Univerisity of Texas Board takes no action on Major Applewhite; launches policy review

George Schroeder, USA TODAY Sports | USATODAY

The University of Texas System's Board of Regents met for a little more than two hours by conference call Sunday, discussing recent revelations of inappropriate behavior by coaches with students, but took no action.

The special meeting was called Friday, after the regents were informed that Texas assistant coach Major Applewhite was disciplined for an affair with a student trainer four years ago. Last month, women's track and field coach Bev Kearney was forced to resign after admitting to an having an affair with a track athlete in 2002.

The meeting was conducted in closed session. They adjourned without taking action. Afterward UT system chancellor Francisco Cigarroa declined comment to the Associated Press. but later he and board chair Gene Powell released a statement announcing a review of policies regarding faculty and staff relationships with students.

A person with knowledge of the situation told USA TODAY Sports that a potential lawsuit by Kearney – claiming other coaches, professors and administrators at Texas were not punished as harshly for similar misconduct – prompted Texas officials to inform the regents of Applewhite's indiscretion, which occurred during the Longhorns' trip to play in the 2009 Fiesta Bowl. The person spoke on the condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the matter.

The agenda for the board of regents meeting included discussions of legal issues related to "individual athletics personnel" and "inappropriate relationships between employees and students." According to a statement released Friday night by Texas, Applewhite engaged in "inappropriate, consensual behavior with an adult student" while at the Fiesta Bowl.

According to the statement, Texas athletic director DeLoss Dodds investigated the incident in January 2009, then issued a letter of reprimand to Applewhite. Obtained by USA TODAY Sports, the letter dated Feb. 5, 2009, stipulated Applewhite's salary would be frozen until Jan. 1, 2010 and required him to seek counseling. He made $260,000 in 2009 as running backs coach; his guaranteed compensation in 2012 as co-offensive coordinator was $575,000.

Like all of the Longhorns' assistant football coaches, the 34-year-old Applewhite works without a contract. Applewhite, a former Texas quarterback, is now the Longhorns' co-offensive coordinator with Darrell Wyatt.

The university's policy for faculty and staff strongly discourages but does not prohibit consensual relationships between staff and students or subordinates. The policy requires the staff member to disclose the relationship to a supervisor and "cooperate in making alternative arrangements for the supervision, evaluation, teaching, grading or advising of the employee, student and/or student employee."

Kearney, 55, who won six national championships during 20 years at Texas, was put on paid leave last November, then resigned last month in lieu of being fired after admitting to the inappropriate relationship. The AP reported in November that before Kearney was placed on leave, she had been recommended for a raise from a base salary of $270,000 to $397,000.

The following is the statement from Powell and Cigarroa:

As leaders of The University of Texas System, our chief concern is and always will be the safety and welfare of the students at our 15 institutions. The No. 1 priority of all UT administrative leaders, faculty, staff and athletic personnel should be protecting our students and ensuring that their experience at any UT institution is a positive and safe one.

Today, we are announcing that Paul Foster, First Vice Chairman of the Board of Regents, will lead a dedicated and focused effort to review and study all policies in place concerning relationships between UT employees and students at all 15 UT institutions. The review will include policies concerning disciplinary actions and procedures as well as compliance with policies for immediate notification of institution administration and the Board of Regents whenever and wherever policies are violated. (Current UT System Rule 178 which went into effect November 1, 2012 covers these policies and requirements, but the rule will be reviewed for possible strengthening.)

We will reach out to national experts to assist in this review and will provide a timeline and announce more details over the next several days.

Our goal is to be both timely and thorough in building a model that can be used nationwide as an example of best practices in dealing with these critically important issues of student protection and student safety.