A committee of the Board of Higher Education is recommending that UND be allowed to sell the Ray Richards Golf Course – if the Legislature allows a permanent endowment fund to be set up to support men’s golf at UND.
The endowment would be a minimum of $4.1 million.
University officials say that’s what the Richards family wants. But system legal counsel have said UND can’t create a permanent endowment on its own.
Board member Dan Traynor made the motion to go ahead with the sale – contingent upon the creation of the permanent endowment.
"If the Legislature wants to tick off donors to the University, they could do it," Traynor told members of the Budget and Finance Committee. "I don't think the Board should do it, and I don't think the University should do it."
Traynor said the family wants a "restricted endowment" to support the golf program at UND.
"If we're going to go around and not recognize things from the 1960s, that sets a bad precedent," Traynor said. "It makes donors less likely to contribute to the universities and the University System."
The full Board will take up the recommendation at its next meeting.
The asking price for the golf course land is $8 million.