Eleven days after calling for new leadership at Idaho State University, a group of ISU athletic boosters and alumni released its grip on over $50,000 in fundraising. The ISU Football Alumni Team, better known as the F.A.T. Club, said it was withholding upwards of $80,000 it had raised for the university until ISU President Arthur Vailas and Director of Athletics Jeff Tingey were removed from their positions. Vailas announced his retirement Aug. 9 — three days after the boosters called for his dismissal but widely believed to be unrelated — and Tingey’s contract runs through June 29, 2019. Vailas’ retirement is effective June 17, 2018.

Tingey said F.A.T. transferred $58,500 from its holding account with the ISU Foundation on Aug. 17. F.A.T. President Don Neves said that money is funding endowed scholarships for ISU student-athletes.

Neves said the money was transferred to show F.A.T. still supports ISU athletics in good faith, and to try and rekindle the positive relationship F.A.T. had with the university. He also said the original $80,000 the group claimed to be withholding was a miscalculation.

Neves said all of the $58,500 was earned at June’s F.A.T. Golf Scramble, which brought prominent ISU alumni Dirk Koetter and Merril Hoge back to Pocatello. Koetter is the head coach of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, and Hoge is a former NFL fullback and veteran on-air analyst.

“We’ve met with Don Neves on a number of occasions to work through our differences,” Tingey said. “Don has been very willing and open to work.”

Despite F.A.T. handing over the funds, ISU has stripped the club of its tailgating spot in the Holt Arena parking lot as well as its clubhouse, which is also used to store ISU athletic equipment. F.A.T. can still tailgate before ISU football games, but must move to a different location.

Tingey said the decision to revoke F.A.T.’s tailgating spot and clubhouse was made prior to the funds transfer. Neves said the opposite. Tingey also said the club’s tailgating spot and clubhouse will be used to add revenue to the athletics budget via sponsors and other fundraising methods.

Tingey cited the calls by F.A.T. and others for his removal as motivation to utilize the spaces as revenue boosters.

“One of the things they mentioned in their letter (in the Journal) is that we need to fundraise more,” Tingey said. “Tailgate areas are a great way to fundraise. We moved it into our quiver of marketing.”

F.A.T.’s clubhouse, which started out as a canopy used by Cactus Pete’s Resort Casino for a shuttle pickup location, has had the sign displaying the F.A.T. insignia removed. Neves said F.A.T. raised around $20,000 to turn the canopy into a shed that doubles as a hang-out spot to escape inclement weather on game days.

The shed is in the corner of the parking lot east of Holt Arena.

“F.A.T. has no legal right,” Neves said. “It’s on ISU property.”

Because of fundraising efforts made by F.A.T., the group was not paying to use the clubhouse or tailgating spot. Tingey said fans can tailgate by paying their $5 parking fee upon entering the Holt Arena parking lot.

It’s unclear what impact the monthlong conflict between ISU athletic boosters and the school’s administration has had on Bengals fans. Idaho State opened its football season Thursday with a 37-6 win against Western Oregon at Holt Arena. It was first-year head coach Rob Phenicie’s first game leading the Bengals after being thrust into the role in late March after former coach Mike Kramer retired following five losing seasons in his six-year tenure.

The announced attendance Thursday was 5,395 — the smallest crowd for a Bengals home opener since 2014, when the team was already 0-2. ISU went on to have a wining record of 8-4 that season.