Name: Dan Brechlin

Affiliation: Withheld.

Location: UConn Storrs

Request Date Start: Withheld.

Request Date End: Withheld.

Details: I would like to recieve the records for FOI #20-179 from ESPN.

Notes:

Name: Steve Berkowitz

Affiliation: USA Today

Location: UConn Storrs

Request Date Start: 01/01/2020

Request Date End: 06/09/2020

Details: 1. The contracts and base salaries covering the 2020-21 season for the head football coach, the 10 full-time assistant football coaches and the football team’s head strength/conditioning coach, including documents reflecting any voluntary or mandatory compensation adjustments since March 15, 2020 , as well as:
§ Other amendments or addenda.
§ Documents reflecting current or intended compensation or benefits to any of the coaches from a third party.
*If the head coach (or any assistant or the strength/conditioning coach) is not covered by a contract, please provide the applicable letter of understanding or other document that outlines his compensation and a copy of any document listing bonuses for which the coach is eligible, including criteria for the bonuses and the amounts that would be paid.
*If the head coach (or any assistant or the strength/conditioning coach) is employed on an at-will basis, please provide a list of each coach’s base salary and a copy of any document listing bonuses for which the coach is eligible, including criteria for the bonuses and the amounts that would be paid.
*If the football team does not have a dedicated strength/conditioning coach, I would like to obtain the compensation information for the athletics department’s head strength/conditioning coach.

2. The most recent athletically related outside-income reports for the head football coach, the 10 assistant football coaches and the football team’s head strength/conditioning coach described above. This is a document that, pursuant to an NCAA rules change in August 2018, athletic personnel must file annually to report income of more than $600 from sources other than the university.

3. An itemized list of incentive bonus amounts actually paid to the current head football coach from May 15, 2019 through May 14, 2020. The goal of this request is to obtain data about bonus payments made for sport-related goals achieved during the 2019-20 football season and/or for academic or other achievements during a full, 12-month period, even though that period may not conform with the school’s fiscal year or academic year or with the coach’s contract year.

If these records can be provided electronically, I would prefer that format. Please send them as attachments to my email address, sberkowitz@usatoday.com. If it is necessary to mail the documents, please use the address below.

Please provide the records within the time allotted by relevant open-records law, provide an explanation of when the records will be provided or a statement of the statutory exception authorizing the withholding of all or parts of these records. Please include the name and title of the person responsible for the denial.

If there will be a charge for these records of more than $25, please notify me in advance.

Thank you for your assistance.

Notes:

Name: Dan Murphy

Affiliation: ESPN

Location: UConn Storrs

Request Date Start: 01/01/2020

Request Date End: 06/08/2020

Details: ESPN is requesting records pertaining to discussions about budget constraints in your institution’s athletic department and the potential of eliminating varsity sports programs. We understand the terminology used in these discussions may be broad and vary, making it difficult to identify all correspondence. As a result, we want to work with you to make our request as efficient as possible for all parties.

It is likely that there have been conference calls, video chats, shared documents in online folders or other storage in use to discuss these issues. Our request will be tailored first to obtain records of those meetings and discussions and any notes or documents generated from them. We request the following documents:

1) Any records of conference calls, calendar invites, video calls, or other internal messaging platforms being used to set meetings to discuss budget concerns in the athletic department.
2) Any written or electronic notes taken during those conversations.
3) Any shared documents generated to report on budget issues, solicit ideas for cost savings, or discuss eliminating sports. This would include any documents generated on Google Drive, Dropbox, Box or similar shared platforms.

Please include the following individuals and keywords in your search:

Individuals
Director of Athletics David Benedict
University President Thomas Katsouleas
Deputy Associate Rachel Rubin/Senior Associate AD Neal Eskin
All head coaches of varsity sports
Any university or athletic department finance committees if such a body exists

Keywords for all names on our list
“athletic(s) budget,”
“eliminating” or “cutting” or “discontinuing” or “suspending” sports teams
“defunding athletics”
“scholarship reductions”

Keywords just for employees who work for the athletic department
“travel budget"
“furloughs"
"salary cuts"
"alternatives to cutting sports"
"Finances"
“Conference affiliation”

Timeframe:
From January 1, 2020 through date of receipt

Notes: