Washington St. Audit Finds 'Extensive' Mismanagement in Athletic Department

An internal audit at Washington State University discovered "extensive mismanagement" inside the school's athletic department, the Associated Press reported Thursday (via SI.com).

According to the Daily Evergreen's Dylan Greene and Rebecca White, the audit found, among other things, the athletic department inflated attendance for football games during the 2016 season.

The football program may be subject to punishment from the NCAA as well since the school's compliance office wasn't supplied with detailed information regarding who received free tickets. Former deputy athletic director Mike Marlow disposed of the necessary records.

Greene and White also reported Washington State lost roughly $130,000 in revenue after members of the athletic program used ticket discounts that weren't available to the general public or other university officials.

In general, the WSU audit unearthed issues with "attendance data, benefits for athletics employees, handling of cash, contract management and ethics training," according to Greene and White's report.

The Seattle Times' Stefanie Loh reported last June the Washington State athletic department was set to close its 2017 fiscal year with a total deficit of $10.6 million.

The university hired a new athletic director, Patrick Chun, in January, while Marlow no longer works at the school. He took over as Northern Arizona University's vice president of intercollegiate athletics in December.