Utah senator Jim Dabakis urged an apology from fellow state lawmakers to the University of Utah for an audit on the school’s athletic program.
Utah senator Jim Dabakis urged an apology from fellow state lawmakers to the University of Utah for an audit on the school’s athletic program, according to multiple reports including the Salt Lake Tribune and Deseret News.
Dabakis, D-Salt Lake City, made his comments during Monday’s state budgetary meeting, asking auditors the costs of the “preposterous audit that was done for a foolish reason as punishment. Those are the facts. It’s sad when an audit is ordered by a legislative body as a punishment.” The legislature called for the audit following the university’s cancellation of the Utah-BYU men’s basketball game in the 2016-17 season.
“I hope that Chris Hill will get a giant apology for paying this price for being dragged through the mud in the media and other places for an audit that just should never have happened,” continued Dabakis. He noted how “ashamed [he is] of the Legislature for proposing this audit, for putting that burden on you, costing the taxpayers thousands of dollars.” (latter quote according to the Deseret News)
Although the exact cost is not yet known, the numbers are expected to be released publicly.
Hill took a high road publicly when the findings were released. “I think in general we feel good about it,” Hill said on November 16th’s Bill Riley Show on ESPN 700. “We feel good that they verified a lot of the good things that we did, and they came up with some tangible suggestions and recommendations where we can get better.”
Ultimately, no major infractions were found, and minor changes have been implemented in the department since the report.
