University of North Carolina’s chief fundraiser, former quarterback Matt Kupec, resigned on Sunday after an internal investigation revealed that he and another university fundraiser took personal trips with the school’s money. The other university fundraiser is Tami Hansbrough, the mother of Tyler Hansbrough.
According to the News & Observer, UNC Chancellor Holden Thorp said a review of Kupec’s travel with Hansbrough showed that they took trips that were not university related, including ones to destinations where Tyler’s brother Ben Hansbrough was playing basketball for Notre Dame.
“It was difficult because Matt has been such a great person for the university and has raised billions of dollars for us,” Thorp explained, “but I had to share with him what we had been finding and it didn’t look good and that it’s likely that this sort of personally driven travel was unacceptable, and we are going to need to do a pretty thorough investigation of it.”
Hansbrough, who works as a major gifts officer and earns $95,000 a year, has been placed on administrative leave while the investigation is ongoing. This is not the first time her name has been associated with improper use of university funds, as Thorp confirmed that a dental foundation audit during UNC’s championship run in 2008 revealed that Tami had been traveling to Tyler’s games using university money. However, Thorp added that those trips could be considered legitimate because she was traveling to games where candidates to donate money to the university were present.
Kupec separated from his wife in 2009 and Hansbrough is divorced from Tyler and Ben’s father. In 2010, Thorp says he told Kupec that he could not hire Hansbrough for a fundraising position because she would be reporting to Kupec. Thorp says the two were in a relationship at the time, which would violate the university’s policy on employer-employee relationships.
Another fundraising position later surfaced that would report to Winston Crisp, the vice chancellor for student affairs. Thorp supported Hansbrough being hired for that position. In 2011, Kupec’s marriage with his wife ended and divorce papers indicated that he committed “marital misconduct.”
Lots of interesting details, most of which do not seem beneficial to Kupec or Hansbrough’s reputation
