Officials in the University’s men’s athletics department were slow to act on information pertaining to Gophers hockey coach Doug Woog’s 1994 payment of $500 to former player Chris McAlpine, according to a copyrighted report published in Sunday’s Star Tribune.
Former Gophers assistant coach Bill Butters hinted at the possibility of an NCAA violation to a University compliance officer soon after the payment was made in the spring of 1994, the article states.
In addition, Woog and Gophers baseball coach John Anderson may have violated NCAA rules by referring players to Twin Cities sports agent Ron Simon. To a certain degree, Simon gave both coaches free help on their contact negotiations, the article states. The nature of the relationship between Simon and the coaches is still unclear.
The article was available on newsstands in the early Sunday edition of the Star Tribune by Saturday morning. After the Gophers hockey game against North Dakota on Saturday night, Woog gave this brief comment on the article:
“All I can say is what I’ve said before. I’m sorry that it happened,” the coach said, in reference to the McAlpine incident.
The athletics department is still conducting an investigation of the hockey program, and it expects to send a report to the NCAA soon.
In an interview with The Minnesota Daily more than two weeks ago, department compliance director Chris Schoemann said he expected the report to be filed within a week. Part of the delay could be due to other minor violations linked to the hockey program.
Minor transgressions known to the Daily include:
ù Woog allowed the consumption of alcohol by players during a team trip to Alaska-Anchorage last season.
ù That former Gophers player Tony Kellin was improperly taken along on a road trip to Denver during the 1985-86 season at expense to the University.
The University’s report to the NCAA should be completed this week, but it is unknown whether it will be released to the public.
— Michael Rand