The University of British Columbia (UBC) says David Sidoo, the Vancouver businessman who pleaded guilty to participating in the U.S. college admissions cheating scheme, has asked for his name be removed from the university’s football stadium.
UBC spokesperson Kurt Heinrich said the school has agreed to remove the signage at Sidoo Field at Thunderbird Stadium.
The school’s naming committee met on Thursday and recommended that the sign be removed. Sidoo’s request to have his name removed has “expedited the process,” Heinrich said.
Sidoo, 60, pleaded guilty to a mail fraud conspiracy charge in Boston federal court on Friday.
Sidoo agreed to a sentence that includes 90 days in prison and a US$250,000 fine, the U.S. Department of Justice said.
Sidoo had been charged with mail and wire fraud and participation in a money-laundering conspiracy.
Prosecutors said Sidoo paid admissions consultant William “Rick” Singer two installments of $100,000 to have an associate take the SAT test for his two sons and attempted to pay for further tests on top of those.
Sidoo is scheduled to be sentenced on July 15, 2020.
Sidoo is a former CFL player who later found business success in the energy sector. In recent years, Sidoo became a benefactor of the UBC football team.
Heinrich says the removal of the sign will occur in the next few weeks.
— With files from the Associated Press and Global News’ Richard Zussman and Simon Little