Bi-Partisan Effort Increasing

June 10, Iowa Senators Chuck Grassley ( R - Iowa ) and Tom Haskins (D - Iowa) sent a letter to Big Ten Commissioner Jim Delany asking:

http://www.desmoinesregister.com/assets/pdf/D2160017624.PDF

"
(1) Provide a copy of the most recent Form 990 filed with the IRS for the Big Ten Conference;

(2) Provide a comprehensive breakdown of all Program Service Revenue; including a detailed breakdown of "Sports Revenues" and "Operating Revenues";


(3) Provide an explanation of how all Program Servive Revenue furthers the state charitable purpose of the Conference;

(4) Provide an updated list of grant distriubutions to member academic institutions for 2008 and 2009 and explain how each distribution furthers the Conference's charitable purposes;

(5) Provide a detailed explanantion of how the Conference determined the grant award amounts for 2007, 2008, 2009;

(6) Provide a detailed explanantion of how any considered, planned, or possible expansion of the Conference will help further the stated charitable purpose of the Conference;

(7) Provide all copies of any proposed expansion, merger, or consolidation plans the Conference has considered, developed, requested, or otherwise discussed and explain how the Cnference decided on which schools to invite;

(8) Provide a detailed list of all dues and other assesments that member academic institutions pay to the Conference, how they are calculated and how they are utilized;

(9) Provide a detailed list of revenue generated by corporate sponsorships;

(10) Provide copies of any documentation used to determine commissioner's compensation, including compensation studies and minutes of full board, executive committee or compensation committee meetings where compensation amounts were decided;

(11) Please provide copies of the Network's income tax returns for the past three years;

(12) The Conference's Form 990 indicates that its ownership percentage of the Network is 5100%. Please clarify and explain who is the other owners of the Network are, if any;

(13) Provide copies of all legal opinions, internal or external, discussing or advising the tax implications of the Conferene's ownership interest in the Network, including the Conference's tax exemption and unrelated business taxable income;

(14) Please explain why these conferences should continue to be tax exempt;

(15) Please explain what requirements member schools must meet to be included in the conference, what the costs are to meet these requirements and how such costs impact tuiton and other costs for student at those institutions. "


January 29, Assistant Attourney General Ronald Wiech to Senator Hatch

"Others have suggested that legislation might target universities' tax exempt status if a playoff system is not implemented"

The BCS is running......and they should be