Glenn Connelly / Photo Editor

San Diego State Athletic Director Jeff Schemmel resigned Thursday after a three-month-long investigation revealing he requested university reimbursement for a romantic rendezvous with a married Alabama woman.

Schemmel, who received a three-year extension on his contract in May, will receive a $116,000 lump-sum settlement along with a $20,000 forgiveness on a housing loan. The settlement is comprised of non-state funds and represents roughly 40 percent of his annual salary.

The purpose of the settlement is to prevent Schemmel from filing a lawsuit against SDSU, according to Gina Jacobs, manager of SDSU Media Relations.

“I am particularly pleased with the improvement we have been making in graduation rates and gender equity under Jeff’s leadership,” SDSU President Stephen L. Weber said in a reference letter included in the settlement agreement.

With appearances at the NIT and NCAA tournaments for men’s and women’s basketball, as well as a heralded hire of Brady Hoke as the new head football coach, Schemmel’s work as athletic director has helped improve the department’s “level of excellence” on and off the field of play, Weber said at a press conference held Thursday.

The investigation began when an Alabama man, John David Lineberger, subpoenaed SDSU for Schemmel’s travel expense records in relation to Lineberger’s ongoing divorce with his wife, Carolyn 8212; the woman Schemmel was allegedly having an affair with.

Schemmel’s itinerary for a trip from Jan. 14-18 showed him traveling to Atlanta for a meeting with an athletic consultation firm, Parker Executive Search. When in Atlanta, expense records show that Schemmel rented a vehicle, which he reportedly drove to Point Clear, Ala. to meet Carolyn. He requested reimbursement for both the trip to Atlanta and the rental car, a total of $452.60.

Schemmel originally purchased a roundtrip flight from San Diego to Washington D.C. for the NCAA Convention, but changed his flight almost three weeks later to include the stop in Atlanta, a $330.90 increase in price.

Though Schemmel requested a reimbursement for his rental car, gas and flight change, he did pay for his own hotel room in Point Clear for three nights, from Jan. 16-18.

Weber said the issue was not the alleged affair.

“There’s a difference between misuse of funds, misfiling and what those were misfiled for,” Weber said. “We were concerned about the misfiling of the expense report.”

Weber said the search for a new director is already under way, and they hope to have a replacement by March 1 of next year. Don Oberhelman will replace Schemmel on an interim basis.

Student athletes have been instructed not to comment on the incident and Assistant Athletic Director of Media Relations Mike May was not available for immediate response. According to Weber, Schemmel has paid the university back for the money in question.

Schemmel, who has been married for 32 years and has two sons, also resigned from his position as associate athletics director at the University of Minnesota after an investigation uncovered academic fraud involving the Gopher’s men’s basketball team in 1999.

In 2003 Rick Bay, Schemmel’s predecessor, resigned after a California State University audit found the athletic department mismanaging and wavering from admission guidelines.
“I think the tragedy of the situation 8212; and it is tragic on a personal level and an institutional level 8212; is that his ability to continue to serve the university was compromised,” Weber said. “I think Jeff reached that conclusion himself.”

“My decision to resign was agonizing, and based solely on concern for my wife and my family and the continued public scrutiny of our private lives. We have done much and are moving in a great direction at San Diego State. The program is in excellent shape with very good people in place. Those that I have worked with both inside the department and outside the university are the very best I have ever been around, and I’m appreciative of the opportunity to work at such a great institution. I am proud of what we have accomplished here in a relatively short period of time, and I will continue to stay close and help however and whenever I can.”
8212;Jeff Schemmel