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1 million pledged to UNO athletics
BY MATTHEW HANSEN
WORLD-HERALD STAFF WRITER
A longtime booster has pledged to donate $1 million to the University of Nebraska at Omaha athletic department as it tries to end its financial woes.
Robert Kruger and his wife, Marcia, decided to make the donation after a summer of controversy that began with the layoffs of athletic department employees and ended with the resignation of UNO Chancellor Nancy Belck.
The announcement of the Krugers' gift came Thursday. The University of Nebraska today will release an audit expected to detail budget problems in UNO athletics and to examine nearly $150,000 in spending by former Vice Chancellor Jim Buck.
The controversy has caused many donors and corporate sponsors to step away from Maverick athletics, Athletic Director David Herbster said.
That's why Kruger decided to step up.
Kruger, former owner of Western Security Bank in Omaha, co-founded the Maverick Club three decades ago and was honored as the booster club's first Man of the Year in 1976.
Neither he nor his wife graduated from UNO, Kruger said, and he no longer attends many sporting events because a foot injury he suffered in a car accident makes it difficult to walk.
His gift is meant to help a university and an athletic department that are important to Omaha, Kruger said.
"It's heartwarming," Herbster said of the Krugers' gift. "In a time of crisis, it's nice to see somebody step forward and say, 'I believe in you guys.'"
The gift follows months of bad publicity for the athletic department.
First, Belck announced that the department had fallen $1 million into the red in each of the past two years, prompting her to pull money from university coffers to bail it out.
Longtime donors, including David Sokol and Lee Sapp, asked why they hadn't been told of the athletic department's financial trouble.
Then came the public revelation that Buck had spent $150,000 from athletic department accounts - some of it donated booster money - on trips to Alaska and Hawaii with his wife, dinners at fancy restaurants and golf outings.
Both Buck and Belck eventually resigned under pressure from NU leaders.
The audit to be released today highlights some procedural changes that the athletic department needs to make, Herbster said. "There are some things we need to tighten up on."
It also will help explain how Buck spent athletic department money on a Ducks Unlimited membership and a satellite radio subscription while the department was struggling to break even.
Contact the Omaha World-Herald newsroom
Copyright ©2006 Omaha World-Herald®. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, displayed or distributed for any purpose without permission from the Omaha World-Herald.
BY MATTHEW HANSEN
WORLD-HERALD STAFF WRITER
A longtime booster has pledged to donate $1 million to the University of Nebraska at Omaha athletic department as it tries to end its financial woes.
Robert Kruger and his wife, Marcia, decided to make the donation after a summer of controversy that began with the layoffs of athletic department employees and ended with the resignation of UNO Chancellor Nancy Belck.
The announcement of the Krugers' gift came Thursday. The University of Nebraska today will release an audit expected to detail budget problems in UNO athletics and to examine nearly $150,000 in spending by former Vice Chancellor Jim Buck.
The controversy has caused many donors and corporate sponsors to step away from Maverick athletics, Athletic Director David Herbster said.
That's why Kruger decided to step up.
Kruger, former owner of Western Security Bank in Omaha, co-founded the Maverick Club three decades ago and was honored as the booster club's first Man of the Year in 1976.
Neither he nor his wife graduated from UNO, Kruger said, and he no longer attends many sporting events because a foot injury he suffered in a car accident makes it difficult to walk.
His gift is meant to help a university and an athletic department that are important to Omaha, Kruger said.
"It's heartwarming," Herbster said of the Krugers' gift. "In a time of crisis, it's nice to see somebody step forward and say, 'I believe in you guys.'"
The gift follows months of bad publicity for the athletic department.
First, Belck announced that the department had fallen $1 million into the red in each of the past two years, prompting her to pull money from university coffers to bail it out.
Longtime donors, including David Sokol and Lee Sapp, asked why they hadn't been told of the athletic department's financial trouble.
Then came the public revelation that Buck had spent $150,000 from athletic department accounts - some of it donated booster money - on trips to Alaska and Hawaii with his wife, dinners at fancy restaurants and golf outings.
Both Buck and Belck eventually resigned under pressure from NU leaders.
The audit to be released today highlights some procedural changes that the athletic department needs to make, Herbster said. "There are some things we need to tighten up on."
It also will help explain how Buck spent athletic department money on a Ducks Unlimited membership and a satellite radio subscription while the department was struggling to break even.
Contact the Omaha World-Herald newsroom
Copyright ©2006 Omaha World-Herald®. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, displayed or distributed for any purpose without permission from the Omaha World-Herald.
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