"We're working with individual Friends' groupsto help build others," says Henry. "But it'ssomething that happens over time."

But not all coaches are satisfied with thisexplanation.

"They hide behind the Friends count," saysWomen's Lacrosse Coach Carole Kleinfelder, anoutspoken critic of the department's treatment ofwomen's teams. "[The Friends are] used to justifyour inability to have the same things.

While acknowledging an unofficial hierarchy,many coaches say the department does a good jobtreating teams fairly. "They philosophically tryto treat all the sports equal," says StevenLocker, coach of the men's soccer team. "Butcertain sports demand certain resources."

One resource doled out to the men's heavyweightcrew team is exclusive use of a training facility,called Red Top, in Gail's Ferry, Conn.

Cleary and Toland are officers of thenon-profit corporation Red Top, Inc., which isfunded entirely by the University. Harvardprovides $30,000 a year for the upkeep of thecomplex, which is used just two weeks out of theyear.

According to tax records, directors of Red Topinclude former General Counsel Daniel Steiner '54,Men's Crew Coach Harry L. Parker and Nathaniel T.Dexter, a longtime judge at the finish line of theHarvard-Yale regatta.

Red Top, however, isn't the only "perk" forathletes which is apparently paid for with fundsoutside of the athletic department's budget.

According to tax records, the Harvard VarsityClub, a non-profit corporation, spent nearly$200,000 last year to provide varsity athleteswith letter sweaters at a sharply reduced cost,publish a newsletter and sponsor award dinners.

The club's revenues come from gifts, membershipdues and revenue from a series of low-riskinvestments. According to documents obtained byThe Crimson, the club holds stock in ninecompanies, including Coca-Cola and Time Warner,Inc., and bonds in six other corporations,including Revlon and Chiquita Brands.

Charles L. Coulson, who earned $45,000 lastyear as executive director of the club, did notreturn phone calls last week.

Toland says that the varsity club serves as a"clearinghouse" for the Friends' groups. Hecredits varsity club officers with helping smallerFriends' groups increase contributions.

According to the office of Dean of the FacultyJeremy R. Knowles, the athletic department makesan annual report to Knowles which details thedepartment's expenses. Knowles himself did notrespond to repeated requests to be interviewed forthis article. A staffer in his office told TheCrimson that "individual departments' budgets arenot public information and the athletic office isjust like any department."

McKay Professor of Computer Science Harry R.Lewis, who chairs the Faculty's Standing Committeeon Athletics, says that the issue of thedepartment's accountability to the Faculty ismurky.

"That's one of those legalistic questions thatnever get answered in the Harvard context," saysLewis. But he adds that he believes thedepartment's relationship to the Faculty is notmuch different from that of other parts of theUniversity.