CHAMPAIGN — The costs of making sure its athletes are treated right are piling up at the University of Illinois.
After hiring two Chicago law firms to conduct summer investigations of alleged mistreatment by women's basketball and football coaches — and one of the world's largest PR firms to assist with crisis management — the UI's athletic department has struck a deal with a fourth agency to help it deal with the aftermath.
The latest outside firm to sign a contract — for $50,000 worth of "risk management services" — is the Kansas City-based Dan Beebe Group, led by Beebe, the former commissioner of the Big 12 Conference.