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Former Kansas Community College Coach

Former Kansas Community College Coach
Sentenced in Financial Aid Scandal

WICHITA, Kan.
A former community college basketball coach is the latest to be sentenced in a wide-ranging criminal investigation that has already snared eight coaches and led to the firing of the university’s president. David “Soupy” Campbell, the former head basketball coach at Barton County Community College, was sentenced to three years’ probation for falsifying federal work-study timecards so athletes would get paid for work they never did. He was also ordered to pay $7,714 in restitution. Campbell pleaded guilty in November to one count of embezzlement from a federal student assistance program.

In December, former basketball coach Matt Skillman was sentenced to two years’ probation and ordered to pay $26,239 in restitution after pleading guilty to embezzlement and mail fraud.

Campbell came to the Great Bend, Kan., college in 2003 to replace former coach Ryan Wolf, who is also facing sentencing in the scandal. Wolf has pleaded guilty to one count of embezzlement from student aid funds, two counts of theft of federal funds and one count of mail fraud.
Four other basketball and track coaches and athletic director Neil Elliott are all awaiting trial.

Campbell told U.S. District Judge Monti L. Belot he regretted that fear of losing his job made him commit a crime. Campbell has said the work-study scandal was already in progress when he was hired at Barton.
U.S. Attorney Eric F. Melgren said in a written statement that Campbell did not require athletes to work as he represented on time sheets.
“He knowingly and willfully aided and abetted the preparation of time sheets that falsely represented work had been done,” Melgren said. “As a result, student-athletes were paid with federal funds provided to Barton County Community College and other campus work-study funds.”

Associated Press



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