New Mexico AD Krebs organized luxury golf trip on university's dime
New Mexico athletic director Paul Krebs finds himself under fire after a recent investigation concluded that Krebs paid for a 23-person luxury golf vacation to Scotland using public funds, according to Larry Barker of KRQE News.
Krebs, who organized the golf vacation in June 2015, charged each participant a total of $8,189 to tag along to some of Scotland's most notable golf courses, according to Barker's investigation. The New Mexico Athletic Department reportedly covered "tens of thousands of dollars" on airfare, travel agency fees, luxury hotels, and rounds of golf, according to the report.
Krebs defended his actions earlier this month, but acknowledged that some people could have seen the spending as unjustifiable.
"The trip was a working trip and it was designed to immerse us with these donors. It was an intensive experience and I understand why people may question it," Krebs said earlier this month.
Acting New Mexico president Chaouki Abdallah responded by saying that the trip was an irresponsible use of funds.
"This is not where university funds should be should be spent. I want the public to know that in the future we will not be using university funds for such activities," Abdallah said.
Abdallah later expressed his displeasure when further details of the vacation were revealed to him by Krebs, who said that it wasn't only athletic department personnel who had their trips covered, but also local businessmen.
"VP Krebs came to me and told me that he wanted to tell me something that he had forgotten or did not tell me before," Abdallah said. "I was not happy."
Despite Krebs' apparent error in judgment, Abdallah stated that Krebs assured him that he would do what he could to make things right with the university.
"He told me about it in no uncertain terms," President Abdallah said. "He didn't try to sugarcoat it. He said I made a mistake. I didn't tell you about it before. Here's what happened. I'm going to try to fix it."
No word of any sort of discipline for Krebs has been released.