The Government of the Student Body finance committee is opening an investigation on the ISU club men’s hockey team today. The committee will conduct one-on-one interviews with players, coaches and other members of the team to analyze the financial situation of the team.

“Basically, we’re just trying to figure out where the hockey team is at,” said GSB Finance Director Steve Medanic. “We’re hoping to get them on good financial footing.”

The team, which is sporting an 11-2 record, currently is working with GSB finance executives and the Dean of Students Office to reconcile a $71,000 debt that plagued the team when they closed out the 1999-2000 fiscal year June 30.

Initially, there was a discrepancy of about $10,000 between financial record books submitted by the team and the records kept by Campus Organizations. An amount of $95 was recorded as $9,500 in the team’s books, said Alex Olson, vice chairman of the finance committee.

Medanic said $30,000 from the team’s account with the ISU Foundation was transferred to help bring the team out of the red, and about $15,000 from fund raising has been collected to bring the team closer to reconciling its debt.

A funding bill was submitted to the GSB Rules Committee at the beginning of the year which requested about $8,000 for hockey capital equipment. The rules committee referred the bill to the finance committee, which requested financial documents and budgets from the team at the end of August. The committee wanted the documents to make an informed judgment on the extent of GSB’s role in helping the team pay off its debt, Olson said. According to the GSB bylaws, GSB cannot fund an organization in debt.

The committee issued a subpoena for further information at the end of September, but Olson said questions still remain among committee members as to the financial state of the hockey organization.

“We are just trying to find out the financial position of the men’s hockey team and how they are going to rectify the situation,” he said. “We are charged with making sure the student money is spent wisely and correctly.”

The committee decided last week to interview members of the team separately to clarify certain points and gain individual perspective, Olson said.

“We’ve already heard from the group on some things,” he said.

Pete Englin, interim dean of students, said the team has been very cooperative in working with his office to stabilize their financial basis.

“The hockey club has done everything I’ve asked of them in terms of providing information, and I’m confident we will be able to reach a resolution,” Englin said. “What we’ve asked of the hockey club is to structure a plan where they meet expenses with the current fiscal year income. I’m sure they’ll be able to develop a plan that does that.”

Medanic said the decision of the finance committee hinges on the agreement between Englin’s office and the hockey team.

“We’ve said the entire time we’re going to wait for that agreement and base ours off theirs,” he said.

Head Hockey Coach Al Murdoch said ticket sales have helped pull the team further out of debt.

“Everything I’ve heard has been positive,” he said. “The gate receipts have been excellent, and I think [the team is] well on their way to recovery.”

Olson said the investigation is the “next step” in figuring out the team’s finances, not an attempt to cut the team’s funding.

“We do not want to make it sound, by any means, like we are trying to kill the group,” he said. “We just want to get all the facts and have a better understanding.”

Medanic said the committee is aiming to help the team balance its nearly $240,000 annual budget and keep the organization out of debt.

“Basically, we’re trying to figure out where the hockey team is at because we’re hoping to get them on good financial footing,” he said. “The entire goal is to get them to a point of financial stability. They’re a good team, and we want to make sure they go on and are successful. And I think they will be.”