Why did Tennessee-Chattanooga hire trainer Tim Bream despite his role in the alcohol-induced death of Tim Piazza at a Penn State frat?

… was a live-in advisor at the fraternity

On paper, Tim Bream has an impressive resume. Actually, very impressive — up to a point. That seems to be when Bream’s life appears to careen out of control. Bream, who resigned as Penn State trainer in Feb.,  was a graduate of Penn State with a bachelor’s degree in physical education, specializing in athletic training. He then attended West Virginia as a grad assistant trainer, where he received a master’s degree in Physical Education with an emphasis on Sports Science. All of this information is from his bio on the Penn State athletic site. He then worked his way up the ladder impressively, working at Syracuse, Vanderbilt, and finally at the University of Richmond, where he was the Director of Sports Medicine and Head Athletic Trainer.

Then he received his big break, being name as Assistant Athletic Trainer for the Chicago Bears in 1993, and four years later, Head Athletic Trainer. He was with the Bears for 19 years when inexplicably, he moved to Penn State in 2012. That was definitely a step down from the NFL to a college job. However, that is where his life spiraled out of control and how he found himself as a major figure in the death of a pledge of the Beta Theta Pi fraternity at Penn State in Feb. 2017. Now, attorneys of all stripes are calling for his arrest and are filing suit against him in the case, and a State College police detective pointed out on the witness stand how Bream had lied to authorities. Bream resigned his position at Penn State effective late Feb. and was hired at Tennessee-Chattanooga in April. It was a puzzling hire because of his major legal problems right now.

The Timothy Pizza tragedy

The first question is what was a 56-year-old father of two daughters doing living in as a live-in monitor or advisor at a fraternity at Penn State? That is especially relevant since the man was an Assistant Athletic Director for Sports Medicine Support Services. He was a top administrator in the athletic department of a major Big Ten university, and he was living in a frat house? Shortly after he started at Penn State as trainer for the football team, he was mentioned in a scathing article in Sports Illustrated about Penn State’s changes in that area. The short version of Bream’s involvement was that he was doing things that only a medical physician should be. “But, according to current and former Penn State staff members and players, Bream has engaged in practices his predecessor did not. Three sources involved in health care for Penn State athletics who spoke with SI on the condition of anonymity say they saw Bream—who does not have a medical degree—giving players the anti-inflammatory drug Voltaren without a prescription or a physician's approval. Two of those three also say Bream gave a player the prescription drug Bentyl for diarrhea, when the drug is actually meant to treat irritable bowel syndrome. Those sources as well as team sources told SI that they saw Bream engaging in other procedures requiring special certification or a medical license,” the article says in part in its analysis of Bream’s role in the problems. Bream was apparently recruited to Penn State by former Athletic Director Dave Joyner, who is the focus of the article. Joyner fired George Salvaterra and then hired Bream in Feb. 2012.

Shortly after the SI article appeared, Bream separated from his wife, Lisa, whom he had married in 1986. He then filed for divorce in Sept. 2013 saying in court documents that the marriage was “irretrievably broken,” according to a Post-Gazette article earlier this year. The divorce was apparently contentious, taking approximately three years to divide the assets. It was not granted until May 2016, again according to the PG.

The divorce appears to be at the root of Bream’s problems, since his wife was given the Breams’ home in State College, was also granted half of their savings, and she is scheduled to receive 40 percent of his salary, which was $138,000, until 2020. All of that information was contained in the PG investigation, and it is only repeated here since it appears that Bream’s issues, particularly having a place to live, started in 2013.

Bream fingered criminally by State College detective

Bream had some major legal concerns when he left State College. Some of them are criminal, and some are civil. Bream was named as the live-in advisor at Beta Theta Pi in August 2016 after his final divorce decree was made final. He was hired by the Housing Corporation that owned the fraternity house and wanted to ensure that the organization was not using alcohol. The death of Timothy Piazza occurred at a pledge induction in which he was forced to ingest 18 alcoholic beverages in approximately and hour and 22 minutes, according to information at the legal hearings into the case. This was part of his bid acceptance ceremony, and Piazza and others were forced into an alcoholic “gauntlet,” and that consumption, along with the fact that the fraternity did not call for help for almost 12 hours, caused his death. The fraternity has been closed and the death caused a scandal that has had national coverage. Legal proceedings continue in the case.

Bream said in a preliminary hearing for the fraternity brothers accused of crimes that he went to bed right after the formal ceremony and was not alerted to Piazza’s problems by anyone in the fraternity. He also claimed that he did not see any of the debris from the party when he left the home at about 5:30 a.m. the next day, but police dispute that, based on the surveillance video. “Alcohol evidence was visible in the lobby, in the Great Hall. There were cans and a cup on the floor in the lobby. There were bottles and at least one can and one cup on the tables in the lobby. There was apparent alcohol debris on the large table near the Great Hall, as well as a cup on the floor," State College police detective David Scicchitano said at preliminary hearing in March, according to the Centre Daily Times. Scicchitano also said that Bream actually walked past Piazza on two occasions when he was still alive, before leaving the fraternity house, basing that information on the surveillance video. Bream denies that.

One of the attorneys for one of the frat members accused of crimes for that case concluded this, “Therefore, according to the express testimony of detective Scicchitano on March 27, 2018, Tim Bream committed perjury before Magisterial District Judge Allen Sinclair on Aug. 30, 2017,” Peter Sala alleged. So, Bream has some criminal charges that he has to deal with, perjury being one of them. The case is now being directed by the state attorney general's office after being hampered by a change in district attorneys in Centre County.

Former PSU football player suing

Don Abbey was a football player for Penn State, playing from 1967 until 1969. He was not a major player, but rushed for 778 yards in three seasons with the Nittany Lions. However, he was also a member of Beta Theta Pi when he was a student there. He has become a wealthy real estate magnate in California, having formed a real estate development and investment firm and has a net worth of $800 million, according to one estimate. He is suing because a gift to Beta Theta Pi, Alpha Epsilon chapter, that he sets at $8.5 million. Penn State announced the gift as $3.5 million, but in either event, it is a lot of money. Abbey filed the suit against the housing corporation that owned the building in 2017 asking for return of the money after the death of Piazza. Bream was a member of the housing corporation. Part of this may be that Abbey’s business may be in trouble since his mansion was in danger of foreclosure according to an article in 2016. So, the net worth may not be there any longer.

Conclusion: Why hire Bream, UT-Chattanooga?

Nevertheless, this indicates that Bream has both criminal and civil liabilities that have perhaps been exacerbated by his divorce. The reality though is why Tennessee-Chattanooga would hire a man, albeit one with some impressive credentials, as its director of sports medicine and head athletic trainer if he has these legal concerns.

The Daily Collegian did some good reporting on this case in April, and it found some interesting things. First, while the Tennessee school, which plays in the FCS, said that it knew about the Penn State imbroglio in which Bream finds himself, it did not list his experience there at all on its website [it does now]. However, it appears that he was hired by a former PSU athletic person. “Bream took his current job after the previous Director of Sports Medicine at Chattanooga, Dave Snyder, left the position before the 2017 football season to fill the same role at Baylor University,” the Collegian wrote, quoting Jim Horton, the director of communications and media relations. “ ‘We had an opening and did an exhaustive national search’,” Horton told the Collegian. “ ‘[Bream] turned out to be the right candidate’.”

The Collegian then disclosed the PSU tie. “Bream was then hired by Mark Wharton, who serves as Vice Chancellor and Director of Athletics for Chattanooga — which like the Nittany Lions, boasts a Division I football program. Wharton began his current position in August 2017, after working in Penn State Athletics himself.” Wharton was in charge of the Nittany Lion Club when at Penn State, starting in 2013. He was not really involved in the sports programs.

So, that answers the question, but it is a risky hire.