Indiana: Indiana Trustees Skirted Open Door Law

Indiana Trustees Skirted Open Door Law: Although Indiana’s trustees and former president did not violate the state’s Open Door Law, they did circumvent it to oust former coach Bob Knight. Former president Myles Brand — now the NCAA’s president — had two sessions with four of nine trustees the day before he fired Knight in 2001. By keeping the number of trustees who met with Brand at four, the meeting did not pertain to the letter of the law, which states that am majority of an organizations meeting at once is a quorum and must adhere to the Open Door Law. But the other trustees were waiting outside the meeting room, so Brand and company knew what they were doing to dodge the law. A court of appeals ruled in favor of the university because although the circumstances may be duplicitous, they weren’t illegal. A lawyer representing a group of fans who filed the lawsuit hopes to move the case to the Indiana Supreme Court. [6/04/06]