Texas men's AD Mike Perrin is "exploring whether the athletic department is best served by firing The Aspire Group and turning season-ticket sales operations back over to the Longhorn Foundation," according to sources cited by Brian Davis of the AUSTIN AMERICAN-STATESMAN. Perrin on Thursday said he "doesn't believe in breaking contracts." But he confirmed that he has "started conversations with" Aspire Group Chair & CEO Bernie Mullin to "get out of what was expected to be a five-year deal." Perrin: "I don’t have a problem with Aspire, personally. To me, it’s a philosophical situation. ... I just don’t think we need that kind of personnel, that kind of overhead, that kind of factor dealing with selling tickets to University of Texas sporting events." Davis notes turning ticket sales back over to the Longhorn Foundation "would raise eyebrows." A 16-month university audit released last year revealed "widespread abuses inside the Longhorn Foundation regarding ticketing." Employees "were found to receive gifts and other kickbacks for giving preferential treatment to favored donors." Foundation employees "had access to ticket printing machines and were able to print off untold numbers of tickets, thereby removing them from the system, and then either giving them away or selling on their own." The audit found UT "could not accurately gauge how much revenue had been lost over the years" (AUSTIN AMERICAN-STATESMAN, 7/1).
