A University of Connecticut donor demanded $3 million in donations he made to the school be returned after taking offense to being excluded in the athletic department hiring process.
Robert Burton, a university donor whose son attends the university, asked for money he donated to the UConn football program to be returned after not being consulted in decisions made surrounding the hiring of a new head football coach.
UConn Athletic Department spokesperson Mike Enwright said the donation Burton wants refunded was earmarked to fund the Burton Family Football Complex.
In a letter addressed to UConn Director of Athletics Jeff Hathaway where Burton aired his grievances, Burton said as the largest donor to the UConn football program, it was a “slap in the face” that Hathaway had not involved him in the hiring process.
Burton has donated approximately $7 million dollars to the university, and his son attended and played football for the school. He is the CEO of Burton Capital Management based in Greenwich, Conn.
In the letter, Burton said he intended to withhold all other forms of donations and support in addition to requesting the refund.
“It is our intent to let the correct people know that you did not listen to your number one football donor, and you led a flawed process in the search for UConn’s football coach,” Burton wrote.
Enwright said the university has entered conversations with Burton, and no formal decision has been made on how to settle the dispute.
Universities are not legally required to give back donations if the donor requests them to be returned, Russell Howes, vice president of the University of Wisconsin Foundation, said.
“Once a gift is made to a charitable organization, it becomes the property of the organization,” Howes said.
He added there have been instances in which universities have returned gifts to donors because they used gifts to fund projects the donors had not intended their donations to be used for.
Howes said he has been with the foundation for 22 years, and no donations given to UW have been asked to be returned in that time.
