CARBONDALE - Southern Illinois University Carbondale is one of 40 universities currently being investigated by the New York Attorney General's office in connection to deals the schools had with a student loan provider.

"No money ever changed hands. We intend to fully cooperate with the attorney general's office," said SIU spokesman Rod Sievers of the chancellor's office.

As of Thursday morning, SIU had not received subpoenas and document requests from the AG's office that were issued a day earlier by N.Y. State's Attorney Andrew M. Cuomo.

Nearly all of the schools identified are Division I schools that had contractual arrangements with Student Financial Services doing business as University Financial Services.

Cuomo is investigating whether athletic departments at the schools agreed to promote UFS loans to students in exchange for special favors such as revenue sharing, trips and other gifts.

"They (UFS) were offering a loan consolidation service and not financial aid," Sievers said.

SIU's athletic department contracted with UFS last year to allow the loan provider to be a sponsor like many other businesses of Saluki athletic events.

The terms of the contract were $10,000 annually paid by UFS to SIU's athletic department over three years.

Last fall during the first year of the contract, the SIU athletic department Web site had a UFS advertisement. Promotional materials such as UFS flyers were available at three of the Saluki home football games, Sievers said.

"Students were not actively being sought," Sievers said about SIU's arrangement with UFS.

A troubling clause that led SIU officials to eventually renege on the school's promotional contract was that after 133 SIU students had signed with the loan provider, UFS would pay SIU an additional $75 per student for new applications thereafter.

SIU never did bill UFS for its promotional endeavors last fall.

"They promised to send monthly reports, but they never did," Sievers said.

UFS responded to the allegations on Wednesday with a written release saying its relationships with college athletic departments was part of the company's generalized marketing efforts that includes advertising at sporting events and did not involve school financial aid departments.

scott.fitzgerald@thesouthern.com

351-5076