Following audit, WSU president promises changes in athletics department

Following a routine internal audit of ticketing practices within the athletics department that revealed WSU had played a little fast and loose with rules and laws, university president Kirk Schulz said yesterday that athletics director Pat Chun has already begun the process of implementing changes.

“It is critical that we manage all University resources properly, and we take the issues identified in the audit very seriously,” he said via a release. “We clearly need to create a culture within Athletics that emphasizes compliance and accountability.”

It’s that last part that gets my attention. University presidents are individuals who choose their words carefully (particularly if they’re written down), and his use of the word “create” suggests an absence of a “culture ... that emphasizes compliance and accountability.” In terms of the logical conclusion that former athletics director Bill Moos either encouraged that environment or was far too hands off to keep it on track, this just adds more fuel to the fire.

Schulz also promised another audit to verify the effectiveness of the implemented changes.

Here’s his full statement:

Many of you likely have seen media reports about the results of a recent internal audit of WSU athletics. This routine audit, which was discussed at the Board of Regents meeting earlier this month, revealed several areas in which improvements are needed. They include the way we manage football game day ticket counts, use tickets for fundraising purposes, and handle tickets allocated to IMG, the national marketing company we partner with to promote Cougar athletics.

It is critical that we manage all University resources properly, and we take the issues identified in the audit very seriously. We clearly need to create a culture within Athletics that emphasizes compliance and accountability. Athletic Director Pat Chun already has initiated the first steps in that effort, and he will implement additional changes in response to the audit findings.

To ensure that our corrective actions resolve all of the concerns identified, we have requested a follow-up audit next year. We will share those results after they become available.