Appeal dropped in UConn's Edsall nepotism case

HARTFORD, Conn. -- Connecticut's ethics board has withdrawn its appeal of a court decision that allowed UConn football coach Randy Edsall to keep his son as an assistant coach.

An advisory board of the state Ethics Office originally found that the hiring of Corey Edsall to coach UConn's tight ends violated the state's nepotism statutes.

But Judge Trial Referee Joseph Shortall ruled in November the law didn't apply because Randy Edsall, who took over the program in January 2017, was not yet officially a state employee when he negotiated to have his son on his staff.

The board voted last week to withdraw its appeal, citing a new state law that was written in response to the case and exempts the state higher education system from those nepotism provisions.