FOIA Friday: Contracts with MSU boosters revealed
Add Axios as your preferred source to
see more of our stories on Google.
Illustration: Lindsey Bailey/Axios
Michigan State finally coughed up the public records shedding light on athletic donations totaling $56 million from boosters Mat Ishbia and Steve St. Andre.
Why it matters: MSU vigorously fought the records' release until a state judge ruled last month that contracts outlining the donations — a portion of which helped fund football coach Mel Tucker's $95-million, 10-year contract — are public.
Threat level: While MSU shielded the records, a lawyer for the Detroit Free Press questioned whether the donors gained influence over the athletics department in exchange for the money.
- The Free Press then sued MSU under the Freedom of Information Act to obtain the records.
Details: Ishbia agreed to give MSU $14 million, and St. Andre $10 million, on Nov. 19, 2021, days before the school announced Tucker's deal.
- The contracts say MSU maintains authority over any coaches' employment.
- They do not explicitly say the money is for Tucker, but Ishbia previously acknowledged such.
- A third contract in February 2021 outlines another $32 million donation from Ishbia, with $20 million earmarked for the new Tom Izzo Football Building.
The intrigue: A lawyer for MSU argued in court that the donors expected the documents to remain private, so disclosing them would have a chilling effect on future donations to the university.
- Ishbia's November 2021 agreement, however, contains a clause that MSU "will publicize the gift and make proactive efforts to raise additional funds in support of MSU and the Department of Intercollegiate Athletics."