of Minnesota. In his first year as president, Yudof took advantage of a state budget surplus to fund construction projects, historic preservation, and academic priorities at the university. Yudof helped to establish freshman seminars. In 1999 the university moved from a quarter to semester system. The university encountered scandal in 1999 after the St. Paul Pioneer Press reported that an academic counseling staffer at Minnesota claimed to have done coursework for many student-athletes on the Minnesota Golden Gophers men's basketball program over the past five years, as well as several other NCAA rules violations by Minnesota basketball. Yudof oversaw self-imposed sanctions on the men's basketball program. Those sanctions included a $1.5 million buyout of the contract of head coach Clem Haskins, a postseason ban for the 1999–2000 season, and scholarship reductions. The scandal led to the resignations of men's athletic director Mark Dienhart and university vice president McKinley Boston. Members of the university board of regents praised Yudof for his handling of the scandal. By 2002, Yudof united men's and women's athletics at Minnesota under a single athletic director. In 2002, a six-story apartment-style hall was built at the University of Minnesota and was named Riverbend Commons and then subsequently renamed after Mark G. Yudof. It is currently referred to as Yudof or Yudof Hall. Chancellor of the University of Texas System (2002–2008) Yudof became the ninth chancellor of the University of Texas System on August 1, 2002. Simultaneously, he was president emeritus at the University of Minnesota and Charles Alan Wright Chair in Federal Courts at the University of Texas School of Law. As University of Texas System chancellor, Yudof allowed individual campuses to set their own tuition rates. He resigned on June 15, 2008, to become President of the University of California system. President of the University of California (2008–2013) In March 2008, Yudof was selected as the next president of UC, to succeed Robert C. Dynes. He began his term on June 16, 2008. In November 2009, TIME Magazine recognized Mark Yudof as one of the "10 Best College Presidents", citing his efforts to provide opportunity and access to a quality education for California residents with financial need whose family income is less than $60,000. In January 2013, Yudof announced his plan to resign as president of the University of California, effective August 31, 2013. He was heavily criticized for securing the maximum pension of $350,000 after