Clemson track coaches won’t be charged
Ariail: Pay cuts taken by two to repay funds enough to avoid further action
By Ed McGranahan • STAFF WRITER • April 22, 2008
[b]CLEMSON – Criminal charges will not be filed against two Clemson University track coaches following a State Law Enforcement Division investigation into the handling of funds collected for campus track meets.
A SLED report said Bob Pollock, head coach of the Clemson men’s team since 1988, and assistant coach Charles Foster deposited more than $27,000 into a “personal” account.[/b]
Pollock and Foster repaid the Clemson University Athletic Department by taking pay cuts, according to the report, which 13th Circuit Solicitor Bob Ariail determined was sufficient reason not to pursue criminal charges.
“My review convinces me that the facts viewed in a very narrow context are sufficient to establish some evidence on behalf of Robert Pollack that could be construed as criminal,” Ariail wrote in a letter to SLED dated April 4.
"However, when the evidence is analyzed in its entirety, there is insufficient cumulative evidence to justify criminal warrants.
"This is due to the administrative actions taken by the Clemson University Athletic Department. These actions disciplined and punished both Mr. Pollock and Mr. Foster and collected full restitution of the funds in dispute.
“When all of this information is considered, the evidence of criminal behavior is compromised and not able to support criminal charges.”
Greenville attorney Beattie Ashmore said, “Coach Pollock does not believe he has done anything wrong.”
“He is weighing all his options,” Ashmore said, “And he certainly at this point wants to continue coaching at Clemson.”
Pollock deferred all other questions to Ashmore and said his future at Clemson is in the hands of athletic director Terry Don Phillips.
Through an athletic department spokesman, Phillips said he had no comment because it is a personnel issue but said, “Coach Pollock’s status will be evaluated at the end of the season.”
According to the summary of the SLED report, Phillips said last May “he was hopeful to salvage the careers of Pollock and Foster, but the decision ultimately rested with the Solicitor’s Office.”
Over the weekend, Pollock’s team finished second at the ACC Outdoor Championship.
According to a summary of the investigation, the money in question included $24,872 from high school meets conducted at Clemson. In addition, the report said, Clemson auditors raised questions about $2,525 from college meets collected from “unattached” athletes, those not affiliated with an intercollegiate team.
Ashmore told The Greenville News that the account into which the money was deposited was not a personal account but one which included money from summer camps. Ashmore said a summary of the account was provided annually to Clemson.
Pollock, in a memo last year, told Clemson administrators that the duties of overseeing meets were “extraordinary and tedious” and that he had been advised by a former administrator that it was an appropriate means of compensation, according to the SLED report.