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From Rich to Poor

As soon as she set eyes on football coach Rich Rodriguez, University of Michigan President Mary Sue Coleman decided to make this trouble-prone loss-leader her mistress.

Before Rich even came to Ann Arbor, she paid his millions in debts to West Virginia University. She overlooked his many legal entanglements, his long history of coaching violations, his tendency to belittle his players. She set Rich up in glorious surroundings and gave him massive amounts of money.

Love does funny things to you.

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Fervent she may be about Rich, but Coleman knows she cannot shout her love from the rooftops. Not everyone approves. So when she meets with trustees to discuss Rich’s latest infractions (the NCAA is investigating Rich for breaking team practice rules) , she makes sure it’s closed door.

But here we go again. When it comes to Rich, you never stop paying:

When the University of Michigan Board of Regents met this month for an update on the NCAA investigation of the football program, they did so behind closed doors. And that, says a lawsuit filed today, was illegal.

The suit, filed by a U-M alumnus in Washtenaw County Circuit Court, accuses the Board of Regents of violating the state Open Meetings Act, which places restrictions on how and why such public bodies can meet in private.

Robert Davis’ lawsuit says discussing the NCAA probe isn’t a valid reason to meet privately. The Open Meetings Act allows such boards to meet behind closed doors to discuss things such as personnel issues, student disciplinary cases and consultations with its attorney on certain issues. The law spells out procedures that must be followed to go into a private session. The lawsuit claims regents did not follow proper procedure…

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When asked to comment, Coleman burst into song:

He will not always say
What you would have him say
But now and then he’ll say
Something wonderful!

The thoughtless things he’ll do
Will hurt and worry you
Then all at once he’ll do
Something wonderful!

Margaret Soltan, February 20, 2010 1:52PM
Posted in: sport

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3 Responses to “From Rich to Poor”

  1. Bill Gleason Says:

    Consensus (best practice in adminspeak) seems to be that kept man is the male equivalent of mistress…

  2. University Diaries » “Finally, some bad news coming out of the West Virginia football program that doesn’t involve Dana Holgorsen, Bill Stewart or somebody getting tossed out of a casino. No, this time it’s just your run of the mil Says:

    […] University. The CBS News writer quoted above doesn’t even bother going back to football coach Rich Rodriguez, who brought such esteem to WVU’s sports program shortly before Heave-Ho Holgorsen came […]

  3. University Diaries » The University of Michigan Inches Toward the Critical Mass Problem. Says:

    […] corporate board activity… and when you add years of high-profile athletic scandals, including the president’s recent very own Rich Rodriguez debacle… Well, UM’s heading into the red […]

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