President of Historically Black Alabama A&M is a MAGA Republican, leading his school to cave to right-wing pressure on new Magic City Classic agreement

Tailgaters pack the Legion Field parking lots on game day.

 

Public records indicate the president of Historically Black Alabama A&M University is a MAGA Republican, and his political leanings contributed to A&M's decision to cave to White-owned, conservative-leaning business interests during negotiations for a new agreement on the hugely popular Magic-City Classic football game that is played each fall at Legion Field in Birmingham. That is from an article by longtime attorney and sports enthusiast Donald Watkins, who reports that A&M has a history of being governed by Black, Republican-leaning presidents. That history now will cost A&M its fair share of the millions of dollars the Magic City Classic generates each year.

Under the headline "Is Alabama A&M University President Daniel K. Wims a Closet MAGA Republican?" Watkins writes:

Is Alabama A&M University President Daniel K. Wims a closet MAGA Republican? Campaign financing documents and Dr. Wims' actions as president suggest that he is.

Dr. Wims was appointed as the university's 12th president on October 2, 2021, on a 7-4 vote. Wims succeeded Dr. Andrew Hugine, Jr. as president, effective January 1, 2022. His base salary as president in 2023 is $403,800, or $33,650 per month.

Dr. Wims started his employment with Alabama A&M in April 2010 as Provost and Vice-President for Academic Affairs.

Dr. Wims, who is registered to vote in Georgia, has voted by absentee ballot in Georgia elections since 2018. According to campaign-financing records, Wims donates cash to Republican candidates, exclusively. There is no record of any campaign contribution Dr. Wims has made to a Democratic Party or Independent candidate.

On Sept. 1, 2010, Dr. Wims made a $1,000 personal campaign contribution to disgraced Alabama Republican governor Robert Bentley.

Does Wims' support for Robert Bentley present a bad look for Alabama A&M? The answer clearly is yes. To this day, Bentley is known as "Luv Guv" because of a seedy sex scandal involving senior aide Rebekah Caldwell Mason, which eventually led to his resignation from office. Bentley resigned from office after reaching a plea deal on criminal charges brought against him. 

This is the kind of public official Mims finds worthy of his support? Mims and A&M should be embarrassed. Bentley might be the sleaziest governor in Alabama history, and there is a lot of competition for that "honor." (Note: Copies of political donations referenced in this post can be viewed at this link.) Writes Watkins:

Bentley commandeered the Alabama State University board of trustees under false pretenses in 2012 in order to impede the university's growth. Bentley resigned from office in disgrace in April 2017 after I published an exclusive series of investigative articles in 2015 that exposed the governor's secret love affair with Rebekah Caldwell Mason, his married paramour and senior policy advisor. Bentley was also convicted on state ethics charges arising from his sex scandal.

Sen. Senator Givhan serves as Chairman of the Madison County Local Legislation Committee and Vice Chair of the Judiciary Committee. He is also a member of the Senate Rules, Finance & Taxation General Fund, and Confirmations Committees.

Dr. Wims used different variations of his name and different Georgia addresses for his donations to Republican candidates, commencing in September 2010.

On October 17, 2022, Dr. Wims made a $1,000 personal donation to the campaign of Republican state Senator Sam Givhan, whose district includes Madison County, Alabama; Alabama A&M is located in Huntsville, Madison County's largest city.

Was Wims trying to hide his donations to Republican politicos? The answer appears to be yes. As bad as Mims makes A&M look, he simply was following recent university history, writes Watkins:

In making his campaign contributions, Dr. Wims followed an unofficial political protocol set by his predecessor at Alabama A&M, Dr. Andrew Hugine, Jr. Dr. Hugine was the former president of South Carolina State University before coming to Alabama A&M as president. Hugine groomed and handpicked Wims as his successor. Like Wims, Hugine also supported Republican candidates with personal cash campaign donations. Unlike Wims, Hugine contributed money to Democratic Party candidates, as well.

In 2006, Hugine contributed $1,000 to Republican Mark Sanford, Jr.’s campaign for governor of South Carolina. In 2008, Hugine contributed $250 to Republican Hugh Kenneth Leatherman, Sr.’s senate campaign.

Hugine was appointed as president of Alabama A&M on June 26, 2009.

In essence, Watkins writes, Mims is beholden to MAGA Republicans -- largely ignoring  input from the university's board of trustees, students, alumni, patrons, and other interested parties who might not toe the GOP line. Wims might keep the board of trustees at arm's length, but the board clearly exercised its due authority to hire him -- and that almost certainly means they have the authority to fire him:

Since he assumed the Alabama A&M presidency on January 1, 2022, Dr. Wims has been tightly controlled by a small but powerful group of MAGA Republicans in the state. Gov. Kay Ivey, who is ex oficio president of the university’s board of trustees and a diehard Donald Trump supporter, is one of them.

Beyond his devotion to Gov. Ivey, Dr. Wims has little regard for the university's other trustees. In his private discussions with MAGA Republicans, Wims reportedly expresses a personal view that his school's trustees are weak, uninformed, and useless. As such, Wims maintains a cordial but measured distance from them.

Wims’ core support as president of Alabama A&M appears to be anchored in his relationship with Gov. Ivey, state Sen. Sam Givhan, and first-term state Representative Kenneth Paschal, the only black Republican in the Alabama Legislature. Paschal serves on the House Education Policy Committee.

For all practical purposes, these MAGA politicos control the education-policy agenda at Alabama A&M University, as well as the university's destiny. To peacefully co-exist with Alabama A&M's trustees, faculty, staff, students, alumni, and Democrats in the state legislature, Dr. Wims interacts with them on a limited and superficial basis.

Meanwhile, the University of Alabama at Hunstville (UAH), a school that was founded for White students under the state's dual system of higher education, is thriving with the unabashed and growing support of Gov. Ivey, Sen. Givhan, Rep. Paschal, and other MAGA Republicans in the state legislature and Alabama's Congressional delegation.

Should Alabama A&M supporters be concerned that their school's destiny is controlled by public figures who are faithful to Donald Trump. Given that Trump has engaged in racist acts and statements for decades, and the recent uptick in his use of violent rhetoric is becoming an increasingly public-safety  concern, should Alabama A&M supporters be concerned that their school's long-term fate is in the hands of individuals devoted to Donald Trump -- who is under four criminal indictments? The answer is yes, absolutely, and the blame should rest at the feet of President Mims. He already has caused a sell out on the significant cash flow from the Magic City Classic, writes Watkins:

The MAGA Republican connection to Alabama A&M caused Dr. Wims to cave-in to Gene Hallman, the Bruno Event Team (now known as Eventive Sports), and the Alabama Sports Council last week. With Wims' approval, Alabama A&M abandoned its superior bargaining position and signed a controversial new Magic City Classic deal with the Council that enriches Hallman and Eventive Sports over a four-year period at the expense of Alabama A&M and Alabama State University.

Gene Hallman and the Bruno Event Team have been big financial donors to the MAGA Republicans for years. For example, they contributed campaign donations to U.S. Senator Tommy Tuberville ($3,300 on April 24, 2023), Gov. Kay Ivey ($5,000 on August 31, 2017), and state Senator Jabo Waggoner ($3,500 in 2013, $1,000 in 2018, and $5,000 in 2022).

In the past five years, the Bruno Event Team contributed $19,000 to Republican candidates in Alabama and $6,500 to Democratic candidates. As an individual, Gene Hallman has contributed $17,300 to Republican candidates and $2,000 to Democratic candidates.

The Bruno Event Team made contributions of $2,500 in 2017 and $1,000 in 2018 to former state Rep. John Knight (D-Montgomery), who awarded Gene Hallman/Bruno Event Team a series of Magic City Classic contracts with ASU from 2000 to 2014.

Additionally, Gene Hallman made personal contributions of $1,500 in 2017, $2,800 in 2019, and $2,800 in 2020 to former U.S. Sen. Doug Jones (D-Alabama). Jones was an influential director and member of the Alabama Sports Council from 2017 to 2020.

Did Mims come under right-wing pressure in the Magic City Classic negotiations? Yes, reports Watkins:

After Dr. Wims initially balked at signing the new Magic City Classic deal, Hallman reportedly used his MAGA Republican "juice card" to pressure Wims into approving the deal. Despite a wealth of information available to Dr. Wims that documented how badly Alabama A&M was being commercially exploited under the new agreement, Dr. Wims surrendered to this pressure.

Cosmetic changes were made to the Magic City Classic agreement to provide Dr. Wims with a "fig leaf" to cover his naked collapse under pressure. These changes, however, did nothing to diminish the enhanced and enriched economic benefits in the deal for Gene Hallman and Eventive Sports.

On a related note, MAGA Republicans in Alabama have advised Dr. Wims to forgo any genuine effort to collect the $527,280,064 in state funds that are owed to Alabama A&M, as described in a formal September 18, 2023, letter of notification to Gov. Ivey from the U.S. Departments of Education and Agriculture. Dr. Wims has reportedly committed to following this advice in order to protect his job.

Today, Alabama A&M University is under the firm, complete, and total control of MAGA Republicans in Alabama. These are the same MAGA officials who are currently engaged in a campaign of massive resistance to the creation of a second black Congressional district in the state's redistricting map.

If someone is pressuring Dr. Mims to forgo the $527 million-plus the state of Alabama owes A&M -- at the risk of losing his job -- that points to possible extortion, which could turn this into a criminal matter. Published reports indicate the A&M board of trustees has the authority to hire or fire President Wims. If the board concludes that Wims is being pressured to take actions that run contrary to A&M's best financial interests, the board likely would have grounds to fire him.

Stay tuned! Much more information is coming your way.

In a foul display of shortsighted cowardice, Alabama A&M will make no attempt to collect on a $527-million debt the state of Alabama owes the university

The Alabama A&M campus in Huntsville

 

Alabama A&M University has secured its place as the most poorly run school in the country -- and that includes elementary schools, junior highs, the whole educational shebang. How did the A&M campus in Huntsville manage to earn such a "distinction"? By hearing from the U.S. Departments of Agriculture and Education that the state of Alabama owed it more than $527 million due to chronic underfunding over roughly 30 years, continuing a trend that dates to the American Civil War. 

The sum involved likely would have transformed A&M into one of the finest universities of its kind in the country. But A&M's leaders certainly would not want that because it would have required them to show some imagination and spine -- and risk incurring the wrath of the right-wing stranglehold Republicans have on state government. So, how did A&M's "leaders" decide to solve this self-imposed problem? They chose to make no attempt to collect the debt. Talk about a "profile in courage."

How did A&M sink to such depths? Donald Watkins, a longtime Alabama attorney who has used his investigative skills to chronicle the A&M disarray for several months at his donaldwatkins.com website, spells it out. Under the headline "It’s a Wrap: Alabama A&M University Will Not Pursue Collection of Its $527,280,064 Debt from the State of Alabama," Watkins writes:

Yesterday, I confirmed that Alabama A&M University will not pursue the collection of its $527,280,064 debt from the state of Alabama. 

Public notice of this debt was provided to Alabama Governor Kay Ivey in a September 18, 2023, letter from the U.S. Departments of Education and Agriculture.

When Alabama A&M President Daniel K. Wims learned of this letter, he promptly notified the governor’s office that his university would take no action to collect this debt.

Publicly, neither Wims, nor his board of trustees, has said a word about this $527,280,064 debt. Privately, they are running from Alabama A&M's entitlement to this money.

Gov. Ivey and her staff were stunned by the news that Alabama A&M would not be pursuing the collection of this debt. They never thought Alabama A&M would surrender its entitlement to $527,280,064 without a fight.

Gov. Ivey and her staff waited 10 days before she responded to the September 18, 2023, letters evidencing the debt. They honestly thought Alabama A&M's board of trustees might feel a fiduciary duty to pursue and collect this money on behalf of the university and its faculty, staff, and students.

As it turned out, the board of trustees was only interested in pleasing Gov. Ivey. After all, Ivey is the statutory "president" of Alabama A&M's board of trustees. She is also the state official who appoints/reappoints trustees to the board.

Issues in this peculiar tale go beyond Alabama's White Republican governor, the kind of GOPer who seems much more interested in building prisons than schools. But it's not just about here, and Watkins makes this clear:

To Gov. Ivey's surprise, no Black state legislator, no Black candidate running for Congress, and no Black elected or appointed official in the state has uttered a public word about this $527,280,064 debt. All of these officials have avoided this subject like it is a plague.

Inside the State Capitol and Legislature, the collective silence of Black public officials on the subject of this $527,280,064 debt is seen as a testament to the sway that Gov. Ivey holds over Alabama A&M and Black public officials. Ivey's dominion and control over this cadre of Black Alabamians is unlike anything White public officials have seen in the state since the days of slavery.

In lieu of pursuing the collection of its $527,280,064 debt, President Wims, his allies on the board of trustees, and university attorneys have spent countless hours trying to figure out who is leaking information to my news team about their unprecedented display of cowardice. They also unleashed a couple of paid "hustlers" in an unsuccessful campaign to attack my name and character on social media. Finally, they threatened me with a “Cease and Desist” letter, which I ignored. (Note: Having written quite a bit about the Alabama A&M story here at Legal Schnauzer, I also received a cease and desist letter. The letter did not cite one example of supposedly false and defamatory statements in my articles and did not name one person who supposedly had been defamed. I've seen this kind of conduct before from integrity-challenged attorneys. I'm sure Mr. Watkins has seen this before, too.)

President Wims has said nothing about the debt publicly, but Watkins' sources say he is well aware of it. If that's the case -- and we know the debt is real, and the money belongs to Alabama A&M, why is it so difficult to demand payment of the money? This sounds like a predominantly White government exerting its power and issuing threats, which could mount to extortion, in order to steal from a Black university. And the people of Alabama -- Black and White -- are OK with this? Writes Wakins:

President Wims privately acknowledges that Alabama A&M is owed this $527,280,064 debt. However, Wims has told his supporters that going after the money would somehow “hurt” the university.

The stunning display of cowardice by President Wims and his board of trustees has surpassed anything that my confidential news sources have ever seen in a state agency. My sources simply could not believe that a deserving HBCU in Alabama would lay down on this $527,280,064 legal claim without a fight. 

In the HWCU world, there would have been a “battle royale” over the collection of this $527,280,064 debt.

Alabama A&M has displayed blinding incompetence on financial matters in 2023, as Watkins explains. If someone on the Huntsville's campus cannot professionally manage the university's assets, it surely is time to clean house -- to show Wims, the board of trustees, and everyone else in a position of authority to the exits.

Alabama would not tolerate such incompetence from a college football coach, so why should the state tolerate it from a university president and his enablers? Writes Watkins:

From September 18 to December 31, 2023, Alabama A&M lost two staggering financial opportunities.

First, Alabama A&M executed a new four-year Magic City Classic agreement in October that allowed the event's promoters and marketers to gouge millions of dollars in economic value from this event.  The main promoter, Gene Hallman of Eventive Sports, promptly sold his company to Arizona-based Troon after the new contract was signed.

Alabama State is being gouged under the new agreement, as well.

Second, Alabama A&M has convinced itself that the university is better off (a) begging prospective donors for financial contributions and (b) collecting unpaid student debt, rather than pursuing the collection of its $527,280,064 debt from the state.

Unlike Alabama A&M, Alabama State never received a letter from the U.S. Departments of Education and Agriculture stating that it was owed money from the state. Only Alabama A&M held the legal right to pursue this $527,280,064 payment from the state of Alabama.

For the record, the primary news sources for my articles on Alabama A&M’s failure to collect its $527,280,064 debt are: (a) publicly available documents and (b) individuals within state government who are in a position to know what's going on with this situation. Among the news sources in Montgomery, a total and complete lack of respect for Alabama A&M’s weak and compromised president and board of trustees kept the “insider” information flowing to my news team.

It's a wrap for Alabama A&M University. The institution will not collect a dime of this $527,280,064 as a result of its own efforts.