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Investigation: UT Spirit Team failed to keep track of cash, coordinator had $2K in her home

The state Comptroller's Office released its report Thursday. It's been turned over to Knox County prosecutors.

KNOXVILLE, Tennessee — The University of Tennessee Spirit Team needs some serious lessons in bookkeeping.

That's the conclusion of a state Comptroller's Report released Thursday that found numerous oversights, flaws and questions about how the team has handled money in recent years.

Among the problems: The team apparently collected some $1,580 in cash receipts that it couldn't account for. The money dated from a 2017 clinic and 2018 cheer tryouts. It never was deposited, according to a report.

The investigation, spanning January 2017 through Aug. 31, 2018, showed multiple people had access to collections and sometimes kept money at their house.

RELATED: UT cheer coach retires, discrimination investigation closed as a result after finding evidence of 'demeaning treatment'

"Due to a lack of internal controls, investigators were unable to determine who was responsible for the missing money," the report states.

UT Athletics has taken several steps to improve accountability and oversight of the Spirit Program over the past nearly two years, according to a statement Thursday from Tom Satkowiak, associate athletic director for communications.

"In addition to fostering a healthy and safe environment for the students within the program, we have also reinforced and introduced new processes and protocols as it pertains to fiscal and administrative management," the statement reads.

As a state investigation was underway earlier this year, the spirit team coordinator in June "claimed that she found at her residence a packet containing cash totaling approximately $2,047 as well as Spirit Team related documents, which included donated vouchers for smoothies and receipts totaling $277 for purchases made with cash."

The coordinator is not named in the report.

The money she said she found at home ended up going to the UTK Athletics Business Office in August, according to the Comptroller's Office.

Investigators found other irregularities.

"During our investigation, Spirit Team personnel found an envelope in an unsecured desk drawer located in the Spirit Team office that contained cash totaling $275.50," according to the report.

Spirit Team personnel said they thought the cash probably was for uniforms. They receipted it and deposited it with UTK's Athletics' Business Office.

The Comptroller's investigation has been referred to the Knox County District Attorney's Office, according to the report.

DA's Office spokesman Sean McDermott said, "We have received the report and are reviewing it contents."

Satkowiak on Thursday listed several specific changes that have been made:

*Per diem cards were issued for travel beginning in October 2017.

*Starting in summer 2018, Spirit Squad appearances were requested and processed online.

*As of August 2018, the Spirit Squad began sending requests to the Athletics Business Office to invoice the requester directly. Accounts Receivable is monitored per University of Tennessee policy, according to the statement.

*Cash or a credit card are now the only acceptable form of payment, and receipts are provided.

*Camps and clinics are run through the Athletic Department’s online camp system, allowing for electronic payment and receipting.

*Gift card transactions were cut out beginning in the fall of 2018.

"The program administrator, Spirit staff and business office staff conduct regular meetings, and the use of cash has been significantly reduced as it relates to meals, travel, camps and clinics," Satkowiak's statement reads.

The Spirit Team includes Smokey's handlers as well as cheer, dance, and mascot teams.

Longtime UT Cheer Coach Joy Postell-Gee retired in July. She'd been on paid leave about a year while the UT Office of Equity and Diversity, or OED, conducted an investigation into whether she had discriminated against several students.

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