University Of Connecticut Donor, Robert G. Burton, Asks For Family's Name To Be Removed From Football Complex; Sharply Rips Athletic Director Jeff Hathaway In Letter

In a stunning move, longtime University of Connecticut donor Robert G. Burton is asking for his $3 million donation to be returned and for his family's name to be removed from the football complex because he is upset with the university's athletic director.

In a scathing letter that he sent to Gov. Dannel P. Malloy and others, Burton ripped athletic director Jeffrey A. Hathaway for not informing him completely about the choice of a new head football coach to replace the departed Randy Edsall.

Burton said he has studied the issue seriously and will fight to get his money back.

"Lastly, don't underestimate me or what I have outlined and requested in this document,'' Burton wrote in the five-page letter to Hathaway. "I have already secured legal counsel from several law firms. If you are looking for a fight, then you have selected the right family. You have hurt and embarrassed the Burton family for the last time.''

Malloy knows Burton personally through his dealings with him in lower Fairfield County when Malloy was the mayor of Stamford.

"I know Mr. Burton. We're not friends,'' Malloy said Tuesday. "He's had a series of businesses that he's moved to Connecticut or based in Connecticut, including in Stamford. In fact, I attended, I think, a ribbon-cutting with John Rowland and myself and Mr. Burton a number of years ago around one of those businesses.''