Former Oshkosh baseball coach asks to reopen case against university administration

Tom Lechnir, former UW-Oshkosh baseball coach, asked the courts to reopen his 2014 lawsuits against former UW-Oshkosh officials following a lawsuit filed by the Wisconsin Department of Justice against those officials for mishandling funds.

Lechnir sued former Chancellor Richard Wells and former Vice Chancellor of Administrative Service Thomas Sonnleitner for not renewing his contract after he accused Wells of diverting funds for a new baseball stadium, the Oshkosh Sports Complex, without notifying donors.

The Oshkosh Sports Complex is one of the building projects Wells and Sonnleitner are accused of illegally backing in the DOJ and UW System’s lawsuit against them. Additionally, the lawsuit alleges the pair illegally transferred up to $11 million to the university’s private foundation to help fund the projects.

Lechnir alleged that Wells created, and failed to pay, debt on the stadium by diverting money Lechnir raised to the sports complex. After making these allegations, Lechnir received his first sub-standard rating of his 31-year career and was told stadium debt was partially due to his administrative failings as a coach.

The former coach called his contract’s non-renewal improper and unconstitutional when he filed a state lawsuit in 2013 and a federal lawsuit in 2014. Lechnir believes that Wells attempted to set him up as responsible for failures with the construction of the Oshkosh Sports Complex, according to his lawsuit.

The state DOJ defended Wells and Sonneliner against Lechnir’s suit, which was dismissed only two days before the same department filed a suit against the pair for mishandling university funds.

DOJ spokesperson Johnny Koremenos told the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel the department understands the conflict of interest and has referred Lechnir's state and federal cases to the governor's office.