Hall, Sloan Expenditures Questioned at Florida

Three dozen golf sweaters, an 800-guest roast pig feast and nearly $1,000 in pistachio nuts were among the expenditures listed by top athletic officials at the University of Florida, which is already under investigation by the NCAA, according to a published report.

The expenses were included in records submitted by former Gator football coach Galen Hall and ex-basketball coach Norm Sloan, both of whom retired this year.

Other expense accounts reviewed by the Miami Herald in today’s editions were filed by Athletic Director Bill Arnsparger and Jeremy Foley, senior associate athletic director.

Although the estimated $41,000 in annual expenses is relatively small compared with the total athletic department budget, several officials have pledged to look into the spending practices.

“Something went wrong,” Interim President Robert Bryan told the Herald. “We have to figure out what went wrong and get it right.”

The NCAA began investigating Florida last year, after allegations of student cheating and revelations of a federal probe linking some athletes to cocaine use.

In addition to Hall and Sloan, three assistant coaches have also quit in the past year.

Hall, whose expense record since 1985 lists numerous golf-related expenditures, did not return telephone calls seeking comment, the Herald reported.

Sloan’s lawyer, Dexter Douglass, said he believes the former coach had authorization for all expenditures, which include more than $100 for flowers and $963.70 for pails of pistachio nuts.