Arkansas Sports 360 reported last night that Chuck Dicus was out as head of the Razorback Foundation. Neither their item nor the D-G this morning offered insight to the change.

It might be simply a reflection of the change of administration at UA from Frank Broyles to Jeff Long.

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If so, it only underscores the point I want to make. Not that anybody else much cares. The D-G repeated the boilerplate line that the Razorback Foundation is private and not subject to public disclosure laws. It’s not so simple and I think the Foundation is only a thinly disguised quasi-public entity.

The state of the law may be widely understood to shield the foundation, it is by no means a settled question. In other states, outsiders have accessed athletic foundation records for the simple reason that most of them couldn’t exist without a hefty infusion of what I believe to be public money. A huge chunk of Razorback Foundation operating cash comes for premiums paid for better seating at Razorback sporting events. It’s simple. Rent of public facilities — handled by public employees up and down the line — stocks the Foundation’s treasury. Only a successful lawsuit would dislodge this information, however

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The D-G, with its deep pockets and a worthy record on FOI matters, ought to take a look at this one.

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