Seriously, I could give a shit about UConn football, but this dude needs to get kicked to the curb. “WAAAA! I gave you money and you didn’t give me a veto over the hiring of a coach!” This guy represents much of what’s wrong with college football these days. I’ll say it now, the next school that accepts his money should be scrutinized under an NCAA microscope. I hope UConn fans (and any other true college football fans) refuse to do business with him and his company. Fucking brat.
Burton seems like just another idiot who apparently gives charity then expects a tangible return. He didn’t intend that money as charity, he thought he was buying something. What knowledge, expertise or authority allows him to make a competent decision on football talent?
Good luck getting th 3 million dollars back. However, I would comply with his request to remove his name from university facilities.
Clearly the guy is an idiot. I can’t imagine any booster expecting to have a say in who gets hired as a coach. Be informed of who is getting consideration, sure, but an actual voice in the process? You want to play GM? Buy your own team, but donating 3 million dollars to a school means you get your name on a plaque somewhere. $3 million doesn’t give you AD responsibilities.
I work in university fundraising and when I started reading this story I assumed that the guy had given $50 million to the university. $3 million? Sure, that’s a lot of money, but that makes him nowhere near the largest donor UConn has: Raymond Neag gave $23 million to the school in one gift in 1999.
According to that link, 39 people have made gifts of $1 million or more to UConn (as of 2009). I wonder how many of them think they should have AD privileges?
While I agree that the guy is a monumental douche, big-time college football, in 2011, is in no way like a charity. It is much closer in nature to a business, and yes, he did expect a return on investment.
His biggest error was thinking that $3 million made him a bigshot. Sorry, no. That gets your name on a building. Veto power on coaches costs a lot more.
The University’s (public) response was disproportionately gracious: “The Burton family has been exceptionally supportive of the University of Connecticut for many years. The university is grateful to the family, especially for the benefits they have provided to many of our students.”
It would have been much more fun if they’d just told this dick where to shove his 3 million bucks.
