BATON ROUGE - LSU has released the final results of the university’s internal audit that investigated alleged misconduct by now former Director of Athletic Bands Roy King.

The audit was initiated after allegations of inappropriate distribution of athletics bands scholarship funds to non-instrument playing students and non-students surfaced. Specifically, King was accused of awarding scholarships to members of the LSU Golden Girls and LSU Color Guard without approval, according to the audit report.

King was also accused of circumventing and refusing to follow directives from management.

The audit found King directed the distribution of band scholarship money, totaling $14,000, to members of the Golden Girls and Color Guard without proper approval. King was also found to be unable to account for more than $5,400 advanced to him for the purpose of student travel.

Other accusations leveled at King in the audit include changing budget descriptions for Athletics Band Scholarships funds without proper oversight and releasing confidential personnel records in violation of university policy. King and the Tiger Band Administrative Coordinator were also accused of repeatedly violating university procurement card policy.

Finally, the university audit also found that King appears to have violated LSU’s Nepotism Policy. The university defines nepotism as favoritism in employment or promotion on the basis of family relationship as opposed to merit. The audit says King’s daughter was a student employee of the LSU Band at various times during the period of Jan. 2013 to Mar. 2016 which is an apparent violation against LSU’s policy. Records showed she was employed during various semesters and was supervised by an Administrative Coordinator who reported directly to King until August of last year.

Now, the university is putting steps in place to rectify King’s actions. The College of Music and Dramatic Arts will assume full responsibility for the distribution and management of Athletic Band scholarships money, using annual reports to the NCAA to ensure accountability and compliance. Management will also look to recover the missing funds advanced to King for band member travel expenses. New procurement cards will also be issued to band employees who had their card numbers compromised during the incidents.

King has been employed by LSU since the summer of 1998 and was Director of the Tiger Band at the time the investigation was launched. He’s seeking monetary damages in his lawsuit filed Monday that says he was fired partly because he went against the school’s appropriation of a $50,000 contribution from a university supporter after the band played at the donor’s son’s wedding.

A statement from LSU after the final audit was released and the lawsuit was filed says the following:

“Mr. King’s lawsuit contains a number of false claims that had no bearing on his termination – the reasons for which were explained in a letter sent to him and are documented in an internal audit report, in addition to separate investigation conducted by LSU’s human resource management office. Mr. King was afforded all due process leading up to his termination. As stated previously, the notion of a ‘money grab’ by the School of Music is false and, along with the lawsuit as a whole, has been orchestrated by Mr. King and his attorney to distract from the real issues behind his termination. Our goal is to ensure that Tiger Band continues to be the finest in the nation. This decision was taken with the best interest of our students and the future of Tiger Band in mind.”

You can the final audit report in its entirety by clicking here.