SALT LAKE CITY — Hoping to put the issue finally to rest, Utah’s Speaker of the House Greg Hughes defended the Legislature’s decision to audit the University of Utah athletics department Friday.
Speaking to ESPN700, Hughes defended the audit as a necessary and regularly occurring step the Legislature takes part in to ensure that a state-run institution is handling taxpayer money in an appropriate manner.
The intent of the audit, according to Hughes, was to establish a proper balance in the university’s hierarchy system between university President David Pershing and athletics director Chris Hill, and to ensure that no department within a state-run university was “untouchable.