UConn hemorrhaging money to defend Calhoun and the basketball program

Jim Calhoun has won two national titles during his tenure at UConn, but in today's era of youtube and viral videos, Calhoun's internet notoriety stems from the "not a dime back" comment he made to a reporter two seasons ago.

If he isn't giving dimes back, maybe he should focus on limiting the number of dimes that the university spends.

In case you have been living under a rock for the last year and change, UConn is currently under investigation by the NCAA for violations first reported by Yahoo last March. The allegations were that Jim Calhoun, through former UConn manager Josh Nochimsin, were funneling extra benefits to recruit Nate Miles.

UConn was given a $300,000 budget to defend themselves against these allegations, money that was supposed to last them three years. But according to a Hartford Courant report, UConn has already burned through all that cash, and more:

The state Office of Policy and Management has agreed to allow UConn to spend an additional $375,000 to pay Bond, Schoeneck & King of Kansas City. The original contract with the law firm ... called for a three-year contract capped at $300,000. But state records show that UConn overspent that amount in a one-year period between April 2009 and April 2010, when more than $338,000 in legal bills were paid.

At this rate, that may not be enough.

This report couldn't have come at a worse time for Calhoun, who just last week inked a new five-year, $13 million contract with the school.

To be fair, this is all Athletic Department money that is being spent. Its the money generated by ticket sales, not tuition dollars. Regardless of where the money is coming from, critics are sure to point out that it is $700,000 that could/should have been spent elsewhere.