UConn Football Donor Demands Money Back...

[theblackdog]

Yesterday I read about how Robert Burton is demanding $3 million donation back that he donated to UConn and for them to take his surname off their sports facility because he's not happy that they picked Paul Pasqualoni. Apparently Robert felt that UConn should have been calling him all the time and seeking his advice on who should be their next football coach and gone with who he wanted, which was not Pasqualoni.

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2011/football/ncaa/01/25/uconn-donor-demand.ap/index.html?eref=sihp

Deadspin has a copy of the letter he sent to UConn with his demands

http://deadspin.com/5743170/heres-the-angry-letter-that-uconn-donor-wrote-demanding-his-money-back

It reads like one of the biggest whine fests I have seen in a while. This dude seriously thinks that because he gave some money to the school, that he somehow has intimate knowledge of who would be the absolute best pick for their next coach. My reaction is "shut up and let the front office do their jobs, they know what they're doing, you don't."

I hope that UConn continues to tell him to go pound sand.

[PuRock]

Another case of the actor trying to direct the show. Just because you have money doesn't mean squat. You leave the football decisions up to the football guys.

[theFRANCHISE]

That letter and this story pisses me off. The sense of entitlement is outrageous and the arrogance is beyond anything I've ever seen.

In the letter, Burton states that his desire to give back was inspired by his football scholarship that he pledged to repay by helping other people. If his motive was really to help other people, then why would he cut off his funding just because of a head coaching move he didn't agree with? Outside of scholarships, what does football have to do with higher education?

Burton is despicable. He mentions several times that he and his sons were former football players. That does not necessarily qualify them to have any valid input or authority in making the proper decision to lead that football program. Their money certainly isn't a qualifier; just ask Dan Snyder. As an English major, it was hard for me to ignore the number of times where Burton's argument was an emotional appeal filled with ego-stroking. It was as if Burton wanted self-affirmation in announcing his accomplishments to the world.

Oh, and that whole deal about being a former NFL draft pick? So was JaMarcus Russell. FAIL.

[FerrariFan87]

Yeah, pretty pathetic, and if I'm UConn I don't want his name associated with anything at the University either.

[theblackdog]

Since his company is based in CT, I wonder how many of his clients are UConn alumni or fans. He might not be able to afford box seats next year.

[berad]

He wanted to be "in the loop"? Maybe he should have some semblance of football knowledge, the university may employ you. Or heck, since he's got so much cheddar, he should just buy-out the university.

None of those things are going to happen

[hawkprey]

Uh, gotta side with the guy on this one. Who wouldn't want their money back? You give a team 3 million dollars, they oughta lend an ear or two. Think of it as satisfying your shareholders. Money IS power. Not that he'll get the money back. But I'd want it back too.

[theFRANCHISE]

[quote name='hawkprey' timestamp='1296068087' post='625230']
Uh, gotta side with the guy on this one. Who wouldn't want their money back? You give a team 3 million dollars, they oughta lend an ear or two. Think of it as satisfying your shareholders. Money IS power. Not that he'll get the money back. But I'd want it back too.
[/quote]
It's not so much asking for his money back that's the problem; it's his sense of entitlement. He comes across as an arrogant jerk, mentioning his accolades and his title as reasons why he should have had more input in the head coaching search. While donations to an athletic fund are acts of charity only in writing, we know that they're an investment, as you put it.

However, that investment does not entitle him to wield the amount of power that he implies he'd like to have. He alludes to how he would've fired the athletic director years ago, and how he knew who was a good fit for the school and who wasn't. That implies a level of power that goes well beyond any shareholder.

[Clutch Ravens]

I know a guy that bought 1 share in the Packers in 1997, does that mean he can fire Ted Thompson, Mike McCarthy and cut Aaron Rodgers?

Donating money to a College/University entitles you to nothing more than a "thank you", anything more than that is at the discression of the School and they obviously didn't think the guy had any sort of relevant input.

Did the guy think he would benefit from doing what he's done? He comes accross as a jumped up, arrogant tool. To be totally honest, it looks like the only person that cares about his opinion is himself.

[theFRANCHISE]

[quote name='Clutch Ravens' timestamp='1296069982' post='625252']
Donating money to a College/University entitles you to nothing more than a "thank you", anything more than that is at the discression of the School and they obviously didn't think the guy had any sort of relevant input.
[/quote]
The school named their football complex after him and gave one of his sons a football scholarship. I think that was more than most schools would've done for their donors.

He refers to [i]himself[/i] as the school's number one football donor. That's all I needed to read, to know that he's an arrogant jerk for doing this. Also, you'd think that a successful businessman like himself would know how to write a proper, formal letter airing his grievances, rather than the immature tirade he drafted.

Burton has no case, and if he somehow wins, then I'll be shocked and appalled.

[Clutch Ravens]

[quote name='theFRANCHISE' timestamp='1296070450' post='625256']
The school named their football complex after him and gave one of his sons a football scholarship. I think that was more than most schools would've done for their donors.

He refers to [i]himself[/i] as the school's number one football donor. That's all I needed to read, to know that he's an arrogant jerk for doing this. Also, you'd think that a successful businessman like himself would know how to write a proper, formal letter airing his grievances, rather than the immature tirade he drafted.

Burton has no case, and if he somehow wins, then I'll be shocked and appalled.
[/quote]

Ya think this might've been a venting letter, for him to let all of his frustrations out and that wasn't supposed to be seen by anyone else?

There's no way the guy could've read it, thought about it for 5 minutes and STILL mailed it. Unless, of course, he took some hard hits to the head during his "illustrious" playing career...

[theblackdog]

[quote name='Clutch Ravens' timestamp='1296071064' post='625266']
Ya think this might've been a venting letter, for him to let all of his frustrations out and that wasn't supposed to be seen by anyone else?

There's no way the guy could've read it, thought about it for 5 minutes and STILL mailed it. Unless, of course, he took some hard hits to the head during his "illustrious" playing career...
[/quote]

If it was, then someone in his office really really screwed up because it got faxed to UConn, and has been marked with a "received" stamp.

However, I think this guy was boneheaded enough to send it off, probably because he only has "yes men" surrounding him, and they agreed it would be a good idea for him to send it.


Also, a former player sent in a letter to Deadspin about this guy (sorry Frannie, I know you hate them) http://deadspin.com/5744018/a-former-uconn-football-player-puts-robert-burton-in-his-place

[George70]

[quote name='theFRANCHISE' timestamp='1296069289' post='625244']
It's not so much asking for his money back that's the problem; it's his sense of entitlement. He comes across as an arrogant jerk, mentioning his accolades and his title as reasons why he should have had more input in the head coaching search. While donations to an athletic fund are acts of charity only in writing, we know that they're an investment, as you put it.

However, that investment does not entitle him to wield the amount of power that he implies he'd like to have. He alludes to how he would've fired the athletic director years ago, and how he knew who was a good fit for the school and who wasn't. That implies a level of power that goes well beyond any shareholder.
[/quote]

Yes, Franchise, this yutz thinks that because he gave the cash, he should have a say - which is, to me, anyway, ridiculous. His investment is just that - an investment. He should just leave matters of the coaching search to those who know what they're doing.

[hawkprey]

[quote name='Clutch Ravens' timestamp='1296069982' post='625252']
I know a guy that bought 1 share in the Packers in 1997, does that mean he can fire Ted Thompson, Mike McCarthy and cut Aaron Rodgers?

Donating money to a College/University entitles you to nothing more than a "thank you", anything more than that is at the discression of the School and they obviously didn't think the guy had any sort of relevant input.

Did the guy think he would benefit from doing what he's done? He comes across as a jumped up, arrogant tool. To be totally honest, it looks like the only person that cares about his opinion is himself.
[/quote]

If I'm not mistaken, people can chose what to do with their money. He CHOSE to give money to UConn, and then he changed his mind because he lost respect for the organization. Why not ask for your money back?

All people, in every facet of life, act in self-interest. So I'm not going to be calling him out for caring about his own opinion, because that's exactly what an opinion is. It was a bad investment. In fact, he showed disregard for his own image by allowing himself this bad press. So where's the self-interest in that?

True, he may not know what's best for the college, but that's irrelevant. How many fans on this board make irrational demands for coaching and player changes? And these are people who's yearly investment averages only around a few hundred dollars and a good time or two.

All in all, his gift giving turned out to be a bad choice in his eyes and he wants to undo it. That's a [b]rational[/b] decision. We're victimizing a person and we've forgotten that it was his generosity that sustained Uconn Football in the first place. It just doesn't sound good because somehow taking back money in our society counts for more than giving it.

By the way, we’re not talking about just a bad decision. He also claims he was ignored when he called and generally disrespected. He wasn’t asking for Pasqualoni to be hired, he was asking to have his opinion regarded. He’s also only asking for less than half of the total money he donated. Boy, what a crook.