Eleven UW-Madison coaches incurred charges of more than $3,000 each on their cell phones, causing the UW-Athletic Department to spend $180,000 on cell phone bills for the 2003-'04 school year.
Denise Ianello, a women's basketball assistant, and Troy Ward, the associate head coach for men's hockey, led the way with bills of $8,605.43 and $8,450.22, respectively. Out of the 158 people issued cell phones in the Athletic Department, 54 coaches, administrators, medical personnel and managers cost the university over $1,000 in cell phone bills this past year, the Wisconsin State Journal reported.
The high bill is expected to be reviewed by government officials as part of a continued audit of state-owned cell phone usage.
State auditors are reviewing how all of the state's 10,000 taxpayer-funded cell phones are being used, with a final report expected this spring.
UW-Madison Deputy Athletic Director Jamie Pollard estimates he could reduce the bill for the department by $100,000, but the state contract prevents the athletic department from securing a cheaper cell phone provider, the Wisconsin State Journal reported. The state still has one year remaining on its five-year contract with U.S. Cellular.
Recruitment of new athletes is a major cause of the high the bill. UW-Madison senior and former women's basketball player Shawna Nicols received recruitment calls from the university once a week.
\They'd call and say hi, see how I was doing and how classes are going,"" said Nicols. ""It's usually during the season, checking up on games and scores.""
Although some say UW-Madison coaches spent too much time this past year on their cell phones, UW-Madison sophomore and member of the women's golf team Nicole Morse believes the recruitment phone calls are an important part of the recruiting process.
""It's more of a chance to get to know the coach. It's so hard to get to know the coach in one recruiting visit, so all the upcoming phone calls before the visit helps a lot,"" said Morse. ""Our head coach has girls coming from Spain, Nebraska, South Dakota and California.""
UW-Madison representatives were unavailable for comment.
