Extensive audit targets UH athletics

The University of Hawaii has begun what is described as a wide-ranging operational review of its athletic department, sources in the department said.

The review, officially an operational audit, is said to be charged with looking into all areas of the department’s $30 million, 21-sport operation, policies and procedures, not just finances.

It is being overseen by Glenn Shi­zu­mura, director of the UH system’s Office of Internal Audit, whose staff is said to have already begun requesting documents, sources told the Star-Advertiser.

The audit is said to be separate from a UH-commissioned external investigation of the Stevie Wonder concert controversy, the FBI’s inquiry into UH’s missing $200,000 concert deposit and the department’s annual financial audit, which follows the closing of the books for the just-completed fiscal year.

The external Wonder investigation is being run under contract by the downtown law firm of Cades Schutte while Accuity LLP does the annual financial audit as commissioned by the Board of Regents.

The operational audit was requested by acting athletic director Rockne Frei­tas, who said he wanted "to begin with a clean slate."

Freitas, who has been UH vice president for student affairs and university/community relations for two years, took over direction of the department July 11, a day after the school announced cancellation of the ill-fated Wonder concert.

He replaced Jim Dono­van, who, along with Stan Sheriff Center manager Rich Sheriff, was placed on paid indefinite administrative leave pending the outcome of the Wonder investigation by Cades Schutte.

Freitas’ request for the operational audit was sent to the Manoa Chancellor’s office, and is said to have been approved by the regents.

Freitas said he did not know how long the audit was scheduled to take.

The annual financial audit is usually presented to the regents in the winter.

Meanwhile, UH administration and athletic officials have not said how much longer they expect the Cades Schutte investigation begun by attorney Dennis Chong Kee to last. It was announced July 11.

UH-Manoa Chancellor Tom Apple said at the time, "I don’t know if it will take two days or two weeks. We want it to happen quickly. We don’t want this dragging on."

A UH spokeswoman did not respond to questions about a current timetable for the investigation, its prog­ress or projected cost.