Pride Practice Facility: Denials and Deceit

  • The County Commissioner who  bragged six months ago that he “brokered a deal with WVU and Mylan Park” now claims: “There was never a deal.”
  • The WVU Dean behind the Mylan Park scheme now claims credit for finding The Pride an on-campus location. But how involved was he?
  • WVU blocks Vernissage efforts to find answers to ongoing questions.

Exclusive:  A Vernissage Magazine Investigation – Part 8

(Editor’s note: This Saturday, April 27, West Virginia University will hold its annual Gold-Blue Spring Football Game. Members of the WVU Alumni Band will perform at the game. The Alumni Band organization was one of the driving forces behind the campaign to build WVU’s Pride of West Virginia Marching Band a new, state-of-the-art practice facility.

After several articles in this ongoing investigation were published – and as a result of significant donor and alumni outcry – the university administration scrapped a controversial plan use $1.25 million in private contributions to build an artificial turf football field for the privately-owned and politically-connected Mylan Park recreation complex. Those funds had been solicited for construction of an on-campus practice facility for the Pride of West Virginia Marching Band.

As one university professor stated, “A move to Mylan Park would have destroyed the marching band.”

Although the Mylan Park scheme has been scuttled, Vernissage Magazine believes that continued investigation is in the public interest. The goal: to shed light on the activities and motivations of those complicit in the scheme that threatened a treasured state institution.)

 

On March 25, 2024, WVU announced the cancellation of its plan to use $1.25 million in donor funds to build an artificial turf field at privately-owned Mylan Park. The plan had raise the ire of scores of donors, because the money was solicited with the promise that their contributions would be used to build an on-campus practice facility for the Pride of West Virginia marching band.

The WVU statement announcing the scuttling of the scheme promises: “We want to assure you those and future gifts will be used as originally intended.”

WVU now pledges to abide by its promise to build the Pride Practice Facility on the university campus. The new location is WVU’s Med Fields recreation complex, adjacent to the university Medical Center.

The day after that announcement, on March 26, County Commissioner Tom Bloom posted on his social media site, for the first time publicly addressing the controversy over the Mylan Park scheme in which he was instrumental.

In his post, Bloom denied that a deal with Mylan Park ever existed:

“No money was transferred, there was never a deal,” Bloom wrote, “and all of this could have been easily rectified if they called the WVU Foundation and asked if the money was there. I can only guess that the people did not want the truth because it did not make a good story.”

Bloom said that when he met with WVU Dean Keith Jackson on August 22, 2023, “I was informed that Hawley Field was a non-starter. That WVU was not willing to give the land to the band for its exclusive use.”

But the fact is Hawley Field – the former baseball stadium site that the WVU Athletic Department pledged to The Pride for its practice facility – was never intended to be exclusive to the band. Numerous university documents state that the new practice field was always meant to be shared. The very first announcement of the Pride Practice Facility in November of 2019 states: “When the band is not practicing, the facility will be open to WVU Athletics and the College of Physical Activity and Sport Sciences.” The university’s original planning document notes: “The playing field will be multi-purpose and WVU Athletics will share use of the field when the marching band is not using it.”

Bloom further claimed that Jackson, “sought out my guidance knowing my background with the band and knowing that I knew all of the parties at Mylan Park. He (Jackson) basically asked me if I could put the two of them together to explore this possibility… between WVU, the Band and Mylan Park, this was my sole involvement.”

But documents obtained through the Freedom of Information Act show that, in fact, it was Bloom himself – along with his fellow county commissioners – who met with Mylan Park Board members on August 28 of last year.

Keith Jackson was not present at the meeting.

In his March 26 post Bloom claimed, “Locating the field at Mylan Park was in no way my idea.”

Yet immediately after the August 28 meeting, Bloom contacted Jackson. In an email obtained through the Freedom of Information Act, Bloom wrote: “I brought up an idea about the band being out at Mylan… All of this was done behind closed doors.”

Bloom says that when, on October 20, 2023, he announced to alumni and donors, “I brokered a deal with WVU and Mylan Park” people did not understand the meaning of the word ‘brokered’. He claims he meant only that he arranged to get the parties together: “This was all that I did. Several weeks later,” Bloom now claims, “they contacted me to look at the Mylan field and they explained their concept.”

But emails obtained through the Freedom of Information Act show that Bloom met with Mylan Park board members, not “several weeks later’, but in fact just six days after his meeting with Jackson.

Despite his current claim that arranging a meeting was his “sole involvement”, the documents obtained by Vernissage Magazine show Bloom was extensively involved in planning the field that those complicit in the scheme intended to build at Mylan Park. Bloom exchanged numerous emails with Jackson, Mylan Park officials, and others about the planned field location, the field dimensions, and the potential use of nearby existing Mylan Park pavilions. He even sent Jackson, Mylan Park Board President Ron Justice, and WVU Director of Bands Scott Tobias an MP4 drone video of the Mylan Park field site: “I was wondering if you could use them or we could share them, once an announcement is made,” Bloom wrote. “This is a huge file, but I have a flash drive with about ten videos. Tell me what you think.”

There are sixty-six comments on Bloom’s March 26 social media post. Many of those who commented found his claims disingenuous.

Sean Sawyer called Bloom’s post, “Political spin, only because of community pressure to do the right thing,” he wrote, “the right thing is being done.”

“I understand CYA when I see it,” Shaun Moyers commented, “and this is most definitely it.”

Marissa Ridenour was among several individuals who took issue with Bloom’s claims: “There was never a deal, and all of this could have been easily rectified if they called the WVU Foundation and asked if the money was there,” she repeated, and then she wrote, “Funny how there are so many people saying that they tried to ask questions at Homecoming and they were silenced by you.”

“Lots of people asked,” commented Sandy Sibray, “and it took FOIA to get what little facts that have been available. If all that was needed was to ask, then why were so many of us stonewalled? Many people called the WVU Foundation … but the details were always evaded.”

“Yeah,” added Jennifer Beach, “nice try but many, many of us called the Foundation and got crickets.”

“There is the crux of the problem,” wrote Aaron Dean. “We did ask questions, only to be told next to nothing, or even asked “What makes you think you deserve those answers.” And yes, I still have the screen shot of that.”

Others questioned Bloom’s statements that there was “never a deal”, that “no money was transferred. And said they certainly were aware of the definition of the word “brokered”.

“Brokered…” Craig Campbell wrote, “implies more than just arranging a meeting between two groups that certainly have figured out a way to meet without a middleman.”

“If there was no deal, why did you announce it at Homecoming?” Beach asked. “If there was no deal, why all this stonewalling and name-calling?”

Band alumna Alicia Mazon concurred, remarking: “A lot of us were at Homecoming. Maybe you misunderstood how you presented this whole thing and told us to be grateful. If anyone spoke up, you yelled louder.”

“How can you say there wasn’t any type of deal when it was announced to alumni?” asked Kate Eakins. “It’s like going to a bank with a gun out and saying you’re going to rob the place, but you didn’t get the money so there wasn’t a fault committed since money didn’t change hands. You guys did wrong, you guys got publicly called out.”

“What a load of garbage Bloom wrote.” Zach Bloom (no relation) commented on an alumni site. “He’s just trying to cover himself, and it looks horrible since we all know the truth.”

Mazon commented: “Did Tom black out the whole Homecoming message he presented? I was there. He screamed at anyone who tried to ask a question. He said we should be grateful.”

Others called Bloom’s claim that “no money was transferred” a stalking horse.

The truth is that the WVU Foundation stated from the very beginning that the donated funds would not be transferred to Mylan Park. On November 3, 2023, WVU Foundation CEO Cynthia Roth wrote, in response to a Vernissage Magazine inquiry: “The funds will be disbursed for the construction of the WVU owned practice facility and will not be diverted to the Mylan Park Foundation or any other intermediary foundation.”

“To say the anger was about where the cash actually ended up is a misdirect,” commented donor A.S. “It was about what the cash was being SPENT on. We all know the cash remained with the Foundation. But what we had questions about was about the ownership and control of the physical asset that was to be built with that cash. Money changing hands was never the issue. The issue was WVU building a field at Mylan Park, and the fact that Mylan Park would use it as an athletic field.”

Jeffrey Carver commented on the overall lack of transparency in the Mylan plan. Donated funds were targeted, tax-exempt organizations were involved, and elected public officials and public employees were behind the plan. Yet the details were shrouded in secrecy despite repeated requests for information from donors: “All this combines to paint a picture (real or perceived) that there was something hinky going on,” he wrote. “This yet another lesson for those people in power to remain transparent, which seems to be something that has not been learned.”

Band alumni Justin Click summed up the comments of many, writing:

“Oh Tom… I’m so ashamed of who you’ve become. You got caught in a dirty deal. Don’t make it worse by trying to spin this and insult our intelligence. Bow out gracefully and don’t make this any worse by acting like we’re all stupid. You announced this at Homecoming in front of EVERYONE. There are press releases… official public statements from the university… and Mylan Park themselves! We live in the digital age Tom, EVERYTHING is on camera and there’s no way you can make all of us forget your behavior, actions, and language. You’ve stabbed us all in the back once already, don’t make it worse by calling us all stupid as you spit in our eyes…”

“Ashamed is putting it lightly,” added Dylan Johnson. “He’s a complete embarrassment to the county and himself,” adding the hashtag, “#voteanybodybutbloom2024.”

At the end of the comments thread on Bloom’s social media page, alumni Sean Sawyer wrote:

“Tom Bloom, please do not ghost this discussion. Reasonable requests are being made for you to make further comment, and not one that starts with “it’s all everybody else’s fault and I’m the hero.” You owe us all that much…now’s your chance…”

Tom Bloom did not respond to a single comment.

 

False Heroes and Praise for Mylan Park

In his March 25 letter to Pride of West Virginia supporters, WVU Dean Keith Jackson wrote: “After an October announcement outlining plans to shift the project to Mylan Park, we listened to concerns about the move to an off-campus location. Since then, I have met with various stakeholders and worked with the University to seek out a suitable on-campus site… The Med Fields, which were not previously available due to potential development, located next to Mountaineer Station on the Health Sciences Campus have been identified as the best option.”

Jackson, who has consistently refused to respond to donor or media questions about the Mylan Park scheme, thanked Mylan Park, “for its continued support and for being a tremendous community partner.”

In his letter, Jackson claimed, “I have met with stakeholders and listened to concerns and worked with the university to seek out a suitable on-campus location.”

WVU refused to fulfill a Vernissage Freedom of Information request asking for documentation about the identity of those stakeholders, why the Med Fields suddenly became available, when the renewed effort to find an on-campus location for the Pride Practice Facility began, and who was involved in seeking out the new site.

But Vernissage Magazine did obtain the minutes of the WVU Planning Committee meeting at which the Pride Practice Facility move to the on-campus Med Fields site was approved.

Dean Keith Jackson did not attend the meeting.

 

No Questionable Deed Goes Unrewarded…

In a late March discussion on the social site Reddit, a poster commented about reports of members of The Pride being ordered to not talk about the Mylan Park move (‘Students Shamed and Silenced”, Vernissage Magazine, March 22, 2024).

“The silencing of the students really infuriated me,” wrote the original poster.

Wrote another: “What these administrators did is not only against university policy, but also is illegal.”

“As a recent grad,” yet another wrote, “I can’t say I’m surprised.”

According to an email obtained through the Freedom of Information Act, WVU’s Director of Bands shamed and humiliated students who openly expressed concerns about the Mylan Park plan. “…students,” the author wrote in a complaint to Keith Jackson, “were told they were an embarrassment to their school and state by their Director of Bands.”

WVU’s Director of Bands is Scott Tobias. Newly obtained documents show that Tobias was involved in the initial August 22, 2023, meeting with Keith Jackson, Tom Bloom, and WVU Foundation staffer Jennifer Jordan, in which the scheme to divert donated funds to benefit Mylan Park was hatched. “It’s on the calendar,” Tobias wrote to Jackson, Bloom, and Jordan in an email on August 16.

In discussion about the silencing and humiliation of outspoken band members, Tobias became the subject of derision from commenters.

“Scott Tobias is one of the worst things to have ever happened to the School of Music,” wrote Reddit commenter Tubadude2.

“Can’t disagree,” acknowledged Kjbtetrick, the original poster of the thread.

Scott Tobias – 2024 Bandmaster of the Year

On April 24, WVU announced that Scott Tobias was named the 2024 West Virginia Bandmaster of the Year by the regional chapter of the honorary fraternity of band directors.

 

Finale

The Pride of West Virginia has once again been promised an on-campus site for its planned state-of-the-art practice facility.

WVU pledges, henceforth, to use donations to the Pride Practice Facility for the purpose for which they were solicited, and that donors expect.

Many of those complicit in the scheme to divert Pride contributions to benefit the Mylan Park Foundation – including Dean Keith Jackson – remain silent about their motives.

But many questions remain:

    • Who and what initiated the scheme to use The Pride’s funds at Mylan Park?
    • What was the involvement of the WVU Athletic Department, which had pledged Hawley Field to the marching band? Did the Athletic Department go back on the promise of the Hawley Field site to The Pride? If so, why?
    • What oversight does the WVU Foundation have over its University Relations staff members, one of whom was intimately involved in the plot to redirect restricted donor funds to Mylan Park?
    • Why are high-ranking WVU administrators permitted to sit on the boards of organizations that do extensive business with West Virginia University? And where do their loyalties lie?
    • Why is WVU – a university that is tens of millions of dollars in debt, slashing entire degree programs, and laying off scores of respected educators – so keen on focusing on and investing in ‘community involvement’ with a private recreational center to the exclusion of the university’s primary mission of affordable education?
    • And, last but by no means least, was the attempt to plunder the Pride of West Virginia’s donated funds just the tip of an iceberg of a broader scheme to pillage the coffers of WVU for the benefit of private interests?

In March and early April, Vernissage Magazine filed a series of Freedom of Information requests seeking answers to some of these questions. The requests were near completely denied by WVU attorneys. Initial FOI requests filed in November 2023 yielded scores of documents. The most recent requests produced fewer than a dozen pages.

“It seems apparent,” as Rich McGervey commented on Tom Bloom’s social post, “no matter who made the decision, a decision was made without consulting a majority of the interested parties, especially the band members, and it’s now taken how many months for the facts to come out… which hints more and more at people doing a CYA!”

When the Alumni Band plays at WVU’s Gold-Blue Game this weekend, band supporters and alumni members will be within a few dozen yards of the Med Fields site where the university now pledges to build the long-promised on-campus Pride Practice Facility.

If Tom Bloom attends, he may find some Alumni Band members not nearly as enamored by his charm as they once were.

“As a county commissioner, I was a fan of his until his true colors came out,” one alum recently wrote in an online chat. “I hope political ads are no longer permitted…”

“The political drum needs to go,” another commented. “He’s been doing it for years, even though the Athletic Department rules say no political advertising. The Commissioner needs to get with the program and start following the rules.”

Some alumni were far less generous: “He should be banned from the Alumni Band,” one suggested.

“Regardless of personal feelings,” another replied, “I don’t think he can actually be banned… After all, he is a dues-paying member.”

“If he doesn’t get banned,” wrote a third, “that drum promoting himself should never see the light of day at another Alumni Band event.”

Upcoming in Vernissage Magazine:

    • New Freedom of Information requests are filed, but now WVU refuses to cooperate. What might the university administration be hiding?
    • Conflicts and Influence – What is the Mylan Park Foundation? What connection do its board members have to private partnership projects with WVU and the WVU Foundation?

The investigation continues…

Upload a PDF of this Article: Pride and Prevarication Part 8 – Denials and Deceit

Pride and Prevarication – Part 8 – Denials and Deceit © 2024 by Vernissage LLC – John D. McPherson is licensed under CC BY-NC-ND 4.0 

 

 

 

Pride Practice Facility: Et Tu Bloom? Betrayal by a Trusted Ally

  • Donors want answers from the university. But the man who ‘brokered a deal’ asks: “Why do they have to give answers to you?
  • Commissioner says Mylan Park is “becoming WVU’s new campus.”

Exclusive:  A Vernissage Magazine Investigation – Part 7

(Editor’s note: This article was prepared prior to the March 25, 2024, announcement that WVU has scrapped its plan to move the Pride of West Virginia marching band practice facility to privately-owned Mylan Park. After several articles in this investigation were published – and as a result of significant donor and alumni outcry – the university administration found space on the WVU campus to build the promised, state-of-the-art Pride Practice Facility. However, Vernissage Magazine believes that the information obtained in the development of this and upcoming articles in this series is in the public interest, as it sheds light on the activities of those involved in the Mylan Park scheme.)

In the 1970s, Tom Bloom was one of the student leaders of the West Virginia University marching band. His beats on a big bass drum sent the band into motion. Band members counted them to their step-off: ‘Bloom, Bloom… Bloom-Bloom-Bloom.’

With blue eyes and a broad smile, Bloom’s charm was an inspiration to his fellow band members.

Over the years, as he advanced from school counselor to Morgantown City Councilman to President of the Monongalia County Commission, the former bass drummer was always considered a staunch supporter of WVU’s Pride of West Virginia marching band.

So, it was surprising to many band alumni that they would come to view Tom Bloom as the man who betrayed The Pride.

The Alumni Band organization has, for years, been a driving force behind the effort to build a state-of-the-art marching band practice facility on the WVU campus, one that would equal or surpass those of rival universities. Many Alumni Band members donated to the fund created to build the facility..

Yet on October 20, 2023, Tom Bloom announced at the group’s Homecoming gathering that he had “brokered a deal” to use the band’s $1.25 million in private contributions to build an artificial turf field at Mylan Park, a privately-owner recreation center located nearly five miles away from campus. On the Alumni band social media site, Bloom had been promoting that “exciting news” would come out at the group’s homecoming event.

But far from being excited, many alumni felt victimized by what they perceived as misuse of their donations. Some called it a ‘bait and switch’ scheme, saying they had contributed based on explicit promises that the practice facility would be built on the Evansdale Campus site of Hawley Field, the former WVU baseball stadium, and that the facility would look like the renderings they had been shown in donor solicitations.

Studies: Route to Mylan Par is “deficient”

Band members and alumni alike worry that moving The Pride’s late-afternoon, four-day-a-week practices to a site so far from campus will hurt the band, especially since the University is not providing the more than 300 band members transportation to Mylan Park. Instead, students are expected to drive on their own or carpool the winding, two-lane roads to the complex.

Alumni and parents of band students worry about the potential hazards and liability of carpooling.

“The location of this facility is only going to build barriers to participation,” said one alumni. “Students shouldn’t have to travel these roads in cars to get to a class. They shouldn’t have to have a car on campus all day just so they can get to their last class in the middle of nowhere.”

“This is maddening,” echoed Nathan Burdette, “People will be shut out of the pride if they don’t have financial means.”

A major concern of many is the dangerous inadequacy of the secondary roads leading to Mylan Park, especially in late autumn darkness and inclement weather. A 2012 traffic study found the primary route to the park – Chaplin Hill Road – was “deficient” even then, burdened well beyond its capacity, with a history of “a significant number of crashes.”

People like Tom Bloom. He is charismatic. Some alumni, however, resent the way he has used his membership in the Alumni Band for his own political gain.

Bloom and his billboard bass drum

For example, he regularly plasters large ‘Re-elect Bloom’ stickers on his drum during performances.

“I take issue with the campaign signs on his bass drum,” Aaron Dean wrote in an alumni chatroom after the announcement. “Even before all this, I had a problem with that.”

“I do too,” Shaun Moyers responded. “Makes it appear that he is endorsed by the Alumni Band.”

Wrote another: “That bass drum promoting himself should never see the light of day at another Alumni Band event…”

Bloom has repeatedly insisted that he acted on his own – not as a county commissioner – when he brokered the deal between WVU and Mylan Park. He has also consistently maintained that the Monongalia County Commission was not involved in the Mylan Park scheme.

Records show that both statements are untrue:

    • Emails obtained through the Freedom of Information Act show that Bloom was acting as a County Commissioner when first approached to discuss moving the Pride Practice Facility.
    • Those emails show that days later, all three Monongalia County Commissioners met with Mylan Park Foundation directors and WVU administrators in what Bloom described as a “behind-closed-doors” meeting where the Mylan Park scheme was concocted.

 

Entangled Interests: County Commissioners, WVU and Mylan Park

Documents obtained through the Freedom of Information Act show that Bloom was contacted on August 9, 2023, by WVU College of Creative Arts Dean Keith Jackson. They arranged to meet, along with WVU Foundation staff member Jennifer Jordan, on August 22. The emails arranging the meeting – obtained by Vernissage Magazine through the Freedom of Information Act – specifically state that Bloom would attend “…as County Commissioner.”

On August 28, all three Monongalia County Commissioners, WVU Vice President and Director of Athletics Wren Baker, and WVU’s Director of Local Government Relations Ron Justice gathered in an unannounced meeting of commissioners. In an email immediately after that meeting, obtained by Vernissage Magazine, Bloom wrote to Jackson:

“We discussed several issues and I brought up an idea about the band field being out at Mylan. Please call me… Ron and I came up with an idea that everyone thought would be a good proposal. I am excited to talk with you. All of this was done behind closed doors.”

Wren Baker, County Commissioner Sean Sikora, and Ron Justice are all members of the Mylan Park Foundation Board of Directors. Justice is the board’s President.

Bloom and Jackson have publicly stated their reasons why the Pride of West Virginia Practice Facility can’t be built on the site that was promised to band members and donors.

A Vernissage Magazine review of WVU records indicates that the reasons given are dubious.

  • Bloom and Jackson have both stated that The Pride would not have priority usage at the originally promised on-campus site. But WVU internal documents clearly state that the band would be priority user of the facility.
  • Bloom stated the on-campus site was not guaranteed to have stadium lights. WVU internal documents include lighting in the initial construction costs.
  • Bloom claimed an on-campus field would cost “over $2.5 million.” WVU internal documents and field construction contractors estimate the current cost at roughly $1.15 million or less, well within the Pride’s donated funding.
  • Jackson claimed there were drainage issues at the promised on-campus location. Yet WVU internal documents show no evidence of concern over drainage. In fact, construction records for the planned on-campus facility include adequate drainage in the contract proposal. Donor solicitations say the first phase of the facility includes drainage installation. The Mylan Park site, however, has serious drainage issues.
  • Jackson has claimed the location of the promised on-campus facility didn’t have enough space. But WVU internal records and plans developed for the university by an independent architectural firm clearly demonstrate that the on-campus site has adequate space for all phases of the planned, state-of-the-art complex.

Bloom and Jackson have failed to respond to requests for documentation of their assertions.

University records and public statements made by Mylan Park Foundation board members show that Mylan Park has long wanted to have a new artificial turf football field, but has been unable to find funding.

Why would County Commissioner Tom Bloom be the one chosen to “broker a deal” to move the Pride of West Virginia’s planned practice football field to Mylan Park, and use the band’s $1.25 million in private donations to build it?

Public records show that Tom Bloom has close ties to several Mylan Park Foundation directors, including Mylan Park Board President Ron Justice, and Directors Susan Riddle and Sean Sikora.

Bloom and Sikora have served together on the Monongalia County Commission since 2016. Sikora took over from Bloom as president of the commission at the beginning of this year.

Ron Justice and Susan Riddle both spoke publicly in the fall of 2023 about Mylan Park’s need to find a way to finance a new artificial turf athletic field to keep the park competitive with other regional sports complexes.

Prior to the Mylan Park scheme becoming public, Ron Justice told a radio interviewer that the Foundation was, “…seeing another opportunity (to finance a new field), and – I can’t let the cat out of the bag too quick – but to potentially realize that additional field in the near future.”

Records obtained through the Freedom of Information Act show that in the weeks prior to that statement, Justice was already engaging in email conversations with Bloom, as well as Jackson, Jordan, WVU Director of Bands Scott Tobias, and other Mylan Park board directors, about the design and installation of a new field at Mylan Park, to be paid for with The Pride’s donated funds.

Susan Riddle

Days after Bloom announced WVU’s intent to use the Pride Practice Facility Fund to build an artificial turf field at Mylan Park, Mylan board director Susan Riddle was interviewed on a radio talk show. “Through use of the Pride of West Virginia’s money,” Riddle said, “We will go from one multipurpose field to two multipurpose fields. It’s a gamechanger for us.”

In an email to Jackson entitled ‘concern of band field’, Bloom wrote about having issues with upset donors and noted: “Susan Riddle was on the radio promoting the project.”

 

The Mylan Park Connections

Susan Riddle, while serving on the Mylan Park board, is also President and Chief Executive Officer of the local Mountaineer Country Convention and Visitors Bureau.  Public records show County Commissioner Tom Bloom is on Riddle’s Mountaineer Country Board of Directors.

Prior to becoming county commissioner, Bloom served alongside Ron Justice for a decade on the Morgantown City Council. Bloom was first elected Monongalia County Commissioner in 2012. According to records on file with the Monongalia County Clerk’s Office, Bloom’s campaign treasurer was Ross Justice, who, according to Democratic Party insiders and county public records, is the son of the Mylan Park Board President.

In a 2019 interview with the Morgantown Dominion Post newspaper, Bloom stated that one of his first missions as a county commissioner was to meet with WVU’s athletic director to discuss why University recreational facilities weren’t open to community members.

“We didn’t want the community closed out,” Bloom told the newspaper.

That meeting led to the University eventually moving its swimming and track facilities to Mylan Park. The $35 million aquatic center and $7 million track complex at Mylan Park are both – as will be the Pride of West Virginia’s artificial turf practice field – available for use by the community and amateur sporting events. An FAQ page posted on the WVU band website after the Mylan Park announcement states that The Pride’s donor-funded field will be available to sports teams and local marching bands: “Allowing controlled use of the field by approved groups is a gesture of good will and community engagement.” Mylan Park and WVU officials have failed to respond to Vernissage Magazine inquiries asking whether the band – which is paying to build the field – will receive any income from rental fees paid to Mylan Park.

When WVU announced building its aquatic and track complex at Mylan Park, then-Athletic Director Shane Lyons – who public records show held a seat on the Mylan Park Foundation Board of Directors – noted: “WVU already has a strong annual financial commitment in Mylan Park facilities and this partnership will enhance that financial base as the primary tenant…”

Another WVU release about the aquatic and track complex noted: “Total funding for the Mylan Park complex…will primarily come from rental agreements with WVU.” The release also quoted an unnamed Mylan Park Foundation Board member, who said of the aquatic and track complex: “It’s going to be a game-changer,” and would enhance the park’s ability to lure customers from across the region. It is the same statement Susan Riddle made after it was announced WVU would use the band’s money to build the artificial turf field that Mylan Park has long wanted.

In his public comments since announcing that he “brokered a deal” to use the WVU marching band’s contributions to fund the new athletic field at Mylan Park, Bloom has consistently stated that Monongalia County was in no way involved in the scheme. Yet documents obtained through the Freedom of Information Act show all three commissioners attended the “behind-closed-doors” meeting where the Mylan Park scheme was initiated.

In an October 25, 2023, email obtained by Vernissage Magazine through the Freedom of Information Act, Bloom discussed donors who were complaining that using band funds at Mylan Park is a misuse of their contributions. He wrote to Jackson, Jordan, and Tobias: “This is the same problem the County faced when we moved the swimming complex and track out to Mylan Park.”

In news article after news article about Mylan Park, County Commissioner Tom Bloom features prominently.

Bloom spoke at the ceremony announcing construction of WVU’s aquatic center at Mylan Park. He thanked those involved, including his colleagues at the County Commission, the Convention and Visitors Bureau for which he is a board member, the Mylan Park Foundation, and WVU; all of which also feature prominently in the marching band practice field scheme.

Bloom participated in the 2022 groundbreaking for a six-million-dollar Mylan Park bike racing facility built with government funds. At the groundbreaking, in which Justice, Riddle, and WVU President E. Gordon Gee also participated, Bloom said the collaboration, “…goes to the entire concept that we are promoting, that Mylan Park will be for everyone.”

When Monongalia County Commissioners endorsed pursuit of a grant for a $150 million highway interchange, Commissioner Bloom noted that the final product of the highway project will be a new four-lane corridor to Mylan Park.

Bloom even guested on a local TV news program, talking about Mylan Park’s programs to teach second graders how to swim.

Bloom’s long-time connections to Mylan Park did not go unnoticed to donors unhappy about contributions that were solicited for an on-campus practice site being diverted to build an athletic field at Mylan Park: “It has Tom Bloom written all over it,” wrote one donor in a now-deleted post on an Alumni Band social media site. “Dude has spent the last decade working on Mylan Park.”

 

“Why Do They Have to Give Answers to You?”

The week after announcing the Pride Practice Facility Fund would be used to build a field at Mylan Park, Bloom entered an Alumni Band chatroom, confronting alumni complaining about what they believe is misuse of donor funds.

Many alumni in the chat protested that donors were not getting answers from the University or the WVU Foundation about what, exactly, would be included in the facility at Mylan Park, or what plans were in place to ensure band students would be able to get to their new, remote practice site safely and affordably.

The chatroom conversation which follows has been edited for clarity.

“We – the alumni – were solicited for funds to build the facility,” wrote Krista Tetrick. “We have a right to know exactly what our money is being used for and the details associated with that use. Whether the powers-that-be like it or not, we are stakeholders in this project.”

Aaron Dean added: “We’ve got no idea about what’s going on or who to believe.”

“Why do they have to give answers to you?” Bloom asked.

“Your initial post said you were the one to broker the deal,” Dean replied. “As an elected official, and as this is a development project in Monongalia County, should we not be able to ask these questions to you and/or the Monongalia County Commission as well?”

“County Commission was never involved,” Bloom claimed.

“We want answers to valid questions. We want what’s best for the WVU band,” wrote Katrina Roop.

“You gave money to the Foundation for a new band field, and that is what they’re planning to do.” said Bloom.

“We’ve heard several times, including from the Dean (Keith Jackson), ‘the money was being donated for a field and that’s what it’s being used for’,” wrote Chris Carpenter, who, like many donors, contended contributions to the WVU Foundation’s Pride Practice Facility Fund should legally be restricted to the on-campus site for which they were solicited. “That’s astoundingly ignorant for any group soliciting donations. Reading the plain text of the State Code,” Carpenter wrote, “violating that standard means one is guilty of fraud.”

“This is my last response,” replied Bloom. “Have you thought that the reason they did not want to answer every question is because of the incorrect and volatile false comments that have been spread? Again, please look at your donation. It went to the WVU Foundation for a band field.”

“No,” Carpenter replied, “that did not cross my mind. It would seem that’d be a reason to answer them and clear things up, not let misunderstandings persist and jeopardize your relationship with your donor base. Don’t pretend that donors are the ones in the wrong here. It’s Insulting.”

“Students shouldn’t have to settle This is just bad business and everyone knows it,” wrote Dylan Johnson. Added Carpenter: “Ultimately I’m focused on the band.”

“Just because the ‘details’ are not made public does not mean they are not resolved,” Bloom wrote.

“Everyone has been quiet since this announcement went out,” Taylor Kinney said. “No information has been given, other than this deal was done behind closed doors.”

“The bottom line,” added another donor, “is that Mylan Park is benefitting from the alumni donations.”

“It’s becoming very clear,” Bloom replied, “that Mylan Park facilities are becoming WVU’s new campus. I hope you have a great day.” [Leaves Chat]

“Well,” said Dean, “Mr. Bloom basically said we didn’t deserve these answers, when he was pressed on it. So…

“He basically was so excited about this deal until the donors got upset,” wrote Sean Moyers. “Then he decided to back away and is declining to answer legitimate questions. Typical politician.”

 

“More band crap…”

After engaging disgruntled donors in the chatroom, Bloom emailed portions of the conversation to WVU Dean Keith Jackson and Mylan Park President Ron Justice, writing: “Just a sampling of the individuals who continue to cause problems.”

The subject heading of Bloom’s email was “more band crap.”

 

 

Tom Bloom did not respond to questions from Vernissage Magazine. He failed to respond to Vernissage Magazine’s offer to comment on the content of this article.

Wren Baker and Ron Justice, through a University Spokesperson, declined to answer questions from Vernissage or provide comments for this article.

Susan Riddle also failed to respond to inquiries from Vernissage Magazine.

 

In the next Vernissage Magazine article:

  • The County Commissioner behind the Mylan Park scheme breaks his silence… and now claims there was never a deal with Mylan Park.
  • People, he says, don’t understand the meaning of the word ‘brokered’, and they “did not want the truth because it did not make a good story.”

Download a PDF of this Article: Pride and Prevarication Part 7 – Et Tu Bloom

 

Pride and Prevarication Part 7 – Et Tu Bloom © 2024 by Vernissage LLC – John D. McPherson is licensed under CC BY-NC-ND 4.0 

 

Pride Practice Facility: The Dean of Deceit – Answers Don’t Add Up

  • The Dean of the College of Creative Arts tells donors why the marching band practice facility they supported can’t be built on-campus.
  • Every reason he gives conflicts with official records.

Exclusive:  A Vernissage Magazine Investigation – Part 6

(Editor’s note: This article was prepared prior to the March 25, 2024, announcement that WVU has scrapped its plan to move the Pride of West Virginia marching band practice facility to privately-owned Mylan Park. After several articles in this investigation were published – and as a result of significant donor and alumni outcry – the university administration found space on the WVU campus to build the promised, state-of-the-art Pride Practice Facility. However, Vernissage Magazine believes that the information obtained in the development of this and upcoming articles in this series is in the public interest, as it sheds light on the activities of those involved in the Mylan Park scheme.)

 

The Pride of West Virginia at the Oct. 2021 groundbreaking for their promised on-campus practice facility

In October of 2021, West Virginia University broke ground for the new Pride of West Virginia Practice Facility, a state-of-the art marching band practice complex on the Evansdale campus. It was the culmination of a long-time dream – and years of fundraising – by alumni and friends of the WVU Pride of West Virginia Marching Band.

At the podium, College of Creative Arts Dean Keith Jackson raved about the importance of the Pride marching band to the University, and to the state:

“I know the most visible part of our college is the Pride,” Dean Jackson said. “I know for the state of West Virginia, the best ambassadors for our state are the Pride.”

The first phase of the Pride Practice Facility – the artificial turf replica of WVU’s Mountaineer field with lights and director’s tower – was supposed to be completed on the site of Hawley Field, WVU’s former baseball stadium, by fall of 2022. But construction never began.

Then, at Homecoming on October 20, 2023, band members and alumni were told that it never would.

Instead, the Pride’s artificial turf field would be built at Mylan Park, a privately-owned facility that serves as a community recreation complex. Mylan Park is nearly five miles away from campus.

Student members of the band were concerned about the off-campus location, and the fact that they were being told to car-pool to their distant new practice site. Documents obtained by Vernissage Magazine show that band members who complained in the wake of that announcement were humiliated by College of Creative Arts staff; and, shortly afterward, student band members were forbidden from speaking out in opposition to the Mylan Park move, despite the fact that such restrictions violate West Virginia state law.

Many alumni and donors, who raised approximately $1.25 million to privately fund the facility, felt betrayed by the Mylan Park move. This was not the state-of-the-art facility to which they had donated; not the facility they’d seen in numerous architectural renderings in the donor solicitations urging them to contribute.

“Donors were told one thing to get them to give money and then are being delivered something else,” said alum Shaun Moyers. “Classic bait-and-switch.”

Documents obtained through the Freedom of Information Act reveal that, since mid- 2023, Jackson, university administrators, a WVU Foundation staff member, and members of the Monongalia County Commission, conspired to redirect the funds that contributors gave to build an on-campus practice facility for WVU’s marching band, and instead use that money to build an artificial turf football field that Mylan Park has long wanted, but has been unable to finance. Two of the university administrators involved in initiating the scheme, Athletic Director Wren Baker and University Director of Local Affairs Ron Justice, hold seats on the Board of Directors of the Mylan Park Foundation. Justice is the Foundation’s president.

Meanwhile, Dean Jackson and WVU’s College of Creative Arts development director Jennifer Jordan – the WVU Foundation staff member involved in the scheme – continued actively soliciting donations for the promised on-campus band practice facility, fully aware that those contributions would be used to benefit Mylan Park, and not the purpose for which the donations were being solicited.

“I think it is an egregious slap in the face towards the people who donated the money,” said donor Sandy Sibray, “that the University and Foundation continued to promote and accept the concept as we all understood it to be at the old baseball facility. I think this is approaching fraud.”

 

Questions, But No Answers

Alumni and donors had questions and concerns. Lots of them.

Why is the planned practice facility for the West Virginia University marching band being moved so far away from its planned location? How would students get there? How will the need to leave campus early to get to Mylan Park affect students who must take late-afternoon classes required by their degree programs?

Student marching band members had many of the same concerns. But Vernissage interviews with students, as well as documents obtained by Vernissage Magazine, reveal that after a few Pride members publicly expressed their apprehensions to the campus newspaper, band members were ordered not to speak out.

Suddenly, and for some reason, members of the Pride of West Virginia went from being the most visible, best ambassadors for the state, to inconvenient persona non grata. And WVU College of Creative Arts Dean Keith Jackson, one of the key figures behind the Mylan Park scheme, has consistently dodged questioners seeking complete, documentable answers as to why.

In the first days after the announcement that the planned facility was being relocated, Monongalia County Commission President Tom Bloom – a 70s-era band alumnus who claimed that he “brokered a deal with WVU and Mylan Park” for the move, and who worked with Jackson and others to facilitate the scheme – engaged upset donors in an online chatroom:

 

“Tom, how about providing some information,” asked donor Katrina Roop, “since you stated you helped broker this deal? We want answers to valid questions.”

“You have every right to ask questions,” Bloom replied, “and those answers will come from the Music Department.”

Alumni donor Aaron Dean then states: “The Music Department either can’t or won’t give satisfactory answers. This change in venue has greatly eroded many alumni’s’ trust in the Band Office; I’m not seeing an effort being made to address our concerns and rebuild that trust.”

Others chimed in with unanswered questions and concerns. Bloom grew frustrated: “I strongly urge you to contact the Music Department,” he wrote.

“We have,” replied donor Mark Dean. “And they don’t have answers, either.”

 

From the beginning, the few explanations given by Jackson, Bloom, and others involved in the scheme to use the band’s donor funds to benefit Mylan Park have been riddled with statements that are inconsistent with information in official documents, and even their own prior statements.

 

Answers That Don’t Fit Facts

The evening of October 21, 2023, County Commission President Tom Bloom, buffeted by alumni and donor questions following his own attempt to explain the practice facility move, sent an email to Jackson: “We do need to get that informational letter out.”

Three days later, on October 24, Dean Keith Jackson issued a letter via the College of Creative Arts news release site: “Dear Pride Supporter,” it began, “Last week we announced an important update for the planned location of the Pride Practice Field…”

In a nine-paragraph letter of 539 words, Jackson devotes one-third of one paragraph, exactly 31 words, to providing his reasons why the Pride Practice Facility cannot be built at Hawley Field, the on-campus site that was promised to donors in numerous solicitations: “Priority usage could not be guaranteed,” he wrote. “There were concerns with drainage from the site into neighboring areas. And there were doubts we would have enough space to build the storage facility.”

 

“Concerns with Drainage”

Despite repeated requests from alumni, donors, and media, no documentation of drainage issues at the site promised in donor solicitations has ever been presented. Jackson has refused to respond to inquiries seeking verifiable records of any concerns regarding drainage at Hawley Field.

Many alumni and donors don’t buy it.

“How can a Division 1 baseball field be used for 41 years and then suddenly develop ‘drainage issues’ when the band wants to use the site?” asks alumnus Mark McCollum. “Were there drainage issues during all those baseball seasons?”

McCollum has a point. ‘Rule 1, Section 4 – Drainage’ of the National Collegiate Athletic Association’s (NCAA) baseball regulations require that baseball fields be constructed and graded in such a way as to facilitate proper drainage.

Contrary to Jackson’s statement, numerous documents obtained by Vernissage Magazine indicate that there are no serious drainage issues at the Hawley Field site.

In January 2021, College of Creative Arts Communications Specialist Bernadette Marie posted a donor solicitation on the WVU Alumni Band Social Page in preparation for the WVU Foundation’s Day of Giving fundraising drive. In the solicitation, Marie describes the first phase of the planned Pride Practice Facility construction on the Hawley Field site: “The first phase includes demolition of Hawley Field, drainage installation, repositioning of the lights, placement of the band tower, and laying the turf.”

College of Creative Arts “Day of Giving” donor solicitation, noting drainage installation

In March of 2021, WVU’s Procurement, Contracting & Payment Services Department issued a bid for the construction of the Pride Practice Facility on the promised Hawley Field site. The document does not mention drainage concerns. In fact, the construction procurement document builds standard drainage requirements into the construction package: “The architect engineer should plan to evaluate all utilities to determine requirements and design all supporting utilities (including stormwater…)”

 

“Enough Space”

Another of Jackson’s assertions was that the Hawley Field site is too small to build the entire planned practice facility: “…there were doubts we would have enough space to build the storage facility.”

One of the conceptual layouts mentioned in the university’s RFP

However, WVU’s own request for construction proposals states otherwise. According to the document: “A conceptual layout was completed by (an architectural firm) in order to determine the project feasibility…” The document notes that there is room enough on the Hawley Field site for, “…an artificial turf field, lights, conductor tower, storage facility, covered pavilion, a donor honor wall and driveway with a small parking area.” That site description includes everything illustrated in architectural renderings that WVU and the WVU Foundation used to solicit donor contributions.

“If (lack of space) was the ‘real reason’,” asked one donor, “why wasn’t it presented to us initially? Was ‘lack of space’ something someone just thought up, and thought that it might sell? It is sad. The trust is broken.”

 

“Priority Usage”

Jackson’s third claimed reason for the move is that at the Hawley Field site, “priority usage could not be guaranteed.”

But WVU records categorically state otherwise. The university’s own request for bids package states that the marching band would be priority user of the promised Hawley Field location: “The playing field will be multi-purpose and WVU Athletics will share use of the field when the marching band is not using it.”

WVU’s very first announcement of intent to build the Pride Practice Facility, dated Nov. 11, 2019, states: “When the band is not practicing, the facility will be open to WVU Athletics and the College of Physical Activity and Sport Sciences.”

Donor solicitations on the WVU College of Creative Arts website also stated explicitly that the Pride Practice Facility would be “a dedicated rehearsal space on the Evansdale Campus,” and, with the help of ‘generous alumni’, “we’ll give our band a home they can call their own.”

A 2021 WVU Foundation ‘Day of Giving’ fundraising solicitation refers to the Hawley Field site as “a permanent and dedicated facility” for the band. That solicitation quotes Jackson: “The Mountaineer Marching Band is an essential element of WVU’s character and pride and we are eager to provide them with the space they deserve.” The solicitation is Illustrated with architectural renderings of the planned facility on the Hawley Field site, with the WVU Coliseum in the background.

Jackson (lower right) in a WVU YouTube Video

College of Creative Arts administrators are also on record saying that the marching band would have priority at the promised on-campus site. In 2021, Jackson and WVU Director of Athletic Bands Cheldon Williams were interviewed by WVU Alumni Association Director of Marketing and Communications Andrew Sealy and Director of Alumni Engagement Meredith Balas. The interview was posted on the WVU Alumni Association’s YouTube site to solicit funds for the envisioned Pride Practice Facility.

In the interview, Williams – who is director of the Pride – states that the fact the band will have priority at the Hawley Field location will give them “a sense of belonging.”

“This new field will give these students a sense of pride and give them a sense of ownership in a place where they belong,” Williams said, “and it’s only dedicated to them.”

Dean Keith Jackson is side-by-side on-screen with Williams, nodding in agreement.

Additionally, documents obtained through the Freedom of Information Act reveal that the Pride of West Virginia will have to share the field built at Mylan Park. That field will be rented out for community athletic events and tournaments. On October 22, 2023, County Commissioner Tom Bloom sent an email to Keith Jackson, discussing alumni and donor objections to the Mylan Park plan. In the email, Bloom states that donors were complaining that Mylan Park, “is going to make money because the community might be able to use (the field). They truly believed that this field would be used (by the marching band), and then just sit there.”

WVU and Mylan Park officials refused to answer Vernissage Magazine questions about whether the Pride of West Virginia will receive any portion of the fees Mylan Park receives for renting out the athletic field built with the band’s private donations.

Of the three reasons that College of Creative Arts Dean Keith Jackson gave for moving the Pride Practice Facility to Mylan Park, all are directly contradicted by West Virginia University documents, statements made by Jackson and other administrators, and by numerous university and WVU Foundation solicitations made to prospective donors.

In summary: every single one of the reasons College of Creative Arts Dean Keith Jackson presented to donors to try to justify the diversion of $1.25 million contributed to build an on-campus practice facility is directly contradicted by official WVU documents, as well as other verifiable university sources:

  • Drainage Issues: WVU internal documents show no drainage issues at Hawley Field, and University construction plans include adequate drainage in the first phase of facility construction. Jackson and the University have refused to produce documentation of alleged drainage concerns.
  • Lack of Space: WVU internal documents and Pride Practice Facility feasibility and architectural plans demonstrate adequate space at Hawley Field for all phases of the promised Pride Practice Facility.
  • Priority Usage: WVU internal documents, University media announcements, University and WVU Foundation donor solicitations and marketing material, and public statements made by marching band administrators all clearly demonstrate the Pride would be the priority user of the promised Hawley Field facility.

In the wake of the decision to use The Pride’s $1.25 million in contributions to build a field at Mylan Park, the WVU Foundation – which is legally responsible for proper use of donations – raised no objection. In November of 2023, Vernissage Magazine asked WVU Foundation President and CEO Cindi Roth about the legality of funding the Mylan Park field. In letter dated November 3, Roth’s responded, “funds that have been donated for the purpose of constructing a new marching band facility will indeed be used for that purpose. The funds will be disbursed for the construction of the WVU owned practice facility and will not be diverted to the Mylan Park Foundation or any other intermediary.”

In other words, the WVU Foundation will pay directly for the field at Mylan Field.

Asked how the Foundation could justify redirecting donations that were solicited explicitly for an on-campus Pride Practice Facility, Roth responded by simply  parroting Jackson’s assertions. Roth wrote: “As the University continued to plan for a new practice facility, several issues evolved with the on-campus site. Priority usage, drainage issues and space concerns led the leadership team to look for a new space…”

Roth then pointed to the College of Creative Arts website: “See the WVU Pride Practice Facility FAQ for this and other information about the project and the benefits of locating this facility at Mylan Park.”

Donors, however, were more far skeptical than Roth of Jackson’s justifications.

“I swear the more that comes out about this the less impressed I am,” wrote alumni Shaun Moyers in an alumni chatroom after reading Jackson’s letter. “It seems like the administration is just throwing shit against the wall and hoping that it will stick. Still seems shady as hell.”

 

‘Sooner’ is Three Years Later

In his “Letter from the Dean” Keith Jackson states that because of the alleged issues at Hawley Field, “The University approached Mylan Park with the option of building the practice field and facility there. After several conversations, the decision was made to enter into the partnership agreement,” with Mylan Park.

On October 24, 2023, an online FAQ was posted on the College of Creative Arts Band website, replacing the page that was soliciting funds for the on-campus Pride Practice Facility. The FAQ states that a groundbreaking for the Mylan Park field will be held in early 2024, noting: “…this project will be completed by August 2024, allowing the band to practice on the turf-field much sooner than anticipated.”

Keith Jackson made the same statement in his letter, writing that the artificial turf field would be ready for the band, “…much sooner than anticipated.”

But documents obtained by Vernissage Magazine through the Freedom of Information Act reveal that WVU had already collected enough money to build the promised on-campus practice field three years ago. In March of 2021, WVU’s construction services reported: “WVU has secured enough funds to construct Phase 1 of the project, which includes the practice field, with lights and band tower.”

That same month, Jackson posted a message to Alumni Band members, thanking them for their support of the Pride Practice Facility during the WVU Foundation’s ‘Day of Giving’ fundraising drive:

“We have been overwhelmed with the outpouring of love you showed for the band this week…” Jackson wrote. “What I can tell you with certainty is thanks to your support on Wednesday, we met the goal that was established by University leadership to hold a groundbreaking this fall. And that, my friends, is reason to celebrate!”

The WVU Foundation’s Roth at the 2021 Hawley Field Groundbreaking

That groundbreaking for the promised Pride Practice Facility was held on the Evansdale Campus on October 3, 2021. College of Creative Arts Dean Keith Jackson spoke at that event. So did Cindi Roth, President and CEO of the WVU Foundation, and WVU President Gordon Gee. According to media reports, both Gee and Roth told the assembled crowd about how terrific they thought the marching band is, and why it truly deserves to be called “The Pride of West Virginia”.

Roth told those in attendance that The Pride of West Virginia should have its new field by the fall of 2022. “Mountaineers come through,” Roth said to the crowd. “But there’s nothing like bandsmen and bandswomen. They are so passionate.”

Now many of those bandsmen and bandswomen – present and past – want to know why Cindi Roth’s WVU Foundation, College of Creative Arts Dean Keith Jackson, members of WVU’s administration, and the Monongalia County Commission, are working together to divert the band’s donated funds to benefit Mylan Park, without regard for how the move might affect the Pride of West Virginia.

“The passion here is real,” said alumna Mary Ann Burbank. “The bait and switch is absurd.”

The documents obtained by Vernissage Magazine show that as recently as spring of 2023, University Administrators were still planning to hold a second groundbreaking on the Hawley Field site. On March 24, 2023, WVU Vice Provost Paul Kreider wrote an email to WVU Foundation Executive Vice President and Chief Development Officer B.J. Davisson. Under the heading, ‘RE: Pride Practice Facility’ Kreider wrote: “We have a ceremonial groundbreaking that is being scheduled. Keith (Jackson) is working with Facilities folks to schedule.”

That same month, the WVU Foundation featured the promised on-campus Pride Practice Facility in its 2023 spring ‘Day of Giving’ fundraising campaign. So many donors contributed to the Pride Practice Facility on that one day that they unlocked a special challenge, providing an additional $40,000 for the promised on- campus complex for the benefit of, in the Foundation’s words: “our deserving band students.”

Kreider and several other WVU officials refused to answer a series of Vernissage Magazine questions about why that planned 2023 groundbreaking was never held, or why the Pride Practice Facility, in just four months’ time, became a football field at Mylan Park built with the Pride’s donated funds.

Officials of both WVU and the WVU Foundation refused to answer Vernissage questions about why, after the October 2021 groundbreaking, construction on the promised Hawley Field site never started, even though the project was – according to internal university documents – “fully funded.”

WVU employees who were assigned to manage construction of the Pride Practice Facility also refused, through a university spokesperson, to respond to Vernissage Magazine questions about why the Pride Practice Facility was never built, even though their own department records clearly indicate that the university had collected enough money to fund the project.

“The absolute silence from the people in administrative positions is deafening,” donor Nick Crites wrote in the alumni chatroom, “The fact is there has been absolutely no one to step forward and answer our laundry list of questions should tell you that something is not quite above board here.”

Keith Jackson and Tom Bloom did not respond to questions from Vernissage Magazine. Neither individual responded when provided the opportunity to comment on the contents of this article.

In January 2024, Keith Jackson was named dean of the new College of Creative Arts and Media, which will combine the College of Creative Arts and the Reed College of Media. West Virginia University administrators have refused to answer questions about Dean Keith Jackson’s involvement in the scheme to divert $1.25 million in WVU donor contributions to benefit the privately-owned Mylan Park.

 

In the next Vernissage Magazine article:

  • Donors have serious questions for those planning to use their contributions at Mylan Park. County Commissioner Tom Bloom responds: “Why do they have to give answers to you?”
  • Dean Keith Jackson calls building a field for Mylan Park, “a gesture of good will and community engagement.”

Download a PDF of this article: Pride and Prevarication Part 6 – The Dean of Deceit.docx

Pride and Prevarication – Part 6 -The Dean of Deceit © 2024 by Vernissage LLC – John D. McPherson is licensed under CC BY-NC-ND 4.0 

Pride Practice Facility: Commissioner’s Answers Raise More Questions

  • The County Commissioner behind the Mylan Park scheme attempts to justify having “brokered a deal” to move The Pride off campus.
  • His statements conflict with official records.

Exclusive – a Vernissage Magazine Investigation – Part 5

(Editor’s note : This article was prepared prior to the March 25, 2024 announcement that WVU has scrapped its plan to move the Pride of West Virginia marching band practice facility to privately-owned Mylan Park. After several articles in this investigation were published – and as a result of significant donor and alumni outcry – the university administration found space on the WVU campus to build the promised, state-of-the-art Pride Practice Facility. However, Vernissage Magazine believes that the information obtained in the development of this and upcoming articles in this series is in the public interest, as it sheds light on the activities of those involved in the Mylan Park scheme.)

It is the evening of October 20, 2023.

The annual Homecoming gathering of the West Virginia University Alumni Band is over.

The anger many alumni feel is not.

The Pride Practice Facility promised to donors and students

Band alum and Monongalia County Commission President Tom Bloom had chosen the venue to announce what he’d billed in advance as “exciting news.” He told the hundreds of alumni present that the promised Pride of West Virginia Marching Band Practice Facility – which for years they’ve worked hard to fund – will finally be built. But not on-campus. It will instead be built at a privately-owned recreation complex called Mylan Park, five miles from the WVU campus.

Alumni Band members played a significant role in raising the money for the Pride Practice Facility, which is entirely funded by private donations. Many were unhappy with Bloom’s announcement.

Immediately afterward, Sandy Sibray posted a comment on the Alumni Band social media site. “I made one of the earliest comments on the Alumni Band social site,” Sibray told Vernissage. “I wasn’t disrespectful. I simply said that I thought it was a poorly thought-out plan and we were not going to get the state-of-the-art level of facility we were promised.”

Within minutes, dozens of other alumni began posting comments on the Alumni Band social media page.

“I donated with a specific project in mind, and this is not it,” wrote Sara Boppe. “I feel like I’ve been taken for a ride.”

“Talk about bait and switch,” Joe Lint wrote. “I made a donation so that the band would have a location on campus. Moving the band off of WVU’s main campus is wrong.”

The Mylan Park band field location

Many alumni began raising concerns over the impact that a distant, off-campus practice location might have on band members.

“This sounds,” said Nathan Burdette, “like a terrible idea. What about members who don’t have their own transportation and have class conflicts or late-ending classes?”

Band alum Justin Hicks agreed: “Mylan Park is an awful location. And why would this news be coming out at homecoming? Poor timing. Poor location.”

Sometime later, Sibray says, Bloom messaged her: “He said, ‘We need to talk.’ When I called him, he was accusatory. He said to me: ‘You caused a shitstorm.’ But the fact is, I feel like my donations were encouraged under false pretenses. My trust has been violated.”

 

Midnight Confession

Sometime before midnight on the night of October 20th, Bloom posted on the Alumni Band social media site, offering his explanations for facilitating the move of the Pride Practice Facility to Mylan Park. His message is copied here in its entirety, lightly edited for clarity:

“To try and answer some questions.

1) in reviewing the information. The Band would have to share the field [Hawley Field site] with several other sports programs.

2) parking was a serious problem.

3) the idea of collecting $8 million by next year, was not a reality.

4) it would have taken years to build when the urgency of the field was needed now and there was concerns about the overall cost and when this all would take place.

In the last 4 weeks, I brokered a deal with WVU and Mylan Park for the following.

1) we would be guaranteed a new astroturf field (identical to the stadium) and we would be able to use it by next August.

2) we will have lights, (baseball field was not guaranteed to have lights).

3) I was approached by WVU band office about the possibility of Mylan Park.

4) my question concerning transportation was not a problem and they wanted it away from the Coliseum.

5) just because there was a field, did not mean we could use the field.

6) in discussions with the AD, it was a WVU field which means we did not have control of use of the field.

So, WVU Alumni Band officers were not involved until the last week. My concern was: how do we get a field as soon as possible with lights, at a reasonable cost that will benefit the band members and future members. The pavilion would have cost $1.8 million alone. The field would have been over $2.5 million. We got all this for $1.7 million and ready for next year. I hope this clears up some confusion.”

Many alumni, however, thought Bloom’s post created more confusion.

“The ‘answers’,” commented alumna Carrie Cronin, “just give me 45 more questions.”

 

Veracity of Statements Called into Question

Information in public records obtained by Vernissage Magazine conflicts with most of Bloom’s assertions.

Bloom alleges that the band would not have priority access to an on-campus facility: “…just because there was a field, did not mean we could use the field,” and “…it was a WVU field which means we did not have control of use of the field.” Both statements are disputed by university press announcements, numerous donor solicitations, and by WVU internal documents describing the facility as it was originally planned and funded.

WVU’s very first announcement of intent to build the Pride Practice Facility, dated Nov. 11, 2019, did note that the practice field was intended to be shared. But according to the statement, the Pride of West Virginia would have priority usage: “When the band is not practicing,” the announcement states, “the facility will be open to WVU Athletics and the College of Physical Activity and Sport Sciences.”

WVU donor appeals and WVU websites stated explicitly that the Pride Practice Facility would be “a dedicated rehearsal space on the Evansdale Campus.”

Williams and Jackson on YouTube

The Pride’s director, Cheldon Williams, appeared with College of Creative Arts Dean Keith Jackson in a lengthy interview posted on YouTube by the WVU Alumni Association, soliciting donations to the facility. In the video Williams says: “This new field will give these students a real sense of pride and give them sense of ownership in a place where they belong, and they belong specifically; and it’s only dedicated to them.”

Williams statements in the video contradict Bloom’s claim that that the band would not control use of the field: “We worked with Athletics, and they’ve given us that space,” Williams said, “we have a wonderful standing relationship with our Athletics Department.”

University documents obtained by Vernissage Magazine also confirm The Pride’s priority use of the field. WVU Procurement Services description of the planned Pride Practice Facility states: “The playing field will be multi-purpose and WVU Athletics will share use of the field when the marching band is not using it.”

Another of Bloom’s statements, “…we will have lights, (baseball field was not guaranteed to have lights),” is untrue.

Stadium lights already in place at the promised Hawley Field site

In a WVU Facilities Management document, entitled, “RFP202190000265, Design services for a Practice Facility for the WVU Marching Band, known as the Pride of West Virginia”, Project Manager Scott Owens and Procurement Officer Harry Youdell wrote, “WVU has secured enough funds to construct Phase 1 of the project, which includes the practice field, with lights.”

In fact, the planned field location already has stadium lights; the procurement document notes that companies bidding on field construction, “should investigate the feasibility of reusing the current lights from the former Hawley Field baseball facility.”

A solicitation for contributions to the Hawley Field site, posted on the WVU Alumni Band social media page by the WVU College of Creative Arts communications office, encourages alumni to donate during a WVU Foundation fundraising drive. The solicitation’s description of Phase 1 of the project is specific: “The first phase includes… repositioning of the lights.”

This WVU solicitation tells donors that Phase 1 of the Hawley Field project will include field lighting

Paradoxically, as more information about the Mylan Park scheme was revealed, Bloom eventually admitted that the field being built at Mylan Park will not have lights. “Lights,” Bloom confessed, “are in Phase 2. However, the field next to the new field will have lights, and will be used by the band if needed.”

‘Phase 2’ would require the band to raise additional funds to install Mylan Park lighting

“’Lighting won’t be there?’ commented one donor. “‘They can just use the other field next door for half the semester?’ It’s a ridiculous “solution’ to just say ‘use another field when it gets dark.’ That’s not an answer, that’s a band-aid that had maybe two seconds of thought put into it.”

In his October 20 post, Bloom also claimed building the promised on-campus field would cost more than the $1.25 million donors have contributed: “The field would have been over $2.5 million,” Bloom stated.

But the College of Communications solicitation referenced above shows a Phase 1 budget of $1,161,686.

WVU internal documents obtained by Vernissage Magazine also contradict Bloom’s assertion. Records show installation of the proposed on-campus field was estimated to cost less than half the amount Bloom claims: a total of $1.15 million, including lighting.

That $1.15 million estimate in WVU records is in line with current estimates obtained by Vernissage Magazine from sports planners and artificial turf companies. The Sports Venue Calculator estimates installation of a new artificial turf football field costs an average of $950,000, depending on the quality of the turf, local conditions, infill material and regional price differences.

WVU internal documents state that, “WVU intends to utilize FieldTurf brand synthetic turf to match WVU’s other existing fields.” FieldTurf Company is a chief provider of artificial turf football fields for major university and NFL stadiums. According to FieldTurf, the estimated average cost today of a new artificial turf football field is $770,000.

WVU internal documents show the total cost for all phases of the promised, on-campus Pride Practice Facility is just over $ 5.6 million; that’s nearly $2.5 million less than the $8 million figure Bloom claimed in his post to alumni and donors. Bloom has failed to provide substantiation or the source of his claim that the facility would cost $8 million.

WVU Project and Procurement managers Owens and Youdell stated that WVU already had enough money in hand to fully fund the promised on-campus field when their university procurement document was issued in March of 2021.

On March 5 of 2021, Dean Keith Jackson himself posted this notice to Alumni Band members following the WVU Foundation ‘Day of Giving’ fundraising drive:

“Thank you so much for showing up on Day of Giving and doing your part to make the Pride Practice Field a reality for our marching band! We have been overwhelmed by the outpouring of love you showed the band this week… What I can tell you with certainty is thanks to your support on Wednesday, we met the goal that was established by University leadership to hold a groundbreaking this fall. And that, my friends, is reason to celebrate.”

That ceremonial groundbreaking was held in October, 2021.

Vernissage Magazine contacted Owens and Youdell to ask why, after that groundbreaking, construction of the Pride Practice Facility never began. Both men refused to respond to the question.

Bloom’s statement that “transportation was not a problem,” baffled many alumni and current students of the Pride, who soon discovered that the university, in fact, has no plans to transport band students to Mylan Park.

A WVU Bands FAQ that replaced a university fundraising site for the Pride Practice Facility addresses the subject, ‘What plans are there for transportation for band members to the new facility?’ The section reads: “Recent band students and alumni are familiar with the culture of ride-sharing that exists….”

WVU administrators expect students to carpool to band practice at Mylan Park.

Freshman clarinet player Riley Wessman told the campus newspaper she is concerned about being able to get to and from the new facility. “I just want to know how transportation will work… because it’s been kind of hard getting rides.” Carpooling, Wessman said, often fails, so she generally walks to the band’s current practice site, which is on campus next to the WVU Coliseum. That won’t be an option when practices move to Mylan Park. “It’s more convenient to be by the Coliseum in my opinion. I feel like the money could have gone elsewhere.”

Former Pride members like Nathan Burdette believe requiring students to carpool will severely limit Pride membership: “Any notion that carpooling will get everyone there is ridiculous. This is maddening.  People will be shut out of the Pride if they don’t have financial means.”

 

“A Significant Number of Crashes…”

What most concerns many is the danger to more than 300 students who will be forced to drive the winding two-lane road to Mylan Park in late autumn darkness and inclement weather.

As long ago as 2012, an independent regional transportation assessment found Chaplin Hill Road – the primary route to Mylan Park – to be deficient, with an average daily traffic flow of more than 25,000 vehicles per day, far more than its capacity. The study concluded that the route to Mylan Park, even at that time, would be able to accommodate “very few additional vehicles” and that the route was “approaching gridlock.” The study listed Chaplin Hill as a “corridor with a significant number of crashes.” The road has not been upgraded since the study.

One year after that study, in late summer 2013, a motorcyclist was killed leaving Mylan Park on a rain-slickened Chaplin Hill Road. The driver lost control of his bike and swerved into oncoming traffic, crashing into a Dodge Neon. The driver of the Neon was injured. According to reports, several other accidents occurred that day.

Vehicle pileup on the road to Mylan Park

In the winter of 2020, snow and ice – not uncommon during late-season band rehearsals – caused an 18-vehicle pileup on Chaplin Hill Road. County sheriffs and EMS responded, and traffic to Mylan Park was shut down for more than two hours.

Even after he “brokered a deal” to force more than 300 students to carpool to Mylan Park, Tom Bloom himself – in a statement stunningly in conflict with his assertion that ‘transportation was not a problem” – admitted the dangers of the route to the new rehearsal field. Two months after announcing the Mylan Park scheme, Bloom guested on a radio show to talk about a federal transportation grant. The host mentioned the critical need to improve Chaplin Hill Road: “With the facilities we have out there at Mylan Park… the big drawback has been, well, that road’s not good.”

Bloom acknowledged the road wasn’t good. Then he admitted that the dangerously inadequate route to Mylan Park had, in fact, cost the county an opportunity to host an Olympic qualifying event at the park: “That was our number one problem”, Bloom said, “when we were so close to getting the Olympic trials… because of the problems down there on Chaplin Hill Road.”

Contacted by Vernissage Magazine, Bloom and WVU officials refused to comment about the threat to the safety – or the liability to the university – of forcing hundreds of students to carpool four evenings a week over the admittedly dangerous and deficient road to Mylan Park.

Screenshots of Tom Bloom’s explanation for having “brokered a deal” with Mylan Park

Bloom’s allegation that parking for band members at the Hawley Field site is inadequate – “parking was a serious problem” – is also questionable. The intended site of the promised practice facility is adjacent to WVU Coliseum and the university soccer stadium. Parking is available for thousands of vehicles, along with parking for dozens more across the street at the university’s Creative Arts Center. In fact, the band currently practices on a portion of the Coliseum parking lot; moving to the originally planned site a few hundred yards away would free up roughly 120 new parking spots. That’s more than enough to accommodate band members driving to practice at the originally planned on-campus facility, especially since many students would be able to walk to practice from campus housing, or from the campus rapid transit station located across the street from the Hawley Field site.

Alumni Band officers themselves directly dispute Bloom’s claim that “WVU Alumni Band officers were not involved until the last week.” As controversy over the Mylan Park site continued to rage, Alumni Band officers released an official statement, saying, “The WVU Alumni Band was as surprised as everyone else when it was announced the Practice facility was to be moved to Mylan Park.”

Emails obtained under the Freedom of Information Act show that Bloom – contrary to his assertion – never involved Alumni Band members in the Mylan Park decision.

In an October 25, 2023 email to Keith Jackson, WVU Director of Bands Scott Tobias, and WVU Foundation staff member Jennifer Jordan, Bloom expresses frustration over alumni and donors outspokenly opposing the Mylan Park scheme: “I made it very clear when we had our initial meeting that the Alumni Band needed to be informed.”

The date of that ‘initial meeting’ between Bloom, Jackson, and Jordan directly contradicts another of Bloom’s assertions; that, “In the last 4 weeks, I brokered a deal with WVU and Mylan Park…” Email records obtained by Vernissage Magazine reveal that initial meeting took place on August 22, 2023, three months before Bloom’s announcement to band alumni at Homecoming.

Vernissage Magazine reached out to Tom Bloom, asking for documentation of the assertions he made in his post giving hes reasons why the Pride Practice Facility cannot be built on the site that was promised to band members and to donors in university and WVU Foundation solicitations. Vernissage also offered Bloom the opportunity to comment on the contents of this article. Bloom failed to respond.

 

Accusations of Malfeasance

Immediately after Bloom’s late-night post on the Alumni Band site, comments began rolling in.

“I respect you, Tom,” wrote Dylan Johnson, “but no matter how this is being spun it is wrong.”

Ann Mayle agreed: “I’m sorry, Tom… How can anyone justify this obvious bait and switch?”

Some alumni questioned Bloom’s statement, “My concern was: how do we get a field as soon as possible…”

“Is there a reason,” asked Mike Cerpa, “this is suddenly so urgent?”

There were 162 comments on Tom Bloom’s late-night post. Bloom did not respond to a single comment.

More and more alumni took to posting on the Alumni Band social pages. Comments on the site grew angrier, and some became accusatory.

“This is an absolutely short-sighted and ignorant idea that reeks of typical Mon County politics,” wrote one Alumni Band member.

Wrote another. “It has Tom Bloom written all over it. Dude has spent the last decade working on Mylan Park. Of course, he would use his spot in the Alumni Band to steal funds for his pet project.”

Within a few hours, site moderator Jerry Clark shut off comments, and deleted many of the posts. “I think all but two of the posts about the field have been removed,” Clark wrote. “Name calling and accusing people of malfeasance, etc. will not be tolerated.”

Members who wanted to continue discussion about the practice facility were directed to a private chatroom.

It would be another four days before anyone else involved in the Mylan Park scheme attempted a statement. Once again, the statement would raise far more questions than it answered.

In the next Vernissage Magazine article: 

  • The Dean of the College of Creative Arts gives his reasons why the marching band practice facility that donors funded can’t be built on-campus.
  • Documents reveal every one of the Dean’s reasons is dubious.

Download a PDF of this Article: Pride and Prevarication – Part 5 – Answers Raise More Questions

 

Pride and Prevarication – Part 5 – Answers Raise More Questions © 2024 by Vernissage LLC – John D. McPherson is licensed under CC BY-NC-ND 4.0 

 

Pride and Prevarication – The Pride Returns to Campus

  • WVU Cancels Mylan Park Plan
  • The Pride of West Virginia Practice Facility will be built on the WVU campus

Exclusive – a Vernissage Magazine Investigation – Breaking News

The Pride of West Virginia Marching Band Practice Facility was originally intended to be built on the West Virginia University Evansdale Campus, specifically, on the site of Hawley Field, the university’s former baseball stadium. Donors contributed $1.25 million toward construction; enough money, the university announced in 2021, to build the facility’s first phase, which consisted of an artificial turf practice field, stadium lights, and a band director viewing tower.

But last year, on October 20, 2023, WVU announced that instead of the location explicitly promised to contributors, the Pride’s money would be used to build a field for band members to practice on at privately-owned Mylan Park, five miles off-campus.

Angry donors accused the university of bait-and-switch. Over the last five months, Vernissage Magazine has been investigating why and how the Mylan Park plan came about.

To date, six articles have appeared, including four articles in the current series of investigative articles.

After the most recent article, “Whose Field Is It?” was published on March 25, WVU  announced it will build the Pride Practice Facility on-campus, as originally promised.

YOU CAN READ THE UNIVERSITY ANNOUNCEMENT HERE.

 

Pride Practice Facility: Whose Field Is It?

  • Mylan Park Director says “With the dollars the Pride has raised, we could install another field.”
  • “We will go from one multi-purpose field to two multi-purpose fields,” Mylan Park official declares after the deal is cut: “It’s a game-changer for us.”

Exclusive – a Vernissage Magazine Investigation – Part 4

There is a turf war in West Virginia. An artificial turf war.

In the summer of 2023, Mylan Park was in danger of losing.

Mylan Park bills itself, ‘West Virginia’s Premiere Recreation, Sport, Social, Health and Wellness Complex.’ The local convention and visitors bureau boasts that the Mylan Park is a “recreational crown jewel.”

Youth and amateur sports are big business; it’s a $19.2 billion dollar industry grown steadily over the last two decades, pumping millions into the economies of host sites. Communities across West Virginia are building complexes to lure athletic events.

To stay ahead of competition, like Wheeling’s new Highlands Sport Complex, The Bridges in Bridgeport, and Charleston’s Shawnee Sports Complex, Mylan Park officials planned upgrades.

Mylan Park

The Mylan Park Foundation’s goal is for their SportsPlex complex to attract playoffs and other major regional sporting events.

But the Mylan Park Foundation board had a problem: They couldn’t find a way to pay for a second artificial turf multi-purpose field. And to compete at that highest-level, Mylan Park needs one.

Then, last year, Mercer County, W.Va. announced the development of its own Ridges SportPlex. The Ridges complex will dwarf Mylan Park. It will, developers boast, “draw elite tournaments and tourists from all over.”

On August 6, 2023, West Virginia’s legislature approved a special tax district to fund the Ridges SportsPlex. The legislative summary notes that the $100 million Ridges project includes two multipurpose artificial turf football fields.

 

A Secret Deal for a Field

Emails obtained through the Freedom of Information Act by Vernissage Magazine show that two weeks after that vote, Monongalia County Commission President Tom Bloom met with WVU’s Dean Keith Jackson and College of Creative Arts Director of Development Jennifer Jordan, who is on the staff of WVU Foundation’s University Development office, to discuss moving the location of WVU’s promised Pride of West Virginia marching band practice facility.

On August 28, 2023, Mylan Park board members, WVU administrators, and Monongalia County Commissioners gathered in an unannounced meeting. Records obtained by Vernissage Magazine show they discussed taking approximately $1.25 million in private donations – specifically solicited to build the WVU marching band a state-of-the-art on-campus practice facility – and use those funds to build a new artificial turf field at Mylan Park. In an email written that same day – obtained by Vernissage through the Freedom of Information Act – County Commission President Tom Bloom writes, “All of this was done behind-closed-doors.”

Few individuals involved in the Mylan Park scheme have publicly commented. Those who have – like WVU Foundation President and CEO Cindy Roth and County Commission President Tom Bloom – have made statements that directly conflict with WVU documents obtained by Vernissage Magazine. Bloom and Roth have repeatedly claimed that their respective organizations played no role moving the band’s field to Mylan Park. Records obtained through the Freedom of Information Act show otherwise. Other university records reveal that the reasons given to the public and the media by Bloom, Roth, and Jackson for not building the Pride Practice Facility on-campus, as promised in donor solicitations, are dubious.

Many donors call the use of their contributions at Mylan Park a “bait-and-switch” scheme. They wonder if they’ve been scammed, their donations diverted only to build Mylan Park its long-planned, multipurpose artificial turf football field.

Examination of public records and documents obtained through the Freedom of Information Act suggests those claims may be valid.

 

No Justice for the Band

Prior to the announcement of the Pride Practice Facility’s move, the state of West Virginia gave the Mylan Park Foundation $3.5 million to improve its athletic complex. The grant provided funds to install artificial turf on baseball diamonds, but did not include money for the foundation’s desired second artificial turf football field.

Ron Justice

The president of the Mylan Park Foundation, Ron Justice, appeared on a local talk show to discuss that grant. While Justice is President of Mylan Park’s Board of Directors, he is employed as West Virginia University’s Director of Local Government Relations. Records obtained by Vernissage Magazine show Justice was among those who participated in the behind-closed-doors August meeting in which using the Pride’s funds at Mylan Park was discussed..

The talk show host asked if those in charge of Mylan Park had other plans upcoming. Justice responded by noting the importance of Mylan Park having another artificial turf field, and he said: “We’re also seeing another opportunity, and I can’t let the cat out of the bag too quick, but to potentially realize that additional field in the near future.”

That ‘opportunity’, Justice added, would put Mylan Park: “On par with anything else in the state.”

One week later, WVU announced that the Pride of West Virginia’s Practice Facility funds would be used to build an artificial turf field at Mylan Park.

After that announcement, with donors expressing anger over the scheme, another Mylan Park Foundation board member took to the air to try to quell controversy. Like Ron Justice, board member Susan Riddle wears two hats. While she sits on the Mylan Park board of directors, she is also President and CEO of the local Mountaineer Country Convention and Visitors Bureau. Riddle was billed as being on the radio show to talk about, “a partnership with the WVU Marching Band and a new facility at the park.”

But in a meandering interview, Riddle spoke little about the Pride of West Virginia, and a lot about Mylan Park getting a new artificial turf multi-purpose field.

 

Riddle Me This: Whose Field is it?

“Mylan Park’s always been an opportunistic group,” Riddle said. “We’re quite creative thinkers.”

Susan Riddle

Mylan Park, Riddle said in her interview, is, “a major, major tourism driver… from a tourism perspective this ( new artificial turf field) is another opportunity.”

Through use of the Pride of West Virginia’s money, Riddle boasted, “We will go from one multipurpose field to two multipurpose fields. It’s a gamechanger for us.”

Riddle claimed Mylan Park was approached about moving the band field: “Like, hey, you know, I know you’ve been trying to put another field in.”

When, weeks earlier, Ron Justice was interviewed about park upgrades, he said: “I have to give a lot of kudos to Susan Riddle and her staff.” He then added: “Certainly we’ve had the support of the County Commission.”

Riddle does not say who approached Mylan Park about using the marching band’s practice facility funds. Bloom has admitted to “brokering” the deal. According to the organization’s website, County Commissioner Tom Bloom holds a seat on Susan Riddle’s Mountaineer Country Convention and Visitors Bureau Board of Directors.

The records obtained by Vernissage Magazine show that Bloom was also in the August 28, 2023 behind-closed-doors meeting when county commissioners met with Justice and other Mylan Park board members. In those records, Bloom states that he “brought up the idea about the band field being out at Mylan.” He also says, “Ron (Justice) and I came up with a proposal that everyone thought would be a good idea.”

But the announcement of the plan to use The Pride’s $1.25 million in private donations at Mylan Park misfired. Many donors expressed outrage over the redirection of contributions from their intended use.

In an October 25, 2023, email to WVU’s Keith Jackson, obtained by Vernissage Magazine, Bloom expresses anger about burgeoning donor displeasure over the redirection of their contributions. He accuses WVU of public relations missteps. In the email he points out that Riddle went “on the radio promoting the project” in an attempt to boost support for the Mylan plan..

Under the heading, ‘Concern of Band Field,’ Bloom writes to Jackson: “We have an obligation to Mylan Park.”

Many alumni and donors wonder what happened to the obligation they believe that the university and the WVU Foundation have to The Pride of West Virginia marching band, whose members were promised the on-campus, state-of-the-art practice facility for which contributions were solicited.

“People feel they’re being lied to,” wrote one angry donor in an alumni chatroom.

“Bells and Whistles…”

As donors learned more information about the planned field at Mylan Park, the less it sounded to them like their money is being used for a legitimate band practice facility.

For instance, they learned that the field at Mylan Park will not be built with lights.

Confronted in a band alumni chatroom, Tom Bloom wrote: “To answer the question about lights, they are in Phase 2. However, the field next to the new field will have lights and will be used if needed by the band.”

For Phase 2 the band is expected to come up with additional contributions.

Bloom’s statement has donors wondering: if Mylan Park truly is building a real practice field for the Pride, why would the marching band have to move to a different field when autumn darkness falls early during rehearsals?

“We’re being told,” an upset donor commented, “that Mylan Park won’t have lighting until Phase 2. Which is an indefinite timeline. And now the plan is to use a completely separate field when they need lights.  How is this, in any way, close to the original plan?”

Contrary to Bloom’s claim that stadium lights were not included in Phase 1 of the Pride Practice Facility plan, West Virginia University records show that lighting was incorporated in the first phase of the project as it was presented to donors.

The Pride Practice Facility promised to band members and to donors in solicitations

WVU’s 2021 ‘Request for Proposals’ for the on-campus WVU Marching Band Practice Facility, reads: “WVU has secured enough funds to construct Phase 1 of the project, which includes the practice field, with lights and band tower. The band tower will be relocated from its current location.”

Yet, Riddle – in her attempt to talk up the Mylan Park project on the radio – tried to paint The Pride getting only a field as a ‘win’ for the band: “(It’s) a field,” she said, “that they’ve been trying to secure for some time. And they don’t have to wait till they raise all the money. They can begin the project with what they have raised so far. And it’ll be done probably in phases, because, you know, the cost of a field with lights, without lights, you know, those kinds of bells and whistles keep adding additional things, whether it’s relocating the actual (director’s) tower that they use now for their practices, or building additional storage onto it, whatever…”

Riddle addressed donor assertions of misappropriation of their contributions to benefit Mylan Park: “In today’s world,” she said, “people want to criticize when something doesn’t go exactly the way they might envision it.”

The site at Mylan Park where the WVU Foundation intends to use donor funds

Many alumni who contributed to build an on-campus, state-of-the-art Pride Practice Facility are incensed.

“It seems like they are just throwing shit against the wall and hoping that it will stick,” wrote alumni Shaun Moyers. “Seems shady as hell.”

 

 A Field for High School Tournaments

Documents obtained by Vernissage Magazine suggest the Mylan Park Foundation may have never intended to build the Pride of West Virginia a true college marching band practice facility.

From August through October, Mylan Park officials worked with WVU administrators, County Commissioner Tom Bloom, and a staff member of the WVU Foundation on plans for the Mylan Park artificial turf field.

Mylan Park officials sent field schematics to WVU’s Keith Jackson. But there was a problem. Director of Bands Scott Tobias sent an email to Bloom and Mylan Park board members Ron Justice, Mark Nesselroad, and Leah Summers: “Keith shared the sample plans with me,” Tobias wrote. “In the drawing of the football field, high school hashes are shown… we would need NCAA college hashes on the field.”

In the Alumni Band chat, one concerned donor wrote what many band alumni fear: “This is a Mylan Park field that the band can use. Which is a lot different from a WVU Band facility…  we just donated money to save Mylan Park from having to pay for a project they already planned.”

During Susan Riddle’s talk show appearance, the host noted: “It’s going to be a full-size football field for the band to practice on. But you can’t practice 24-7, 365 days a year… that’s going to be another field that’s available in the park.”

Riddle agreed, stating: “Honestly, we would not be able to pull the trigger on this additional multi-purpose field If it wasn’t for the band. We’ve been talking about it for several years and we just have not been able to make it happen… It’s really, truly a gamechanger for us.”

“This feels less like a partnership and more like the alumni and donors funding a Mylan Park athletic field,” commented an angry donor. “This is no longer a matter of changing location, it’s a fraudulent reallocation of donors’ money.”

Susan Riddle and Tom Bloom did not respond to Vernissage Magazine questions or requests for comments on the content of this article.

WVU Foundation President and CEO Cindi Roth and other WVU Foundation officers also refused to answer questions from Vernissage. A WVU Foundation spokesperson responded: “No Foundation officers or employees were involved in the discussions… regarding the WVU Marching Band Practice Facility moving from the planned Hawley Field location. Upon being informed in October 2023 of the potential relocation of the facility, and the subsequent concerns expressed by donors, the Foundation requested our University colleagues provide further context regarding the decision. Further questions about the location of the practice facility should be directed to the University.”

Ron Justice, Keith Jackson, Scott Tobias and other WVU employees, through a university spokesperson, declined to answer questions or comment on the content of this article.

In the next Vernissage Magazine article:

  • County Commissioner Tom Bloom attempts a late-night explanation of the Mylan Park scheme.
  • Donors and alumni: “The answers just raised more questions…”
Download a PDF of this article: Pride and Prevarication Part 4 – Whose Field Is It

 

The Pride and Prevarication – Part 4 – Whose Field Is it? © 2024 by Vernissage LLC – John D. McPherson is licensed under CC BY-NC-ND 4.0 

 

 

Pride Practice Facility: WVU Students Shamed and Silenced

  • WVU’s Director of Bands calls students who complain about the move to Mylan Park, “An embarrassment to their school and their state.”
  • WVU Dean says the idea of considering student opinion is “Delusional.”

Exclusive:  A Vernissage Magazine Investigation – Part 3

Members of the West Virginia University marching band – known as the Pride of West Virginia – have been awaiting a promised new Pride Practice Facility for years.

Their hopes were dashed during Homecoming Week in October of 2023. That’s when band members were told money donated for the project will instead be used to build an artificial turf multi-purpose field at Mylan Park, a privately-owned complex that serves as a community recreation center.

The announcement took band members and alumni by surprise. Over the last four years some 4,000 alumni and friends of the Pride have donated about $1.25 million to The Pride Practice Facility fund. University and WVU Foundation solicitations for the for donations were clear: The Pride Practice Facility would be built on the Evansdale Campus site of Hawley Field, the former WVU baseball stadium, which the WVU Athletic Department gave to the band for its new facility.

But in the Homecoming Week announcement, band members and alumni were told that, instead of the state-of-the-art complex depicted in numerous donor solicitations, starting next fall the band will practice on an athletic field being built with their donated funds at Mylan Park.

Mylan Park is five miles away from the WVU campus. There are no arrangements for transporting band members to the practice site.

 

Band Members Had Concerns

When students and alumni asked how members of the Pride are expected to get to Mylan Park, WVU’s Band Office released a statement: “…students and alumni are familiar with the culture of ride-sharing.”

The more than 300 members of The Pride of West Virginia are expected to carpool to band practice.

Some band members balked.

At WVU, being in the marching band is a for-credit college class. Students pay fees to march in the Pride. A state resident pays about $790 a semester for two credit hours; non-residents pay about $1,900.

What other class, Pride members asked, requires students to carpool off campus to attend? Others wondered: How will the need to leave campus early to get to Mylan Park in WVU’s extended college town rush hours affect students who must take late-afternoon classes required by their majors?

Within days of the announcement, WVU’s student newspaper, The Daily Athenaeum, ran an article about the plan to move the Pride’s practices to Mylan Park. Band members were interviewed, many saying they were worried about the effects distance and lack of transportation may have on the Pride’s future.

Freshman clarinet player Riley Wessman told the newspaper she is concerned about getting to and from the new facility. “I just want to know how transportation will work,” she told the paper, “because it’s been kind of hard getting rides.” Rachel said: “It’s more convenient to be by the Coliseum in my opinion.”

Another Pride member said they were worried about the added time it would take to get to the new location, especially given heavy afternoon traffic: “Between 12 to four is absolutely horrible, so I feel like people are going to have to plan to leave earlier.”

On social media Pride senior Hannah Neiman said, “I have heard from a few underclassmen saying they are unlikely to return because of the new location.”

As more details about the Mylan Park site emerged, the newspaper published a second article, featuring concerns of alumni and donors.

But suddenly, students were no longer outspoken.

 

Silencing The Pride

At the next home football game, alumna donor Alicia Mazon asked some Pride band members their opinions, but the students told her they were no longer permitted speak publicly about the Mylan Park plan. “I was told by current band members that they have been told not to speak out,” Alicia said.

Contacted by Vernissage Magazine, Neiman confirmed that band section leaders had been instructed to contact her fellow instrumentalists and tell them not to speak out negatively about the Mylan Park plan. “Apparently, section leaders were told to tell everyone not to talk to the media,” she said,. “I wonder if (the band office) knew the general feelings from the band (that members are) unhappy about the location.”

Another individual  -a high school band director- was told by a former student who is now a Pride member that they and their fellow students were being told to not speak out about the Mylan Park site.

“Silencing the current band members was such a concern of mine,” alumna Krista Baumgardner-Tetrick wrote in a donor chatroom. “I cannot express my sorrow and disheartenment that this concern has proven true.”

In a letter to WVU Dean of Creative Arts Keith Jackson, an alumni donor – whose name is redacted from the document provided by the WVU Freedom of Information office to Vernissage Magazine – complained about the mistreatment of students who openly expressed concerns about the Mylan Park plan. The writer is a high school music teacher who says that they have, “sent many students (to WVU) for their Music Education degrees.” The writer goes on to say: “I don’t like hearing that the students – my students – were told they were an embarrassment to their school or state by their Director of Bands.”

While the university employee who reportedly mistreated students is not named in the document, WVU’s Director of Bands is Scott Tobias, who reports to Jackson. Tobias and Jackson refused to respond to questions from Vernissage Magazine.

Some university instructors who learned of the belittling and silencing of students were angered:  “The band staff should want to know and care what the students think,” wrote one WVU professor, who chose to remain anonymous for fear of administrative repercussions. “A few of my advisees are in the band. Students should be allowed to voice their concerns and opinions, because it is they who will be affected.”

Another source on the WVU campus said, “Quite literally every current member I’ve personally spoken to about the new field wishes to stay on the current (practice) lot if Mylan Park is the other proposed option.” But, he told Vernissage Magazine, band members have been threatened into silence: “It was implied that some kind of adverse action would be taken against them if they were to speak out.”

“When they started rebuking the band students,” Sibray said, “I knew something was really wrong.”

 

Student Opinion Derided

In other documents obtained by Vernissage Magazine, WVU administrators exhibit disdain for the opinions of marching band students.

In late October of 2023, alumna Taylor Hall had a lengthy chat exchange with Monongalia County Commissioner Tom Bloom, who documents show helped facilitate the scheme to divert the Pride Practice Facility funds. During their chat, Hall suggested polling band member opinions about the Mylan Park move: “I would love to see a vote of the band members,” she wrote.

The documents obtained through the Freedom of Information Act show that Bloom sent a transcript of his chat with Hall to WVU Dean Keith Jackson. Jackson’s response is derisive: “Student vote? Wow, she is delusional.”

In response, Bloom told Jackson that Hall and other alumni expressing concerns about the Mylan Park scheme, are “instigators” and “entitled Karens”.

Vernissage Magazine contacted Hall, now married with the last name Kinney, to ask her thoughts about the comments of Bloom and Jackson: “Their remarks are so childish. The fact that they don’t realize that what they’re saying could become public knowledge is amazing to me, especially given their public positions. This isn’t about us,” Kinney said. “This is about current students and future band members. They’re the ones who are affected. I think the fact that they refuse to take student perspective into account is terrible.”

 

“We never want to censor a person’s right to free speech…”

If any student members of the Pride of West Virginia marching band were forbidden from speaking out, it would constitute a violation of West Virginia state law, and of the rules of the West Virginia University Board of Governors. West Virginia code explicitly protects free speech on state college campuses:

“Any person who wishes to engage in protected and lawful expressive activity on campus shall be permitted to do so freely… activities protected under… this code include, but are not limited to, any lawful verbal and nonverbal speech.” [WV Senate Bill 657]

The law provides recourse to students whose rights are violated, noting: “Any person or student association aggrieved by a violation of this article may bring an action against the public institution of higher education and its employees acting in their official capacities, responsible for the violation…”

In addition to state law, the West Virginia University Board of Governors Rule 1.8 – Freedom of Expression, states:

“The West Virginia University Board of Governors acknowledges a First Amendment right of free speech and assembly and encourages open dialogue…”

Student members of the Pride of West Virginia have the protected right to freely express opinions about the proposed marching band practice facility. Their right is confirmed by West Virginia University President E. Gordon Gee, who is on record in a 2016 address to the “Mountaineer Family” of alumni, students, and faculty:

“We never want to censor a person’s right to free speech. It is through listening to people who think differently from others that we learn…  I believe that is one of the most valuable experiences one can have on a college campus…The University will always be committed to creating an open forum that supports free speech.”

To many alumni and donors, the enforced silence of students spoke loudly:

“If you have to threaten people to keep quiet,” wrote alumni Zach Bloom (no relation to Tom Bloom), “your idea probably sucks. That alone should be enough to fire a few people.”

 

Band Members Fear Retribution

In preparation for this article Vernissage Magazine reached out to band members. Most did not respond. One student who did told Vernissage that “the band office wasn’t happy” that some students had spoken to journalists: “I know the donor response to the (Mylan Park) move wasn’t the greatest, and I can understand not wanting to be negative as it could feed into those concerns.”

That student told Vernissage they believe that while a field at Mylan Park isn’t ideal, a practice field for the Pride is long overdue, “There’re pros and cons,” the student said.

But after the first two articles in this series appeared the student contacted Vernissage and asked to have their name removed from this article; they feared retribution from university administrators.

“I don’t want my name to be out there,” they said. “I just don’t want any backlash from the band office. I feel it’s better to be safe than sorry. ”

Even though the band member’s opinion about the Mylan Park field was largely neutral, they were afraid of reprisals from band administrators for speaking out: “I don’t want to be in hot water with them.”

Yet another student, who previously told Vernissage they had personal knowledge of band members being silenced through section leaders, changed their story in a follow-up interview. The student declined to confirm their original comments, denied having knowledge of the issue, and asked that their name not be used in this article.

Contacted by Vernissage Magazine, College of Creative Arts Dean Keith Jackson, and Director of Bands Scott Tobias – through a university spokesperson – refused to answer questions or to comment on the content of this article.

Vernissage Magazine submitted questions to WVU administrators, asking about the ethical and legal implications of university students being silenced or berated. A WVU spokesperson responded for the administration, saying: “We have no comment currently.”

In the next Vernissage Magazine article:

  • In the fall of 2023, Mylan Park’s president claims: “We’re seeing an opportunity to build an additional athletic field, but I can’t let the cat out of the bag too soon…”
  • While a  Mylan Park board director boasts: “With the dollars the Pride has raised, we could install another field.”

Download a PDF copy of this article: Pride and Prevarication Part 3 – Students Silenced and Shamed

 

The Pride and Prevarication – Part 3 – Students Shamed and Silenced © 2024 by Vernissage LLC – John D McPherson is licensed under CC BY-NC-ND 4.0 

Pride Practice Facility: Mylan Park Announcement Misfires

  • WVU Foundation VP questions the use of donor funds at Mylan Park.
  • County Commissioner Tom Bloom calls concerned donors, “Entitled Karens.”

Exclusive:  A Vernissage Magazine Investigation – Part 2

West Virginia University administrators, Monongalia County Commissioners, and a WVU Foundation staff member conspired to divert approximately $1.25 million in donations to build an artificial turf football field at the privately-owned recreation facility Mylan Park. Those contributions were solicited explicitly for construction of an on-campus practice facility for WVU’s ‘Pride of West Virginia’ marching band.

Documents obtained through the Freedom of Information Act reveal the machinations leading to the move were initiated in August of 2023 by Dean of WVU’s College of Creative Arts Keith Jackson, WVU Foundation Creative Arts Director of Development Jennifer Jordan, and County Commission President Tom Bloom, who is a marching band alumnus.

The scheme remained undisclosed for months. During that time, the College of Creative Arts and the WVU Foundation continued soliciting donations for the originally planned facility, promising that it would be built on WVU’s Evansdale campus.

The arrangement with Mylan Park was first announced on October 19, 2023 to Pride of West Virginia band members, who were told during their evening band practice that starting in 2024 they will rehearse at Mylan Park.

Documents obtained by Vernissage Magazine show that it took all of thirty-seven minutes for fallout from that announcement to begin.

At 5:37 pm on October 19, under the heading ‘High Importance’, WVU Foundation Associate Vice President Jessica Lunken – apparently unaware of the impending announcement of the Mylan Park scheme – fired off an email to Dean Jackson and WVU Foundation Creative Arts Development Director Jordan. The bold and italicized emphasis in the following is Lunken’s own, as written in the original:

“I am just learning about the new partnership regarding the Pride Facility and its announcement today at 5pm…

My most immediate concern is how are the donors who gave to the previously proposed space (which “broke ground” on October 23, 2021) and are learning about this new partnership with Mylan (going to feel)?

Were those donors contacted in advance? If not, what is the plan? I want to understand (the) plans or proposed plans as to how these donors to the previous Facility will be addressed… I want to make sure… that it doesn’t backfire.”

Lunken’s concern is valid.

In an analysis of the proper use of donor funds, the Foundation Group – a nationwide organization that assists non-profits adhere to legal compliance – notes:

“If a situation arises that is serious enough to necessitate re-purposing of restricted funds (meaning funds donated for a specific purpose), it is necessary to obtain permission from the original donor(s)… That is the only legal way to use the money for purposes other than the original restriction.”

Vernissage Magazine asked WVU Foundation CEO Cindi Roth why, once the plan to use the Pride Practice Facility Fund at Mylan Park became public, donors to the band’s Pride Practice Facility Fund were not notified and asked permission for the use of their contributions at Mylan Park? Roth refused to respond to the question.

On October 20, 2023 County Commission President Tom Bloom took to the podium to publicly announce the Mylan Park move at the WVU Alumni Band organization’s Homecoming gathering. It started a firestorm.

Bloom, a former Pride of West Virginia drummer, had been promoting “exciting news” upcoming at the event on the group’s social media site. But upon hearing the news, many Alumni Band members were upset.

 

The “Bait and Switch”

Marching band alumni played a significant role in raising contributions for the Pride Practice Facility, which is entirely funded by private donations. Many contend their donations were solicited with the promise that the facility would be built on-campus. Numerous solicitations – as the WVU Foundation’s Lunken noted in her email – stated explicitly that the Pride Practice Facility would be constructed on the Evansdale Campus site of WVU’s former baseball stadium, Hawley Field.

Many alumni and donors criticized Bloom’s announcement. They called using their donations to build a football field at Mylan Park – a privately-owned recreational complex which serves as a community athletic center – a “bait-and-switch” scheme.

“This is not the project that I donated to,” wrote Mark Dean in an Alumni Band chat, “I’m a bit miffed at the bait-and-switch. I find it suspect that a county commissioner brokered a “deal” for alumni-donated money to go toward a county project…”

Portfolio images from the firm that designed the promised on-campus facility. The firm states that it, “transformed a defunct baseball field into a state-of-the-art band practice and equipment storage facility.” These illustrations were used by the University and WVU Foundation to solicit donor contributions, and clearly show the Pride Practice Facility located on WVU’s Evansdale campus, near the University Coliseum. The firm’s portfolio states: “We conceptualized the design and created marketing materials to assist the University in seeking project funding.”

 

Bloom’s subsequent attempts to explain his actions on the Alumni Band social media site met with such anger that the group’s administrator deleted the initial comment threads.

“I think all but two of the posts about the field have been removed,” wrote site administrator Jerry Clark. “Name calling and accusing people of malfeasance will not be tolerated.”

But the conflagration continued in a private alumni chat room. Donors accused Bloom, the university, and the WVU Foundation of betraying both the intent of their donations and The Pride of West Virginia.

The next day, Saturday, October 21, WVU’s Keith Jackson emailed Bloom. Under the heading ‘Regroup’ Jackson wrote: “Sorry you are getting beat up over this.”

In response, Bloom admitted to “losing his cool” with some who questioned the legality of using the band’s donations at Mylan Park: “…as soon as they throw out legal action,” he wrote, “I get mad.”

 

Calling in the Big Dogs

A day later, October 22, 2023,  Jackson emailed Bloom again: “I just wrote to Maryanne, Kreider, Cindi Roth, and BJ Davisson. Looking to get the biggest dogs together for guidance.”

Records reveal that within days of the Mylan Park announcement some alumni began contacting the WVU Foundation, asking for their money back.

One donor, whose name was redacted by WVU’s Freedom of Information office, wrote: “This significant change in the project’s location feels inconsistent with the initial proposal and vision that was communicated to donors. To many, including me, this feels like a bait and switch…”

Another wrote: “I feel like we’ve been duped. You promised the band a facility on campus and all your requests for money were for that facility.”

Documents obtained by Vernissage Magazine show the WVU Foundation and the university circling wagons after the Mylan Park announcement, crafting statements to fend off allegations of fraud and deceptive practices.

In response to donor complaints, WVU Foundation President and CEO Cindi Roth claimed: “The Foundation played no role in the decision to locate the practice facility at any particular location.”

WVU Foundation representative Andrea Hasley sent an email to Foundation Executive VP and Chief Development Officer BJ Davisson – another of the ‘biggest dogs’ that Jackson sought to engage for public relations assistance – and to Jennifer Jordan, the WVU Foundation Development Director who helped initiate the scheme to divert Pride donor funds to Mylan Park: “Just got off the phone with [name redacted],” Hasley writes. “I ‘beta tested’ some of the talking points and he was quite receptive… “

When asked, the WVU Foundation refused to share those talking points with Vernissage Magazine.

The Mylan Park Pride practice field location

As recently as late December, the WVU Foundation was responding to media inquiries about the Mylan Park plan with the official statement, “None of the Foundation’s fundraising activities have been conducted under false pretenses.”

Jennifer Jordan

But documents obtained through the Freedom of Information Act show that, contrary to the WVU Foundation claims,  the WVU Foundation’s  College of Creative Arts Development Director Jennifer Jordan was directly involved in the scheme to use the Foundation’s Pride Practice Facility donated funds at Mylan Park long before the move was publicly announced. The WVU Foundation directory lists Jordan as a WVU Foundation staff member in its University Development office. Documents also show also that at least two other WVU Foundation staff members were aware of and involved in the scheme to divert private contributions to Mylan Park before the scheme was announced.

 

“They Are Entitled Karens…”

Many donors continued challenging what they considered misuse of their contributions. Discussions raged in private chatrooms. Bloom, a member of the Alumni Band, accessed and monitored the chatter, engaging some concerned members. As the conflagration continued, he emailed WVU’s Jackson: “I wanted to copy my private conversation with Taylor Hall. Since she is making up anything she can to stop this project.”

Taylor Hall is a Morgantown resident and alumna of the Pride of West Virginia marching band. She donated to the Pride Practice Facility fund.

In a lengthy exchange, Hall said to Bloom, “There are serious legal issues with this… a lot of people feel like they were lied to and deceived, myself among them.”

Bloom told Hall: “The Pride is paying for the new (Mylan Park) field… you can complain all you want.”

Bloom then emailed a copy of the entire chat to Jackson, writing: “Most of the complainers… believe they gave for a …(band) field… located on the Evansdale campus.”

Bloom makes a recommendation:

“My suggestion is to look at several of the major instigators and look how much money they actually gave.”

Then, Monongalia County Commission President Tom Bloom writes of donors who complain about the misuse of their donations to the promised on-campus Pride Practice Facility: “They are entitled Karens.“

Jackson replies:. “We are finding the same traits and instigators. We have been tracking the giving  records… the complainers are all in the smaller category.”

Jackson then tells Bloom, “We had been in discussion with major donors since our first meeting with you.” That first meeting was in August of 2023.

Yet, for months after August, WVU’s College of Creative Arts website continued soliciting donations for the originally-planned Pride Practice Facility, stating the facility would be, “dedicated rehearsal space on the Evansdale Campus.” The web page was illustrated with eight architectural renderings of the proposed state-of-the-art facility, all of which depict the complex located on the Evansdale Campus.

A button marked, ‘Make a Gift Now’ linked directly to the WVU Foundation, where donations were accepted. That WVU web page was still active the week after the University announced that contributions would instead be used to build a multi-purpose field at Mylan Park.

According to records obtained by Vernissage Magazine, around 4,000 donors contributed to the Pride Practice Facility Fund, many with the understanding that their donations would be used to build the band a practice facility on the Evansdale Campus.

Most were not ‘major donors.’

 

An Enormous Level of Arrogance.”

“Why should that matter?” asked Taylor Hall – now married with the last name of Kinney – when contacted by Vernissage Magazine. Vernissage asked Kinney’s thoughts about Jackson and Bloom critiquing the size of contributions made by those opposed to the Mylan Park plan. “Thousands of people from across all generations and walks of life gave what they could to support the Pride,” she said. “It’s ludicrous. We may be smaller donors; but everyone who donated should be respected.”

Many donors were like the individual who sent the following email to Jackson after learning of the Mylan Park plan. The donor’s name was redacted by the WVU Freedom of Information Office. But the sentiment is clear:

“My brother and I donated in honor of my dad. We were assured of (The Pride Practice Facility) being on the Evansdale Campus, and had pictures of what it would look like. It wasn’t a ton of money, but what we could comfortably do…”

Another donor wrote:

“I forked over more than $500 over several years looking forward to the day (that the Pride of West Virginia Practice Facility) became a reality. I am disappointed and disheartened…”

Vernissage Magazine asked Keith Jackson and Tom Bloom why the size of a donor’s contribution should make a difference in the value of their opinion. Both Jackson and Bloom refused to respond to the question.

Contacted by Vernissage, former band member Sandy Sibray said: “I gave what I could afford. That’s what all of us did. That makes me a lesser person? What level of donation do I need to make before I’m considered a worthy alumna?” she asked. “The WVU Foundation isn’t shy about sending me requests for contributions, but apparently that’s not good enough for Keith Jackson. He’s diminishing the gifts of thousands of alumni. Which tells me he doesn’t care about us. That’s an enormous level of arrogance.”

Vernissage Magazine asked WVU Foundation President and CEO Cindi Roth why, once the scheme to use restricted Pride Practice Facility funds at Mylan Park became public, donors were not – as IRS regulations appear to require – notified of the diversion of their contributions and given the option of agreeing to use of their donations at Mylan Park or requesting a refund. Roth refused to respond to the question.

Employees of West Virginia University, through a university spokesperson, refused to answer questions for this article, or to comment on its content.

Tom Bloom did not respond to questions for this article, or to an offer comment on its content.

In the next Vernissage Magazine article:

  • WVU’s Director of Bands calls band members who share concerns about the Mylan Park practice site complain, “an embarrassment to their school.”
  • Students of the Pride of West Virginia are forbidden from speaking out… which is a direct violation of state law.

Download a PDF of this article: Pride and Prevarication Part 2 – Mylan Park Announcement Misfires

 

The Pride and Prevarication – Part 2 – Mylan Announcement Misfires © 2024 by Vernissage LLC – John D McPherson is licensed under CC BY-NC-ND 4.0 

Pride Practice Facility: Mylan Park Deal Made in Secret Meeting

  • Monongalia County Commissioners held an unscheduled “behind closed doors” meeting with WVU officials, Mylan Park board members in August of 2023.
  • WVU Foundation staff member was involved in the Mylan Park scheme months before it was announced.

Exclusive:  A Vernissage Magazine Investigation – Part 1

Monongalia County Commissioners held an unannounced meeting on August 28, 2023, in which commissioners discussed diverting about $1.25 million in private contributions – donated to build WVU’s Pride of West Virginia marching band an on-campus practice facility – and using that money instead to build an artificial turf field at Mylan Park.

WVU Athletic Director Wren Baker and WVU Director of Local Government Relations Ron Justice participated in the meeting. Baker, Justice, and County Commissioner Sean Sikora all sit on the Mylan Park Foundation’s Board of Directors.

Records obtained through the Freedom of Information Act reveal the Mylan Park plan was initiated in August of 2023 by College of Creative Arts Dean Keith Jackson, Creative Arts Director of Development Jennifer Jordan – who is on the staff of the WVU Foundation’s University Development department – and County Commission President Tom Bloom.

Bloom, Jackson, and Jordan arranged a meeting to discuss the Pride Practice Facility’s future on August 22. The meeting was scheduled – at Bloom’s suggestion – at a restaurant franchised by Mylan Park Board Member Clifford Sutherland.

That discussion culminated in the October announcement that WVU’s planned state-of-the-art practice facility – originally slated for the Evansdale campus – will instead consist of an artificial turf multi-purpose field at Mylan Park, a privately-owned recreational complex nearly five miles from the WVU campus.

Emails obtained by Vernissage Magazine tell an entirely different story from the public statements made by County Commissioner Tom Bloom and by WVU Foundation President and CEO Cindi Roth since the Mylan Park announcement was made. Despite repeated public denials, records show that Monongalia County commissioners and a staff member of the WVU Foundation actively participated in the scheme to assist Mylan Park gain use of the band’s donated money to build an artificial turf field that the Mylan Park Foundation board has long wanted, but previously been unable to fund.

 

A Long-Promised Dream Derailed

Many alumni and donors contend the use of their funds at Mylan Park breaks explicit promises made in solicitations by WVU and the WVU Foundation that their contributions would be used to build the Pride Practice Facility on WVU’s Evansdale Campus.

Alumni and friends of the WVU marching Band – The Pride of West Virginia – have been raising money since 2019 for a practice facility on the WVU Campus. WVU’s Athletic Department gave the band the site of the former baseball stadium, Hawley Field on which to build the facility. In March of 2021 the university issued a request for proposals to begin construction. A ceremonial groundbreaking was held that October.

Yet during band practice on the evening of October 19, 2023, members of the marching band were told their long-awaited practice facility would not be built on-campus after all; starting the fall of this year, the band will instead practice on a multi-purpose field to be built at Mylan Park.

The site at Mylan Park where the field will be built

One day later, on October 20, County Commission President Tom Bloom announced the Mylan Park plan to members of WVU’s Alumni Band during that group’s Homecoming gathering.

Bloom, a former Pride of West Virginia drummer, had posted on the organization’s social media site that alumni should expect “some exciting news” during the annual event.

But many alumni were not excited about the new plan.

Members of the Alumni Band played a significant role in raising money for the Pride Practice Facility, which is funded entirely by private donations. Some 4000 contributors have given about $1.25 million to the project. Many contend their donations were solicited with the explicit promise that the facility would be built on the Evansdale Campus’ Hawley Field site.

Numerous alumni criticized Bloom’s announcement. They called use of their donations at Mylan Park – which serves as a county recreation center – a “bait-and-switch” scheme. Some angrily confronted Bloom.

Hours later, Bloom posted on the Alumni Band social page attempting, as he put it, “to try and answer some questions” about the Mylan Park move and his involvement in it.

“I was approached by WVU band office,” Bloom wrote. “In the last 4 weeks, I brokered a deal with WVU and Mylan Park.”

Later, in an online alumni chatroom, donors complained they could not get satisfactory answers from university administrators as to why the practice facility would not be built on campus, as donor solicitations promised. Contributor Aaron Dean asked Bloom: “Your initial post said you were the one to broker the deal. As an elected official… should we not be able to ask these questions to you or the Monongalia County Commission?”

Tom Bloom responded: “County Commission was never involved.”

Donor Sandy Sibray says Bloom told her the same when she spoke with him on the telephone after the announcement: “I asked him on the phone, “Are you involved as a County Commissioner?” And he told me, “The County Commission is in no way involved in this.”

 

Closed Doors and Conflicting Interests

In numerous public statements since the announcement, Tom Bloom has insisted he acted as only a ‘broker’ or go-between, not as a Monongalia County Commissioner. He has repeatedly claimed the Monongalia County Commission was not involved in the Mylan Park decision.

But documents obtained by Vernissage Magazine through the Freedom of Information Act contradict Bloom’s statements.

In his initial August email to Bloom, WVU Dean Keith Jackson wrote: “Wondering if we can get together… would like to float an idea by you as County Commissioner.”

Bloom and Jackson met August 22. At Bloom’s suggestion, they had lunch at the Green Turtle, a restaurant franchised by Mylan Park Foundation board director Clifford Sutherland through a limited-liability corporation. The restaurant is in a business development that is also co-owned by Sutherland.

The next week, on Monday, August 28, Bloom emailed Jackson. Under the subject heading ‘Have a compromise,’ Bloom wrote:

“I met today with Wren Baker, Ron Justice, and the County Commissioners. We discussed several issues and I brought up an idea about the band field being out at Mylan. Please call me… Ron and I came up with an idea that everyone thought would be a good proposal. I am excited to talk with you. All of this was done behind closed doors.”

According to public records on file with the U.S. Internal Revenue Service, WVU Athletic Director Wren Baker, WVU Director of Local Government Relations Ron Justice, and Monongalia County Commissioner Sean Sikora all sit on the board of directors of the Mylan Park Foundation. Ron Justice is currently President of the Mylan Park Foundation board.

There are no records of an August 28 County Commission meeting on file in the Monongalia County Courthouse. Mondays are not advertised commission meeting days.

During the Reports from County Commissioners portion of the commission’s scheduled August 30 meeting, all three county commissioners briefly noted having met with the WVU Athletics Department. All fail to mention that directors of the Mylan Park Foundation or a WVU Administration official attended the meeting.

Sean Sikora, who is both a county commissioner and Mylan Park board member, reported simply, “Monday we had a meeting with the Athletic Department.” Commissioner Jeffrey Arnett reported only, “We participated with the Athletic Department in a meeting.” County Commission President Tom Bloom stated: “We did meet with WVU Athletics to discuss some future issues; and hopefully we’ll be getting back to discuss those issues.” Bloom then went on to report that earlier that week he had performed with the WVU Alumni Band at a local picnic.

The West Virginia Ethics Commission has determined that a quorum of county commissioners may meet outside of official session only so long as they do not begin deliberating toward a decision that would require official action. Otherwise, the meeting may be held to be illegal.

 

Donors Be Damned – The WVU Foundation Connection

After Tom Bloom’s attempt to explain his role in the Mylan Park move, dozens of band alumni replied angrily.

“How can anyone justify this obvious bait and switch?” Ann Mayle asked on the Alumni Band social site.

“You and every official who put this bait-and-switch together were wrong. We sold this idea to thousands of people who donated for the original plan,” Dylan Johnson wrote to Bloom, “This is disgusting.”

Mylan Park has long wanted a new artificial turf field but has not been able to finance one. After the announcement that the marching band’s funds will be used at the park, another Mylan Park Foundation director, Susan Riddle, said in a live radio interview, “We would not be able to pull the trigger on this additional multi-purpose field If it wasn’t for the band’s interest in doing so. We’ve been talking about it for several years and we just have not been able to make it happen.”

Many alumni, like Eric Kendall, questioned whether the Mylan Park scheme constituted a misuse of funds: “I’m genuinely curious how this doesn’t go against IRS regulations regarding restricted use of donor funds. We were told this would be for a specific facility at a specific location, and gave by specifically designating funds for that purpose.”

Many donors contend their donations to the Pride Practice Facility were “restricted use” contributions. Meaning, under IRS rules, the funds can be used only for the exact purpose for which they were solicited. They believe that their contributions were solicited explicitly for a practice facility on the Evansdale Campus, and using those funds at Mylan Park is, if not illegal, certainly unethical.

Wrote Heather Armentrout Dyer: “Having worked with nonprofit executives on fundraising campaigns for years, this absolutely was handled wrong.”

WVU’s own announcement of the diversion of donor funds to Mylan Park also quotes Riddle, who, in addition to sitting on Mylan Park’s Board of Directors, is also president and CEO of the local Visit Mountaineer Country Convention and Visitors Bureau. “For several years, Mylan Park has planned to build an additional (artificial) turf field.” Riddle states that using the Pride of West Virginia’s money to install that field will, “serve to further support the greater Morgantown area as a tourism destination.”

According to the organization’s website, Tom Bloom holds a seat on the Visit Mountaineer Country Convention and Visitors Bureau’s Board of Directors.

“Would this be misappropriation of funds?” asked Kristen Smith in the alumni chat. “Taking funds for a specific project and putting them towards something else.”

Faced with increasing criticism, the WVU Foundation, which is legally responsible for proper stewardship of the band’s donated funds, issued an official statement:

“On behalf of the WVU College of Creative Arts, the Foundation commenced fundraising efforts to support the construction of a much-needed practice facility for the WVU Marching Band approximately four years ago. At that time, the Foundation was informed by WVU that the facility would be constructed at the former WVU baseball complex known as ‘Hawley Field’, and the Foundation conducted its fundraising efforts accordingly. Recently, we were informed that WVU has determined to construct its practice facility at a location other than Hawley Field.”

On November 3, 2023, WVU Foundation President and CEO Cindi Roth wrote in a letter responding to a Vernissage Magazine inquiry about the use of the Pride’s monies at Mylan Park, “The Foundation played no role in the decision to locate the practice facility at any particular location.”

Records, obtained by Vernissage Magazine through the Freedom of Information Act, conflict with those statements.

Emails show that a staff member of the WVU Foundation’s University Development office was involved in the scheme to use Pride Practice Facility funds at Mylan Park as early as the summer of 2023.

The documents also show that the WVU Foundation continued soliciting contributions for an on-campus practice facility even as that staff member was involved in the design and planning of an artificial turf field to be built Mylan Park with those donations.

In his August 9 email scheduling a meeting with County Commission President Tom Bloom, College of Creative Arts Dean Keith Jackson wrote: “I would be including (in our meeting) Director of Development, Jennifer Jordan.”

Jennifer Jordan oversees funding for the College of Creative Arts, which includes The Pride of West Virginia marching band. Jordan is listed in the WVU Foundation staff directory as a Director of Development in the WVU Foundation’s University Development office.

Documents obtained by Vernissage Magazine show that Jordan was involved through the autumn of 2023 in assisting Mylan Park with planning construction of an artificial turf field to be financed with the Pride of West Virginia’s donor funds. Jordan was invited to attend the August 22 meeting with Bloom and Jackson. Jordan was also part of ongoing planning discussions with Mylan Park board members Ron Justice, Mark Nesselroad, and Leah Summers, as well as Monongalia County Commission President Tom Bloom.

In an October 3 email, Bloom includes Jordan as a primary addressee in a discussion about drone videos of the Mylan Park field location, and how the videos could be used to solicit additional donor contributions: “My purpose is to show where the new… field will be situated,” Bloom writes, “a different perspective for fundraising.”

In another email, WVU Director of Bands Scott Tobias engages in discussion with Bloom and Mylan Park board members about the band’s practice requirements:

“I’ve attached a document with information about facility needs,” Tobias writes.

Bloom then requests, “Could you put Jennifer in this email.”

Dean Keith Jackson links Jordan into the discussion: “Looping in Jennifer,” he writes.

The planning discussion continues, with WVU Foundation staffer Jennifer Jordan included.

At about the same time, the WVU Foundation sent Jackson another email. It’s a copy of a donor solicitation being released in his name. The solicitation reads:

“Almost 4000 donors have invested more than $1 million dollars towards building a home for the WVU Marching Band. The Pride of WV appreciates your support as we work to raise another $5 million dollars…”

The pitch is followed by a link directing donors to the WVU’s Pride Practice Facility fund. That website, linked to the Foundation for contributions, explicitly stated that contributions would go toward an on-campus Pride Practice Facility, even though University Development’s Jordan was at the time actively working to use those gifts to benefit Mylan Park.

The emails obtained by Vernissage Magazine show that, contrary to Roth’s assertions, other WVU Foundation staff members were also involved in the Mylan Park plan prior to its announcement. Among those who documents show were aware of the scheme prior to its announcement are WVU Foundation Director of Communications and Marketing Garret Cullen and Communications Specialist Cassie Rice.

Confronted with complaints about the possible misuse of donor funds, WVU Foundation President and CEO Cindi Roth has consistently claimed that the Foundation “played no role” in the Pride Practice Facility’s funds being used at Mylan Park.

The Foundation has repeatedly told media representatives inquiring about the Pride Practice Facility: “None of the Foundation’s fundraising activities have been conducted under false pretenses.”

In response to questions submitted by Vernissage Magazine about Jordan’s involvement in the Mylan Park scheme, a WVU Foundation spokesperson replied: “No Foundation officers or employees were involved in the discussions from summer to late autumn 2023 regarding the WVU Marching Band Practice Facility moving from the planned Hawley Field location.”

In the case of Jordan, that assertion rests on a technicality: Jordan was hired by the WVU College of Creative Arts, rather than the WVU Foundation. However. Jordan’s name, photo, and contact information are listed in the WVU Foundation staff directory, alongside 22 other staff members of the Foundation’s University Development department who direct funding efforts for university divisions through the WVU Foundation.

Garrett Cullen and Cassie Rice are listed as staff members of the Foundation’s Communications and Donor Engagement department in that same directory. According to a WVU Foundation email obtained through the Freedom of Information Act, Cullen and Rice were involved in planning communications initiatives prior to the Mylan Park announcement. “There was a question,” a WVU Foundation VP wrote to Jordan, “about whether announcing the (band’s) Macy’s Parade funding opportunity should be mentioned alongside (the Mylan Park announcement). I know that Garret and Cassie were contacted earlier…”

WVU Foundation President and CEO Roth refused to answer Vernissage Magazine’s question asking why donors to the Pride Practice Facility Fund have never been officially notified about – or their permission sought for – the redirected use of their contributions, as IRS regulations appear to require. Roth, and other WVU Foundation officers, also refused to answer the question of how building a multi-purpose athletic field for the benefit of the Mylan Park Foundation could be considered a legal and ethical use of funds that were explicitly solicited for a Pride Practice Facility on the WVU campus.

University Development Director Jennifer Jordan failed to respond to questions from Vernissage Magazine, or to the opportunity to comment on the content of this article.

Roth and other officers of the WVU Foundation have declined to explain how it could be possible that Jordan, Cullen, and Rice should be involved in the Mylan Park scheme prior its announcement, while other Foundation officers supposedly remained unaware. The WVU Foundation also failed to respond to the question of how, if true, that kind of disconnect within the Foundation might affect donor confidence in whether Foundation officers have the capacity to properly maintain fiduciary responsibility for donor contributions, or the WVU Foundation’s $2.8 billion in assets.

The WVU Foundation statement to Vernissage Magazine concludes: “Upon being informed in October 2023 of the potential relocation of the facility, and the subsequent concerns expressed by donors, the Foundation requested our University colleagues provide further context regarding the decision. Further questions about the location of the practice facility should be directed to the University.”

Through a university spokesperson, Jackson, Justice, Baker, and a number of other WVU employees declined to answer questions or to comment on the content of this article. Specifically, Dean Keith Jackson refused to respond to questions asking why he initiated the scheme to move the Pride Practice Facility off the WVU campus, where numerous solicitations promised it would be built, or why he first contacted County Commission President Tom Bloom.

Tom Bloom failed to respond to a list of questions from Vernissage Magazine, or to take the opportunity of an offer to comment on the content of this article.

In the next Vernissage Magazine article:

  • The Mylan Park announcement backfires. Keith Jackson urges calling in “big PR guns.”
  • County Commission President Tom Bloom calls constituents who complain about the redirection of their donations, “entitled Karens.” 

DOWNLOAD A PDF OF THIS ARTICLE: Pride and Prevarication Part 1 – The Secret Deal

The Pride and Prevarication – Part 1 – The Secret Deal © 2024 by Vernissage, LLC – John D. McPherson is licensed under CC BY-NC-ND 4.0 

In Pictures: What This Series is About

  • It begins with a simple question: Why is the promised practice facility for the West Virginia University marching band being moved to a privately-owned recreation center miles away from the WVU campus?

A visual introduction to an exclusive Vernissage Magazine Investigation

They Say That a Picture is Worth a Thousand Words.

More than four thousand people contributed a total of $1.25 million to build WVU’s Pride of West Virginia Marching Band a dedicated, state-of-the-art practice facility on the WVU campus. The financial goal for construction was reached in 2021. A groundbreaking ceremony was held. But construction never began. Then, in late October of 2023, WVU officials announced that the band’s practice facility would not be built on campus, as promised. Instead, The Pride’s donated funds will be used to build a field for the band to practice on at a privately-owned recreational complex called Mylan Park.

The following week, seeking to quell controversy over the announcement, the university posted a FAQ which read, in part: “As the University continued to plan for a new practice facility, several issues evolved with the on-campus site.” The FAQ noted ‘drainage issues ‘and ‘space concerns’ at Hawley Field, WVU’s former campus baseball stadium where the practice facility was supposed to be built. The WVU Foundation, the university nonprofit legally responsible for proper administration of contributions, has indicated it will use The Pride’s $1.25 million in donor funds to build a field at Mylan Park.

The articles that follow are an investigation into what donors to the Pride Practice Facility call a “bait-and-switch” operation, using their generosity to benefit a private, politically-connected entity. The following images illustrate their concerns.

Note: All of the photographs in this article were taken on the same day, between 1:30 and 2:30 pm, March 11, 2024.

THE PRIDE PRACTICE FACILITY THAT WAS PRESENTED TO DONORS IN SOLICITATIONS

BELOW: This is the Pride Practice Facility donors were promised in WVU Foundation solicitations. It features an artificial turf replica of WVU’s football field, a covered pavilion for music rehearsal during inclement weather, and a climate-controlled instrument and uniform storage building with restrooms. The first phase of construction -which university internal records show was fully-funded in 2021 – was to have included the artificial turf field, stadium lights for evening practice, and a tower from which the band director would conduct practice:

THE PRIDE PRACTICE FACILITY LOCATION SPECIFICALLY PROMISED TO MEMBERS OF THE PRIDE AND TO DONORS

BELOW: This is Hawley Field, the location where the Pride Practice Facility was supposed to be built. This is the location promised to members of The Pride, and to donors in WVU Foundation solicitations. University records show that Hawley Field – WVU’s former baseball stadium – was given to the marching band by the WVU Athletic Department for facility construction. This site is on WVU’s Evansdale Campus, adjacent to the men’s soccer stadium, the WVU Coliseum, and across the street from the College of Creative Arts, where the School of Music and WVU Band Office are located. This site is fewer than 200-yards from where The Pride currently practices. On the afternoon of March 11, 2024, Hawley Field was dry:

THE LOCATION AT PRIVATELY-OWNED MYLAN PARK WHERE THE WVU FOUNDATION WILL USE DONOR FUNDS

BELOW: This is the location at Mylan Park where WVU and the WVU Foundation intend to use donor funds to build an artificial turf football field for marching band practice and park rental. This site is five miles from campus, down a winding, two-lane road that highway studies declared “inadequate” over ten years ago. More than 300 students will have to carpool to this location for autumn afternoon practice, returning to campus in late evening darkness. On the afternoon of March 11, 2024, this site was wet and muddy, a large part of it covered by standing water:

A COMPARISON OF FACILITES

BELOW: The promised on-campus Pride Practice Facility included a covered pavilion for music rehearsal in inclement weather. To build that pavilion, the band would have to raise more money from donors. Mylan Park has offered to let The Pride use a picnic pavilion adjacent to the new field site, if it’s not being rented. On the left is the pavilion as originally portrayed to Pride members and to donors. On the right is the Mylan Park picnic pavilion:

Below: This is the ground between the Mylan Park field location and the Mylan Park picnic shelter ‘rehearsal pavilion’:

A PANORAMIC COMPARISON OF THE TWO SITES

Below: Comparison panoramic views of the two sites. As noted, both of these photographs were taken between 1:30 and 2:30 in the afternoon on the same day, March 11, 2024.

Top Panorama: The on-campus Hawley Field location promised to The Pride and to donors in WVU and WVU Foundation solicitations. Hawley Field was given to The Pride by the WVU Athletic Department specifically for construction of the intended state-of-the-art Pride Practice Facility.

Bottom Panorama: The Mylan Park field location. WVU and the WVU Foundation intend to use the funds donors contributed for the Pride Practice Facility to build an artificial turf field on this site. That field will be made available for recreational rental by Mylan Park. Mylan Park Foundation officials have refused to answer the question of whether The Pride -whose private contributions are being used to build the Mylan Park field- will receive any portion of that rental income.

WHAT THIS SERIES IS ABOUT

The series that follows, The Pride and Prevarication, is the result of more than four months of investigation by Vernissage Magazine. These reports are based on publicly available records at the university, county, state, and federal levels, as well as emails and other communications obtained by Vernissage through the use of the Freedom of Information Act.

Over the course of this series of articles, Vernissage will examine the issues and individuals involved in this questionable diversion of public donor funds that appears to largely benefit a private entity, which has long desired an artificial turf football field.

In the next Vernissage Magazine article: 

Our story begins in August of 2023, with a secret meeting of county commissioners, WVU administrators, and Mylan Park Foundation directors… and a back room deal for a long-coveted football field, paid for by donors who thought they were contributing to the on-campus, state-of-the-art practice facility that the Pride of West Virginia was promised.

DOWNLOAD A PDF OF THIS ARTICLE: In Pictures – The Pride and Prevarication – What this Series is About

The Pride and Prevarication –  Vernissage Magazine Investigation © 2024 by John McPherson is licensed under CC BY-NC-ND 4.0