ADFC
continued from page 1A
ing stalemated on April 11.
Negotiations stagnated after
ADFC members refused to sign a
contract that would take away
Section 9 — the section many stu
dents consider a favorite because
it is closest to the 30-yard line —
rather than a section closer to the
end zone.
Last year, the ADFC, part of the
ASUO, agreed to let the athletic
department sell seats in student
sections to the general public if
there were extra tickets five days
before a preseason game. The
agreement was for the athletic de
partment to start selling tickets at
Section 5 and for students to pick
up their tickets at Section 9.
This year, the athletic depart
ment insisted it wanted to start
selling preseason tickets to the
general public the other way
around — going from Section 9 to
Section 5 to make more revenue
and avoid complaints from the
general public who could not see
past standing student fans.
Now, after the mediation
process, all parties have agreed to
a compromise that works for
everyone.
ADFC member and ASUO Stu
dent Sen. Spencer Hamlin said
under the new contract, the ath
letic department committed to of
fering students the same seats at
50 percent of the tickets’ fair-mar
ket value for the next 10 years.
For the regular season, this
means students keep the same
6,100 seats they have had in Sec
tions 5 through 9 in the past.
“I feel that that’s huge,” Hamlin
said.
For preseason games, which
have been attended by only a frac
tion of the student population in
the past, the new agreement
means students will give up Sec
tion 9 to the general public. But
rather than having the athletic de
partment sell general-admission
tickets starting at Section 9 going
over to Section 5 and risking that
students might lose Sections 8
and 7, parties agreed that the ath
letic department will sell general
admission tickets in Section 9,
then 5 and then 6. Students will
get tickets starting at Section 8,
then 7 and then 6.
Hamlin said this agreement
guarantees students will have a
minimum of 2,622 seats at each of
the two preseason games for the
next 10 years.
The contract also includes a
stipulation that requires the ath
letic department to offer students
the same number of seats after the
Autzen Stadium expansion. Also,
student sections have to remain
the same in regard to their loca
tion in relation to the field.
While the athletic department
committed to offering this
arrangement to the students for
the next 10 years, students can
choose to accept or deny the offer
each year.
With the new 10-year stipula
tions, ADFC members said they
feel giving up a popular section
for two preseason games was a
fair compromise.
“Obviously we didn’t want to
give up Section 9 during presea
son, but what we got in return
was well worth it,” Hamlin said.
He said he was surprised when
the athletic department agreed to
the expansion and location clause
without objections.
“When we requested 10 years,
we planned on five, hoped for
seven,” he said. “We got stability
that we’ve never ever had.”
Sandy Walton, senior associate
athletic director, has negotiated
contracts with the ADFC for more
than 15 years. The stalemate last
month was the first time the
ADFC and athletic department
failed to come up with a solution
that worked for both.
“Sometimes when you reach an
impasse, it’s important to sit back
and take another look,” Walton
said. “I think it’s a compromise
we can all live with.”
ASUO Student Sen. and ADFC
member Jennifer Greenough said
the mediation process was effec
tive because both sides knew they
had to work something out.
“I think we gave up a little, but
we gained a lot,” she said.
Greenough said all sides re
turned to the negotiating table
ready to compromise and come to
a solution that would be accept
able to both sides.
Walton explained that the ath
letic department is actually excit
ed about the condition because it
sets some standards beyond just
one year and gives new student
representatives on the ADFC
something to work with.
“We are delighted,” she said.
“We have wanted a contract that
is worth more than one year.”
Hospital chain to settle fraud claims
By Phil Galewitz
The Associated Press
NEW YORK — Columbia/HCA
Healthcare Corp., the nation’s
largest hospital chain, has agreed
to pay the federal government
$745 million to settle allegations
that it submitted fraudulent bills
to Medicare and other govern
ment programs, the company said
Thursday.
The Justice Department said it
has resolved most, but not all, of
the issues it had been investigating
since at least 1997 and made clear
it will be seeking more money.
The deal must still be approved
by more Justice Department offi
cials, a federal judge and other
federal agencies. Further, the set
tlement would not be final until
all criminal investigations are re
solved.
Analysts have speculated that
Columbia will have to pay at least
$1 billion overall to settle the
probe.
The government has been in
vestigating allegations that Co
lumbia submitted false claims
and doctored cost reports that de
termine how much its hospitals
are paid under federal programs
such as Medicare, a health insur
ance program for the elderly, and
Medicaid, an insurance program
that covers the poor.
Columbia/HCA is not admit
ting any wrongdoing in the deal,
said spokesman Jeff Prescott.
The government’s fraud probe
targeting Nashville-based Colum
bia/HCA became public in 1997
with a series of raids on several
hospitals. Last year, two Colum
bia middle managers in Florida
were convicted of defrauding sev
eral government health insurance
programs.
The investigation led to whole
sale changes at Columbia/HCA,
which once sought to become the
McDonald’s of hospital care. The
company has ousted its top exec
utives, stopped an aggressive hos
pital acquisition program and be
gan a major downsizing,
trimming from a high of 345 to
205 hospitals and other facilities.
The government and Columbia
have been trying to negotiate a set
tlement for more than two years.
“We are pleased to have reached
an understanding on these issues
and today’s announcement signals
that a significant step in this
process is complete,” said Thomas
F. Frist, Jr., chairman and chief ex
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