We get it. It’s hard being the son of one of college basketball’s all-time greatest coaches. It makes it even worse when your Minnesota Golden Gophers went 8-23 this past season, one of the worst marks in the team’s history. Not only did the team struggled on the court, but head coach Rick Pitino has had financial struggles and reportedly exceeded his travel budget by $175,000 over the course of three years.
That budget is allotted for Pitino to use on private jets throughout the year. The only problem is that he’s only given $50,000-per-year to use. According to the Minnesota Star Tribune, Pitino spent $100K in 2014 and $150K in 2015, bringing his total to a staggering $325,000 in his first three years being there.
However, it doesn’t stop with Pitino. Along with the jet spending, it was revealed that both the men’s and women’s overspent in five other areas: hotels, private cars, birthday or holiday parties, meals, and valet parking.
On second thought, I digress. Pitino’s action actually continued beyond what got mentioned above. On multiple occasions, he returned rental cars with empty gas tanks and, even though the team got a bus, parked his car at the airport.
The indiscretions took place when Norwood Teague was the school’s athletic director. He has since departed. A new athletic director could see a firing as a suitable option, but would then owe $7 million in payments.
