Jana Doggett strolled across San Diego State's campus on the afternoon of May 22, summoned, she says, to a meeting about the employment status of equipment manager Steve Bartel.

Turns out, the job in jeopardy was her own.

"I was told the meeting was about what would be said to (Bartel's) attorney," said Doggett, a senior associate athletic director. "Instead, I was handed a letter that stated the (university) president had decided to change the administration and that I was being let go."

It's hardly an unusual method of firing employees at SDSU right now. Video coordinator Frank Musgrove said he was let go last Friday when he reported for a meeting to "discuss football equipment." And to this day, Doggett, who oversaw the department's daily activities for several months before her firing, says she has no clear picture why she was terminated.

Doggett was fired the same day athletic director Rick Bay resigned under pressure and Bartel was placed on paid leave, all moves by SDSU President Stephen Weber stemming from a California State University audit into the athletic department.

The 37-page audit painted a picture of admissions rules being stretched, athletic equipment going unaccounted for, student workers being verbally abused and possible criminal violations being committed by employees over the past six years.

For the first time since her sudden firing, Doggett talked extensively about events leading to May 22 and allegations and published reports, later proved false, that she received a fraudulent degree from SDSU in the mid '90s.

At his news conference announcing Bay's resignation, Weber confirmed his office was investigating the merits of an SDSU degree of an athletic department employee but did not mention Doggett's name, saying only that it was not an athlete.

The allegations were included in an internal memo sent to Weber on May 12 from a member of the equipment room staff, Francisco Montes de Oca. The memo, which Montes de Oca distributed to media outlets, Weber, Bay, CSU Chancellor Charles Reed and SDSU Director of Human Resources Sue Blair, claimed:

"Doggett has a bogus bachelor's degree. It is completely contrived. This benefit was provided for her by a high-ranking administrator (now retired from SDSU) and close family friend."

Montes de Oca, a self-described whistle-blower, outlined how the administrator convinced one of Doggett's professors to change a grade so that she could receive her degree, necessary because she was applying for an athletic department administrative job that required it. Published reports in other media subsequently named Doggett as the target.

Weber ultimately announced the investigation found no wrongdoing in relation to how Doggett earned her degree.

"I never even knew my (academic history) was an issue until I read it in a newspaper," Doggett said. "But the fact my name was associated with it publicly, especially when it was proven to be completely untrue, isn't fair. I'm putting together résumés and looking for a job – who knows how much damage that has done? You would hope people would be more responsible than to attach a name with it until the investigation is over.

"I also don't think it was appropriate of (Weber) to even discuss the investigation until it was over. He should have waited. It's pretty scary when something that serious is just thrown out there about you, something that has no credibility."

One SDSU source told the Union-Tribune that the issue with Doggett's transcripts did not involve a grade change but merely a professor reporting one of her grades late. Another source said the issue was whether Doggett had completed the university's math requirement. Regardless, both said her bachelor's degree in speech communications is legitimate.

Doggett has hired an attorney and sent letters to Montes de Oca, Weber and certain news outlets, demanding her name no longer be used in association with the allegations of a fraudulent degree. She said she is undecided whether to pursue legal action.

Through a spokesman, Weber said the university is "investigating this matter to determine what, if any, disciplinary action is appropriate."

Said Montes de Oca last night: "I am not worried about any (disciplinary action). I actually received a letter from the president's office thanking me for revealing information and asking if I had any more to make them aware of it."

Doggett worked in the Aztecs athletic department for the past decade, first as an intern and increasingly as a more powerful administrator. Once senior associate athletic director Vance Redfern – Bay's right-hand man and a central figure in the auditor's report – retired in December, Doggett inherited most of his day-to-day duties.

As Bay tried to hold together a department on NCAA probation (for major violations by the football program) and one shaken by the 11-month audit investigation, most inquiries and problems landed on Doggett's desk first.

"I felt good about the fact (Bay) had confidence in me," Doggett said. "The frustrating part was not the amount of work, but that it takes so much time to get anything done in the bureaucracy of a state institution. I worked with great people, great coaches. I had great support . . . I think everyone makes mistakes along the way. I learned a lot of things over the years. No one is perfect.

"Do I think any of my mistakes were big enough to get fired? No."

It is still unclear what exactly moved Weber to fire her. Some speculate it happened because Doggett spoke publicly about CSU auditor Mike Redmond's findings, something athletic department officials were sternly warned against.

That day, Doggett told the Union-Tribune: "Someone with no idea about collegiate athletics was writing this (audit). When you read it, that becomes even more apparent. (Redmond) was a little lost."

Says Doggett today: "It's not like I called (Redmond) an idiot, but I do stand by my comments."

The Union-Tribune submitted four questions concerning Doggett's dismissal to Weber through a university spokesman, ranging from the manner in which she was informed of the decision to whether it was directly related to her comments about the audit.

The lone response from Weber's office was a two-sentence statement: "Jana Doggett was an at-will employee who served at the pleasure of the president. The decision not to retain Ms. Doggett was consistent with the president's decision regarding having the appropriate administration in place for the future of athletics."

Said Doggett: "I basically spent my whole professional career (at SDSU). I love the university. I think (football coach) Tom Craft has a real chance of turning things around. Obviously (men's basketball coach) Steve Fisher has done a great job. I believe (women's coach) Jim Tomey will do a phenomenal job building his program. The Olympic sports are strong.

"I did the absolute best I could. I wished (the firing) would have been handled better, that I would have been given an opportunity to resign or not. But I was never given that choice."