[The president of the University of Toledo] also addressed the situation with Suzette Fronk, a former assistant athletic director for business affairs whose position was eliminated with the merger of UT and the former Medical University of Ohio, according to UT officials.

The work formerly done by Ms. Fronk will be done in the office of finance and strategy, university officials have said.

An attorney representing Ms. Fronk, Kevin Greenfield, last week told The Blade his client was fired by UT officials because of her questioning of improper spending in the athletic department. He said he is considering legal action on behalf of Ms. Fronk.

In an interview with The Blade last week, Dr. Jacobs insisted Ms. Fronk was not fired or removed from her job, but that her position had been eliminated as part of the UT-MUO merger. At one point in the interview he became angry, threatening to “terminate” the interview when asked if he was concerned about athletic officials’ decisions.

University e-mails obtained by The Blade show that for the past two years Ms. Fronk warned athletic officials that spending needed to be kept in check because the department was running a deficit. She butted heads with coaches and Athletic Director Mike O’Brien several times when she refused to approve what she considered improper expenditures. She was backed up repeatedly by top UT finance officials, but that didn’t save her job.

The day Mr. O’Brien informed her that her job was being eliminated because of the university’s merger, Ms. Fronk said she was surprised. “I told him I didn’t know MCO had a football program.”