STORRS, Conn. — Two top University of Connecticut officials said Wednesday they have been on the phone with unhappy donor Robert G. Burton, who has asked for the return of a $3 million donation, but that they stand behind the athletic director who upset him.
Interim president Philip Austin and Larry McHugh, chairman of the board of trustees, said they spoke with Burton on Tuesday, but neither would reveal details of their discussions.
“Conversations have not ended,” McHugh said. “There’s no line in the sand, hopefully, on this issue. I’m definitely going to have further conversations to reinforce the support the Burtons have given the university in the past. Hopefully, over one issue, everything isn’t destroyed.”
Burton has asked for a return of the money out of frustration with UConn athletic director Jeff Hathaway’s handling of the hiring of the new head football coach, Paul Pasqualoni.
Austin and McHugh on Wednesday expressed support for Hathaway, who served in a similar capacity at Colorado State from 2002-03.
“The search for a very high-visibility position is always complex and people have very strong points of view,” Austin said. “I’m comfortable with the process as it unfolded.”
UConn hired Pasqualoni to replace Randy Edsall, who left to coach at Maryland.
“For someone who has given over $7 million to the football program/university, I do not feel as though these requests were asking for too much,” Burton wrote in a letter requesting return of the $3 million.
While expressing dissatisfaction with the choice, the letter is also a strong indictment of Hathaway, who Burton writes is “not qualified to be a Division I AD.”
