UConn football donor wants $3M back!

Posted by Sabrina B. @gametimegirl

A major donor of the University of Connecticut wants a $3 million gift to the football program returned and his name taken down off the team’s on-campus facility over his dissatisfaction with athletic director Jeff Hathaway.

Robert G. Burton, the chairman and CEO of Greenwich-based Burton Capital Management, LLC, has given more than $7 million to the football program, including a $2.5 million “lead gift” for the Burton Family Football Complex and additional funds to equip the building, according to The Day of New London, which first reported the development.

Burton informed Hathaway of his wishes in a letter dated Jan. 19, a copy of which was obtained by The Day.

“The primary reason [former UConn coach] Randy [Edsall] took another job is because he couldn’t work with you,” Burton wrote to Hathaway, according to The Day. “You are not qualified to be a Division I AD and I would have fired you a long time ago. You do not have the skills to manage and cultivate new donors.”

Members of the school’s board of trustees as well as the university president have reached out to Burton in the hopes of repairing the relationship, a source with knowledge of the situation told ESPN’s Joe Schad.

Connecticut has a signed donor agreement with Burton. That and the fact that his name has been on a building for five seasons make it very unlikely a check for $2.5 million, the amount given for the building naming right, would simply be refunded, the source told Schad.

Edsall, who guided the program’s transition from the Football Championship Subdivision to the Big East, abruptly left Connecticut for Maryland after leading the Huskies to the program’s first-ever BCS bowl.

In the letter, Burton said he had asked to be “kept in the loop” on the hiring process for Edsall’s replacement, saying he wanted to “provide insight” about potential candidates, according to The Day. He said he didn’t hear back from Hathaway until Jan. 13, by which point UConn had hired former Syracuse coach Paul Pasqualoni — a decision Burton did not support.

Burton’s son Joe played for Pasqualoni at Syracuse from 1997 through 2001. There was a conflict between Bob Burton and Pasqualoni when his son played there, a source briefed on their relationship told Schad.

Another of Burton’s sons, Michael, played for Edsall at UConn in 1999.

“I was not looking for veto power,” Burton said in the letter, according to The Day. “Your lack of response on either of these requests tells me that you do not respect my point of view or value my opinion.”

Burton sent another letter to Connecticut prior to the letter in The Day’s report, the source told Schad. The second letter was sent right after Connecticut returned from the Fiesta Bowl and stated that former Florida offensive coordinator Steve Addazio, who had been named Temple coach, should be the choice as UConn’s next coach. But Connecticut didn’t seriously consider Addazio because he had just been hired by Temple. In a written response, UConn’s athletic department disputed Burton’s version of events, saying Hathaway “did receive and acknowledge Mr. Burton’s advice from the beginning of the search” and advised Burton of its choice, according to The Day.

“Many people, including Mr. Burton, shared their ideas about potential candidates with us,” the response said, according to the report.

“In the end, the decision was appropriately made by the university in the best interests of UConn and our football program. 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,” the university said.

Information from ESPN college football reporter Joe Schad and The Associated Press was used in this report.