.9 million payout to former K-State athletic director Tim Weiser, the $6.3 million in wasted salaries at K-State is staggering.
Why not fill all 50,000 seats at Bill Snyder Family Football Stadium and charge $126 per seat to pay for this waste? Would fans tolerate that cost for waste?
A review of IRS 990s filed by the K-State Intercollegiate Athletic Council, and legal documents published by the Eagle (see blue side bar here) and the Capital-Journal (see grey side bar here from Google-cached version of article) raises many questions about transparency and accountability by K-State athletics.
IRS 990s often provide a wealth of information about non-profits, including salary information for the five highest paid employees, and payments to the highest compensated contractors. Consider the most recent IRS 990s for the K-State Intercollegiate Athletic Council (IAC):
From IRS 990 in 2006 (7/1/2005 – 6/30/2006) [See p. 9]:
Top salaries, top contractors for Intercollegiate Athletic Council at K-State in 2005-2006
The text in the graphic above is a bit small to read, so here is the same information (compensation + deferred compensation + expense account):
Salaries
- Timothy L Weiser, Athletic Director, $275,427 + $305,979 + $3,967 = $585,373
- Ronald D Prince, Football Coach, $431,839 + $18,700 + $4,099 = $454,638
- Debra L Patterson, Women’s Basketball Coach, $421,731 + $16,365 + $6,607 = $444,703
- Bill D Snyder, Coach/Special Assistant, $202,270 + $16,434 + $9,505 = $228,209
- James A Wooldridge, Men’s Basketball Coach, $186,923 + $15,888 + 10,563 = $213,374
- + 60 others paid $50,000 or more
“Professional Services”
- SSM, Inc. [Bill Snyder], $886,128
- Pershing FBO Wooldrige [unclear who or what this is], $430,413
- The Weiser Way, Inc. [Tim Weiser], $372,129
See the “Related” section below for how the owners of these firms were discovered.
Questions:
- Why was the deferred compensation ($305,979) for Tim Weiser more than 16 times the deferred compensation for anyone else?
- Why did Tim Weiser receive compensation ($585,373) AND payment through his firm, The Weiser Way ($372,129)?
- Why did Bill Snyder receive compensation ($202,270) AND a payment ($886,128) through his SSM, Inc. company?
- Why does the 990 show a transfer of $3,374,828 from the State of Kansas?
- Why is the IRS 990 not filed anywhere with State of Kansas government?
From IRS 990 2007 (7/1/2006 – 6/30/2007) [p. 10]:
Top salaries, top contractors for Intercollegiate Athletic Council at K-State in 2006-2007
Salaries
- Robert E Huggins, Men’s Basketball Coach, $809,923 + $34,758 + $12,809 = $857,490
- Ronald D Prince, Football Coach, $787,500 + $19,125 + $27,152 = $833,777
- Timothy L Weiser, Athletic Director, $265,225 + $334,355 + $8,231 = $607,811
- Debra L Patterson, Women’s Basketball Coach, $320,000 + $15,759 + $8,626 = $344,385
- James G Franklin, Football Coach, $217,936 + $17,088 + $10,298 = $245,322
- + 57 others paid $50,000 or more
“Professional Services”
- SSM, Inc. [Bill Snyder], $1,928,309
- The Weiser Way, Inc. [Tim Weiser], $211,726
Questions:
- Why was Tim Weiser’s deferred compensation ($334,355) greater than his “regular” compensation ($265,225)?
- Why did Tim Weiser receive $607,811 in compensation AND a payment of $211,726 to his The Weiser Way, Inc.?
- Why did Bill Snyder receive such a huge payment ($1,928,309) through his SSM, Inc.?
- Why does the 990 show a transfer of $5,401,809 from the State of Kansas?
From IRS 990 2008 (7/1/2007 – 6/30/2008) [p. 10]:
Top salaries, top contractors for Intercollegiate Athletic Council at K-State in 2006-2007
Salaries
- Ronald D Prince, Football Coach, $768,240 + $21,409 + $9,925 = $799,574
- Francisco J Martin, Men’s Basketball Coach, $662,554 + $32,463 + $6,356 = $701,373
- Timothy L Weiser, Athletic Director, $283,567 + $366,684 + $3,203 = $653,454
- Dalonte A Hill, Men’s Basketball Assistant, $422,462 + 30,705 + $4,992 = 458,159
- Debra L Patterson, Women’s Basketball Coach, $382,000 + $16,232 + $3,630 = $401,862
- + 60 others paid $50,000 or more
“Professional Services”
- SSM, Inc. [Bill Snyder], $319,191
- The Weiser Way, Inc. [Tim Weiser], $146,726
Questions:
- Why was Tim Weiser’s deferred compensation ($366,684) greater than his “regular” compensation ($283,567)?
- Why did Tim Weiser receive $653,454 in compensation AND a payment of $146,726 to his The Weiser Way, Inc.?
- Why did Bill Snyder receive such a largee payment ($319,191) through his SSM, Inc.?
- Why does the 990 show a transfer of $3,669,184 from the State of Kansas?
According to the Topeka Capital-Journal on Jan 22, 2009, Weiser’s departure and $1.9 million payment over five years was over a dispute with K-State President Wefald about the compensation for firing Prince:
The key philosophical difference involved authority over personnel matters, an issue that came to a boil when K-State was considering a contract extension and increased buyout for football coach Ron Prince. Wefald supported the larger buyout, but Weiser didn’t.
“I felt it was not in the best interest of the university to adjust the buyout, because I felt there had not been enough of a track record or frame of reference to increase it,” Weiser said. “President Wefald felt that to be competitive in the Big 12 relative to other coaches, the buyout needed to be increased.”
The two sides reached an impasse that culminated in Weiser’s departure. New athletic director Bob Krause gave Prince a contract extension in August 2008 that raised Prince’s 2008 buyout from $300,000 to $1.2 million. The coach was fired three months later.
Wieser’s huge deferred compensation every year before his dismissal is already a mystery, and the reason for his $1.9 million departure payout seems unreasonable.
Wieser was not happy with just $1.9 million and negotiated a number of additional items that K-State must pay for, such as Final Four Tickets for a period of ten years! These Final Four Tickets must be “prime tickets” according to the contract. (See paragraph 13). K-State must also must provide Wieser a consulting/teaching position for a period of 10 years starting no earlier than the fall semester of 2014 to be paid for by IAC. Why?
Why is the jurisdiction for the departure agreement with Weiser Sedgwick County instead of Riley County? Who are the other members of the IAC Compensation Committee? Why are Athletic Directors and Coaches apparently exempt from filing any sort of statement of substantial interest (conflict of interest statements)?
The Kansas City Star reports yet another corporation to hide payouts to Prince:
The memorandum of understanding stipulates Prince’s corporation, IPP (”In Pursuit of Perfection”), is due $800,000 on Dec. 31, 2015; $800,000 on Dec. 31, 2016; and $1.6 million on Dec. 31, 2020. Where the money would come from is unclear.
K-State officials have lost contact with reality and have been reckless in their expenditure of tax dollars related to the IAC. The legislature should change state laws to provide more transparency and accountability.
One simple solution to this reckless K-State spending: put the picture, name and salary on the big screen TVs at Snyder stadium for 15 seconds before each game for each person making more than $100,000. Let the crowd at the stadium approve or disapprove of the salary level and performance.
Related:
- Kansas State suspends two longtime athletic administrators, Hutchinson News, June 11, 2009.
- Athletic departments accused of censorship: Universities use vague law to keep public records from being seen, Lawrence Journal-World, June 6, 2009.
- Athletic corporations need more transparency, Wichita Eagle WE Blog, May 21, 2009.
- Ron Prince deal may cost Kansas State $3.2 million, Wichita Eagle, May 21, 2009.
Also see documents published by the Eagle: - K-State athletics rift costly: Wefald, Weiser dispute over coaches brings $3.2 million price ($1.9 million for Tim Weiser and $1.3 million for Prince), Topeka Capital-Journal, Jan 22, 2009 (from Google cache).
Also see “Timeline of Events” and “Documents” in grey sidebar at the left, including:- Timothy Weiser’s Employment Separation, Settlement, Consulting and Future Services Agreement.
- Letter of Clarification further outlining Separation and Future Consulting and Services Payments from Weiser’s original agreement.
- The Weiser Way, Inc.’s Consulting and Future Services Agreement
- The Weiser Way, Inc, Business Entity from Kansas Secretary of State. A spokesperson from the Secretary of State’s office said Timothy Weiser at an Irving, TX address is the president/secretary/treasurer of this corporation. Weiser Way also uses the address 120 N. Juliette, Manhattan, which is believed to be the address of his CPA.
- SSM, Inc, Business Entity from Kansas Secretary of State. Bill D Snyder is not only the registered agent as shown on that web page, but according to a Secretary of State’s spokesperson Snyder is also the president/secretary/treasurer of this corporation.
- IPP, LLC, Business Entity from Kansas Secretary of State. [Need to verify who is on Board of Directors, but this LLC was formed on the date given in the Wichita Eagle article: Dec 23, 2008.]
- IRS 990s for K-State Intercollegiate Athletic Council from GuideStar:
Tags: Accountability, IRS 990, Kansas State University, Ron Prince, Tim Weiser, Transparency
