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A couple weeks ago, journalist Pablo Torre broke the news that UNC GM Mike Lombardi flew to Saudi Arabia to discuss a possible foreign investment in the Tar Heels’ football program.
And we here at FOIAball obtained a lot more details about how it went down.
We found out that:
Lombardi traveled with his assistant GM
The trip appeared to come together in a matter of days
The school’s chancellor was looped in on it, and
Lombardi appears to have skipped the proper approval process
So let’s begin.
Despite college football generating untoward amounts of money, skyrocketing costs for both players and coaches have programs contemplating all manner of funding.
Just this month, the Big Ten weighed a $2 billion investment from the University of California’s pension fund.
And FOIAball revealed that the Holiday Bowl discussed moving its game to Jeddah to help its bottom line.
According to the documents obtained by FOIAball, Lombardi flew to Saudi Arabia’s capital, Riyadh.
While it was originally reported Lombardi was courting investment from the Saudi government, he met with a private donor. (How unaffiliated with the Saudi government that donor could or would be is open to speculation).
Because Saudi Arabia is considered a high-risk destination, Lombardi’s travel needed prior approval from the school’s Export Compliance Office.
He appeared to only get that retroactively, with the proper documentation filled out a week after he returned.
The whole trip appears to have come together very hastily.
At nine p.m. on Thursday, Aug. 14, not even two full days before Lombardi’s flight, the GM’s chief of staff emailed Lombardi’s completed “International Travel Approval” form to the school’s risk office.
“2 of our staff members from Football will be traveling internationally this weekend. Here is their completed paperwork and insurance spreadsheet for your records!” the email read.
Attached were documents (not yet signed off on) for both Lombardi and Assistant GM Lance Thompson, who joined the trip.
The forms noted the State Department and CDC have travel advisories for Saudi Arabia, citing concerns over terrorism and measles.
It also included an “Assumption of Risk for International Travel” waiver that said the university did not have the ability to evacuate them if things went south.
Under “explanation of activities,” Lombardi was asked to detail “how the trip advances the University’s educational or research mission.”
“I will be going to meet with a potential donor that wants to invest in our program and explain the great things that the university and its athletics departjent can achieve with help!”
Yes, he wrote “departjent.”
The approval forms weren’t provided to UNC Athletics Director Bubba Cunningham until the next day, hours before the duo left the country.
But according to documents obtained by FOIAball, the school's chancellor, Lee Roberts, had been apprised of the trip earlier in the week.
“Wanted to pass along these forms in regard to Michael and Lance's trip this weekend! (Sorry for the delay, we just found out about these forms yesterday but Chancellor Roberts has known about the trip!)” an email to Cunningham’s assistant said.
The signed documents appear to have been returned late Friday night.
According to the documents, Lombardi's trip was from Sunday, Aug. 16 to Wednesday, Aug. 20.
On that Monday, when Lombardi was still in Riyadh, he got an email from the school’s Export Compliance Office, asking him to fill out a questionnaire.
“Greetings, I support the Export Compliance Office. [University software] routes travel requests through our office when there is higher likelihood that we may need to provide travel documentation or maintain export recordkeeping. Would you please verify the information in green for accuracy, and supply the missing information?”
Lombardi was asked to provide “Purpose of Travel,” “Scope of Work,” and “Hosts/Sponsors” for the trip.
It appeared Lombardi ignored the email, as well as a subsequent request on Wednesday, Aug. 20.
That email mentioned the school would need additional approval to clear the trip, given it had already occurred.
“I will … check with our director for permission to move the request forward retroactively,” the office wrote.
It wasn’t until a third nudge that Lombardi’s chief of staff returned the document, a week after he got back.
In the documents FOIAball received, the Host/Sponsor information was withheld. So we still don’t know who he met with.
FOIAball will be appealing the redactions.
A school spokesperson told The Athletic, when it broke the news of the trip alongside Torre, that “neither UNC athletics nor university funds were used to pay for the trip.”
However, Lombardi filed $179 in expenses, which don’t appear to have been approved yet. Still, they reveal one transaction.
So at least we get to know where he ate on the trip.
Lombardi went to Al Mamlaka Social Dining Hall, which appears to be an American-style food hall serving burgers, pizza, and steaks.
To which we have to say, come on, man. You are in a foreign country. Live a little.
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Mike Lombardi via YouTube