Spartan Daily's Claim Of Scholarship Misuse Flawed: SJSU

SAN JOSE, CA — San Jose State University poked holes in a Spartan Daily report last month that claimed $6 million intended for San Jose State athletic scholarships didn't make its way to the appropriate fund.

The university's paper was the first to report on the alleged embezzlement at the Spartan Foundation. But after a thorough probe, San Jose State fired back.

Spartan Daily's assertion: In poring over the details, the Daily revealed the alleged misuse of more than $6.3 million during the tenure of former athletic director Gene Bleymaier. Athletes were given a mere $275,000 from the foundation fund was distributed from 2013 to 2016.

San Jose State's answer: As the Spartan Foundation fundraising was inadequate to fund all scholarships, SJSU Athletics used other sources of revenue, beyond Sparton Foundation donations to fully fund all scholarships. All student athletes who were selected to received scholarships received them.

Further in citing the Equity in Athletics Disclosure Act, SJSU notes that from 2013 – 2016, SJSU Athletics provided over $25 million in student-athlete scholarship aid through multiple revenue sources such as but not limited to sponsorship agreements, television contracts, game guarantees, and ticket sales.

The following data of athletically-related student aid is sourced from EADA (Equity in Athletics Disclosure Act) as SJSU Athletics submits the required information to the Department of Education and reported to the NCAA.

More information may be obtained by visiting EADA (Equity in Athletics Disclosure Act.

The following detail is included:

Survey Year | Athletically-Related Student Aid
2013 | $5,167,667
2014 | $5,733,710
2015 | $6,813,951
2016 | $7,604,545
Total | $25,319,873

The university foundation was considered a resource for student athletic scholarships, and for the last five years, it was managed as part of the Tower Foundation.

Donations made were channeled to the athletics department office on South Campus and didn't find their way to Tower Foundation in Clark Hall, according to university documents obtained and reviewed by the Spartan Daily.

Spartan Daily claim: Athletics staff opened the envelopes and were supposed to identify which checks should go to the Tower Foundation and which should go into athletics’ current use accounts, the report adds. The latter accounts were used for car allowances and stipends for coaches and staff, rather than athletic scholarships, according to a Spartan Foundation account summary.

San Jose State's counter: Bylaws of Spartan Foundation, Inc., which were revised, June 20, 2012, articulate the primary purpose of the Spartan Foundation as described below.

Fundraising for scholarships was not the only or sole purpose.

By Laws of the Spartan Foundation:
"ARTICLE II FOUNDATION PURPOSE
Section 1. THE PRIMARY PURPOSE. The primary purpose of the Spartan Foundation is to raise funds to support nearly 450 student-athletes annually for the following;
A. Scholarships for all varsity sports.
B. Assist with the operating budgets and Sports Improvement Funds (coaches’ salaries, travel, equipment, recruiting) for the varsity teams.
C. Building, renovating and maintaining facilities for these teams.
D. Student-Athletes Academic Center and provide support to our academic staff.

SJSU spokeswoman Robin McElhatton indicated the website about the Spartan Foundation was outdated and was removed.

"I want to assure the SJSU community that I take very seriously the recent allegations that the university misused donor funds. We hold ourselves to the highest values of honesty, integrity, and transparency. First, I want to state that between 2013 and 2016, every student who was eligible and selected for a scholarship received one, and no student scholarship was denied or withdrawn based on the availability of funds," San Jose State University President Mary A. Papazian said in a statement when the inflammatory Spartan Daily report came out. "I am looking closely into questions about whether the university’s use of funds honored donors’ intent."