Paul Dee

Paul T. Dee (January 6, 1947 – May 12, 2012) was General Counsel and Athletic Director (AD) of the University of Miami (UM) in Coral Gables, Florida. He held the position of AD from 1993 until 2008, when he stepped down and Kirby Hocutt was tabbed his replacement.

Dee was the Committee on Infractions chairman for USC's much-publicized case in the summer of 2010 involving former stars Reggie Bush and O.J. Mayo. It was Dee who, in announcing some of the stiffest penalties of the last 20 years (a two-year bowl ban and 30 docked scholarships), closed with the reminder that "high-profile athletes demand high-profile compliance." He was born in Hoboken, New Jersey.^[1] Accusations later came out that, under his tenure as athletic director, Miami had also been the center of major improper benefits.^[2]

NCAA rules violations

Under Dee's watch, the University of Miami athletic program was sanctioned by the NCAA in 1995. Eighty students, 57 of whom were football players, falsified their Pell Grant applications, illegally securing more than $220,000 in federal grant money. Federal officials described the scam as "perhaps the largest centralized fraud ... ever committed in the history of the Pell Grant program."^[3][4] Moreover, the University provided over $400,000 worth of other, improper payments to Miami football players. The NCAA also ruled that the University failed to wholly implement its drug-testing program, and permitted three football student-athletes to compete without being subject to the required disciplinary measures specified in the policy.^[5]

Shapiro allegations

According to news reports, from 2002 through the end of Dee's tenure, booster Nevin Shapiro provided Miami football and basketball players with numerous benefits that violated NCAA rules including hundreds of thousands of dollars, gifts, prostitutes, access to yachts and housing, and expensive social events.^[2]

After leaving Miami, Dee was chairman of the Committee on Infractions at the NCAA, the committee responsible for enforcing NCAA rules and punishing violators. He oversaw the investigation into the University of Southern California's improper relationship with Reggie Bush. Wrote Stewart Mandel of Sports Illustrated:

Dee, you may recall, was the Committee on Infractions chairman for USC's much-publicized case last summer involving former stars Reggie Bush and O.J. Mayo. It was Dee who, in announcing some of the stiffest penalties of the last 20 years (a two-year bowl ban and 30 docked scholarships), closed with the preachy reminder that "high-profile athletes demand high-profile compliance. Dee, Miami's AD during most of the period covering Shapiro's allegations, is retired and no longer under NCAA jurisdiction. Still, it seems only fair he should spend a day at USC's Heritage Hall wearing a sandwich board with the word "Hypocrite."^[6]

Personal

Dee graduated from the University of Florida in 1970 with his Bachelor of Arts. Later he went on to the University of Miami where he earned his Master's degree in 1973, and his Juris Doctorate in 1977.

Dee began his career at the University of Miami, when he started as lawyer for this institution. He received the position of Vice-President and General Counsel back in 1981. In 1993, Dee was named the athletic director for the Miami Hurricanes.

References