THE SIDELINES : Accusation Sparks Resignation

Bob Heddleston, a University of Pittsburgh assistant athletic director and the school’s top athletic fund-raiser, resigned today after being accused of forging a $300 check made out to a part-time cheerleading coach.

Heddleston’s resignation came after an internal audit was initiated “following a review of circumstances surrounding an alleged check forgery,” Pitt Executive Vice President Jack Freeman said.

An assistant director of athletics for development, Heddleston ran the Golden Panthers, the athletic department’s fund-raising arm, since 1976. He was credited with raising about $15 million for athletic scholarships.

Freeman said today in a statement that on Nov. 9, Pitt Athletic Director Edward Bozik learned that a check made out to Mike Nuzzo, the school’s assistant cheerleading coach, “might have been improperly endorsed and cashed through a third party by Heddleston.”

The check was reimbursement for a personal appearance, arranged by Heddleston, that the cheerleaders made at Chauncy’s, a Pittsburgh bar. It has not been determined why the check was made out to Nuzzo rather than the cheerleaders.