WEST VIRGINIA RECORD

CHARLESTON – State Attorney General Patrick Morrisey announced April 15 that West Virginia University should re-bid its media rights following his investigation.

Six weeks after getting involved, Morrisey has decided that there were problems in WVU’s awarding of a contract that would allow West Virginia Media and IMG College to handle athletic broadcasts.

West Virginia Radio Corp. owner John Raese raised concerns about the process. His company has long held the TV and radio rights.

“Let me be clear, this review found no proof of intentional wrongdoing and intentional interference in the process in order to derive a predetermined outcome,” Morrisey said.

“However, this report highlights areas where the university should take some specific steps in order to eliminate any appearance of improprieties.”

WVU has agreed to re-bid the contract, according to a press release.

“I want to thank Attorney General Patrick Morrisey and his staff for a detailed review and a clear set of recommendations,” WVU President Jim Clements said.

“It is clear from this report that mistakes were made in the procurement process, and we will take proactive steps to fix them. Starting over is simply the right thing to do.”

Morrisey’s report was 24 pages long and listed five findings:

-The multimedia rights contract is revenue-generating and not required to be placed through a competitive RFP process under either the West Virginia Code or the West Virginia University Procurement Rules;

-Based upon the proposals and identified criteria, the record supports the university’s decision to invite IMG College to engage in negotiations for a contract;

-The procurement process utilized in the evaluation and selection of proposals was flawed, incomplete, and/or not in accordance with the RFP or the university’s procurement rules;

-(Board of Governors) chair Andrew Payne should have recused himself from any and all participation in this matter and improperly continued to receive information about the process; and

-BOG member David Alvarez did not adhere to the BOG operating procedure relating to conflicts of interest or recusal.

Raese’s complaints centered on Payne, who serves on West Virginia Media’s board of directors and held a major stake in it until last year, according to a February report in the Charleston Gazette.

“Payne should have disclosed his financial interest in WV Media and recused himself from voting, discussing and participating in the RFP process,” the report says.

Alvarez should have done the same because of his financial interest in WV Media Holdings, the report says.

Other errors listed in the report include:

-All Evaluation Committee Members were not afforded a timely opportunity to vote, leading to two of six members not voting;

-There was not strict adherence to confidentiality provisions of the RFP and university rules;

-Payne made public statements during the pendency of the process implying knowledge of the financial terms of the proposals despite lacking actual knowledge;

-The Procurement Office and a consultant did not properly document conversations with proposers or potential proposers; and

-The evaluation of the proposals did not conform to RFP criteria.

All current proposals should be rejected and the multimedia rights matter should be re-bid, Morrisey concluded.

From the West Virginia Record: Reach John O’Brien at jobrienwv@gmail.com.