A Florida Board of Governors committee, today, voted unanimously to lend its support to allowing the FAMU Board of Trustees to forgive roughly $4 million in longstanding athletic debt, marking a symbolic turning point for the program and removing it from under constant BOG/state scrutiny.
In 2018, an audit revealed that FAMU had improperly transferred $8.6 million from auxiliary funds—such as housing and dining revenues—to cover athletic department deficits, violating state regulations. The revelation led to the resignation of then-CFO Wanda Ford, who later filed a whistleblower lawsuit alleging she had disclosed the transfers to former president Larry Robinson and former BOT Chair Kelvin Lawson. Two other financial officers were also dismissed and joined the suit. An internal audit later found nearly $3 million had been transferred to athletics in violation of university and state policies. Ford's lawsuit was later dismissed.
In response to the debacle, the university implemented a strict 29-year repayment plan under oversight from the Board of Governors. Since then, FAMU has repaid more than half the original sum while consistently balancing its athletic budget, a turnaround frequently noted during Thursday’s discussion.
In recent years, FAMU athletics had been paying about $125,000 a year on the debt, with the FAMU Foundation kicking in another $267,000, for total of about $395,000 annually.
“They’ve done the work. They’ve met every obligation,” said Aubrey Edge, chair of the BOG's Audit and Compliance Committee who teed-up the forgiveness motion. “Given the changes to regulation and their improved fiscal health, it no longer makes sense to treat this as a debt.”
Those regulatory changes proved central to the committee’s reasoning. Last year, the Board of Governors amended Regulation 9.013, which now permits state universities to transfer up to $22.5 million per year from auxiliary operations to athletics, effectively authorizing the type of funding that had once landed FAMU in trouble.
“It would be unfair to require repayment for something that is no longer a violation,” said BOG Chair Alan Levine. “The context has fundamentally changed.”
Some members initially questioned whether a formal vote was necessary, since the Board of Governors does not hold the debt itself, FAMU’s trustees do. But a motion was ultimately put forward to “go on the record” supporting the forgiveness, provided any future auxiliary transfers stay within the $22.5 million annual cap.
“This isn’t about setting precedent,” said Chair Levine. “It’s about acknowledging their progress and aligning with updated policy.”
The motion passed with no opposition. The full Board of Governors is expected to adopt the committee's recommendation tomorrow at its formal meeting clearing the way for the FAMU BOT to formally discharge the debt in the coming weeks, a move that would free up foundation funds and offer the athletic department greater flexibility as it navigates rising costs and the new era of name, image, and likeness compensation.