Chancellor to explore UM athletic situation

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ORONO – Enter the chancellor.

New allegations made public Thursday by a second University of Maine official charging Athletic Director Mike Ploszek with planning to conceal recent NCAA eligibility violations has led UMaine System Chancellor J. Michael Orenduff to look into the scandal that refuses to die.

The controversy took a new twist and drew Orenduff’s attention when Anne R. McCoy, an associate athletic director and senior women’s administrator, expressed doubts about the thoroughness and accuracy of an independent investigation conducted by former U.S. Rep. Stanley Tupper of Boothbay Harbor.

Tupper was commissioned by UM President Frederick Hutchinson to investigate the events surrounding the discovery and reporting of the ineligibility of five UM graduate student-athletes last month.

Tupper concluded in his March 14 report that “no credible evidence” could be found to support the notion Ploszek planned to cover up the violations.

“Personally, I was concerned that there were some things left out (of the report),” said McCoy, who claims Tupper failed to include in his report her account of a meeting she had with Ploszek on Feb. 23 in which she said the AD told her of his plans to conceal the NCAA violations.

The report did include a letter that McCoy wrote to Ploszek dated Feb. 23 expressing her concern about his position of “no action.” But the letter did not detail what Ploszek said to her in the meeting.

McCoy’s most serious allegation is that during her interview with Tupper, the 72-year-old investigator switched off a tape recorder when she began talking about her meeting with Ploszek.

“I remember specifically he shut the tape recorder off after I said, `Mike Ploszek told me he did not intend on reporting this to the NCAA,’ ” said McCoy.

Tupper, who said he had no recollection or record of McCoy making such allegations about Ploszek, responded angrily to her version of the interview.

“This is an absolute lie. I didn’t tape her at all,” Tupper said, noting he taped only five of 22 people he interviewed during his one-week investigation. “She immediately said, `I don’t want to be quoted.’ I’ve found people in that situation are made nervous by a tape recorder and don’t give you much. The tape machine was never turned on, period.”

Tupper said he stood by his report, but would welcome further investigation. He speculated that McCoy’s charges may stem from a hidden agenda she might have.

“The whole problem is they want someone’s head to roll. Since it didn’t roll, they’re very upset,” said Tupper, referring to the fact that Ploszek, after a three-week suspension, was reinstated by Hutchinson in the wake of the report.

McCoy, who first aired her allegations in a Portland Press Herald story published Thursday, said she had no hidden agenda and scoffed at the notion she stood to gain by going public.

“If I legitimately wanted to be the athletic director at the University of Maine, I wouldn’t do anything to harm its reputation because then I’m coming in and I’ve got to clean everything up,” said McCoy, adding she did not seek out reporters but that a reporter was directed to her by Hutchinson and executive assistant Robert Whelan on Wednesday.

“From the beginning, we’ve been instructed to answer all questions honestly. So when they referred her to me, my assumption was I should answer all questions honestly. That’s what I would do, anyway,” McCoy said.

Asked why she did not come forward earlier to support former compliance officer Linwood Carville, who initially charged Ploszek with planning to conceal the violations and later was fired, McCoy said she informed Hutchinson, Tupper and the NCAA office in Kansas City of her version of the events.

“I’ve taken all the steps I’m supposed to take,” said McCoy, noting it would be unprofessional for her to go to the media.

Tupper said McCoy contacted him about an error in the report on March 15, which he corrected. He said at no time did she indicate she had problems with the content.

“The thing that bothers me the most is, when she called me and asked me to change a date, why didn’t she bring to my attention something I’d missed?” he asked.

McCoy said she did express concerns with the report during that phone conversation. Tupper’s summation of her interview consisted of one paragraph containing five sentences.

“I told him I was upset the date was wrong and there were other things in the report that concerned me,” said McCoy, “to which point he said, `I’m sorry your paragraph was so short.’ ”

Chancellor Orenduff was in Washington, D.C., Thursday and could not be reached for comment. But his office informed the principals involved he will be “involving himself” upon his return.

“The chancellor wants to get together with me and get a better understanding of all the events of the last few weeks,” Ploszek said Thursday afternoon.

Ploszek said he would not comment on McCoy’s charges pending his meeting with Orenduff.

Hutchinson was in Washington, D.C., Thursday and could not be reached for comment. Whelan and UM Vice President Charles Rauch both declined to comment, citing their instruction from the chancellor’s office to refrain from comment.

According to McCoy, Ploszek told her in a one-on-one meeting in his office Feb. 23 he planned to cover up the violations.

“He told me in no uncertain terms that he was not planning on reporting to the NCAA,” she said.

McCoy said Ploszek went so far as to tell her what his course of action would be if the violations became public knowledge.

“He said, `If it comes out, I’ll feign ignorance.’ And I do remember that very specifically. Those were his exact words,” said McCoy, who has worked in the UM athletic department for five years.

Ploszek subsequently changed his mind after their meeting, according to McCoy. Maine reported the violations to the NCAA on Feb. 24.

McCoy said she repeated Ploszek’s words from the Feb. 23 meeting in a subsequent meeting on March 3 with Hutchinson, Whelan, Rauch, and acting public affairs director John Diamond.

Hutchinson, Whelan and Diamond each told the Portland newspaper they did not remember McCoy’s exact words. Rauch was not quoted. Hutchinson said McCoy’s concerns played a role in his decision to launch an independent investigation.

Tammy Light, an assistant in the compliance office with Carville, said Thursday that McCoy told her immediately after meeting with Ploszek on Feb. 23 that the AD planned to conceal the violations.

“She said she’d talked to Mike and that Mike had told her in the exact words that he wasn’t going to report it to the NCAA and when asked about it, he would feign ignorance. Those are the same words she’s been saying from day one,” said Light, who was promoted to acting compliance officer by Hutchinson in the wake of the Tupper report.

McCoy also said she confided in former Maine AD Kevin White, now the AD at Tulane University in New Orleans, that Ploszek planned to conceal the violations. McCoy said she sought White’s advice on what to do.

“He said absolutely, you have to put it in writing to protect yourself. Basically, let the appropriate people know,” said McCoy.

White, who was in Amarillo, Texas, could not be reached for comment Thursday. But former UM assistant AD Ian McCaw, who holds a similar post at Tulane, said he talked to White about the subject.

“Anne did contact him,” said McCaw. “What Kevin does is encourage any former employees to communicate directly with the AD.”

McCaw said White would not comment further.

Light said, that like McCoy, she also has concerns about the accuracy of Tupper’s report based on how her interview was presented.

“I think some things were taken out of context,” said Light, citing as an example the statement in the report that said Carville told her “to go home” to avoid questioning by curious coaches on Feb. 17.

“He did tell me to go home, but he had just met with Mike. Woody shared with me Mike was concerned about me saying something to the coaches involved,” said Light, stressing she was getting the information secondhand from Carville.

Asked her reaction to the Tupper report, Light said it did not answer the questions she hoped it would.

“I don’t know what to believe now,” she said.

Tupper said he had never met Hutchinson, Ploszek, Carville or any of the other principals in the scandal before his investigation. He knew only Diamond.

“This sounds very bizarre. I have no bias. I haven’t got a single ax to grind,” said Tupper, who is owed more than $4,200 by the university for his investigation.