Heart, integrity, spirit, unity: These were some of the words featured on the “dawg tags” that were given to student fans at the UW men’s basketball games during the 2005-2006 and 2006-2007 seasons.

The marketing ploy not only hung from Dawg Pack-ers’ necks, but also instilled a new attitude for Husky sports — an outlook reinstated by Athletic Director Todd Turner when he came to the University in 2004.

But moral values aren’t enough in a program that brought the UW nearly $60 million in revenue last year. Supporters expect wins, and with three consecutive losing seasons for Husky football, Turner’s ethics mission wasn’t cutting it.

The athletic director announced his resignation in mid-December and will leave office Jan. 31.

President Mark Emmert said the decision was mutual.

For Turner, personnel choices are ultimately the president’s responsibility.

“In other words, [Emmert] didn’t try to talk me out of it,” Turner said.

The decision came soon after a Nov. 29 e-mail in which alumnus, multimillionaire, lawyer and former Everett mayor Ed Hansen offered to make two $100,000 donations to the law school, one conditioned on the termination of Tyrone Willingham as football coach and the other based on ending Turner’s employment.

Hansen’s e-mail and hundreds more were revealed by a public records request from The Seattle Times. Some fans said they planned to stop purchasing season tickets and only one-fourth of writers lent optimistic support, the paper reported.

“You simply can’t allow that kind of public commentary to affect something as important as a personnel decision,” Emmert said.

The president said he received various e-mails and phone calls from fans during the past few months but didn’t see Hansen’s when it came in.

Turner also said his inbox was flooded throughout the football season. He and his staff try to respond to all e-mails, many of which are from disappointed alumni like Hansen.

“Those [e-mails] are examples of the way our culture works today — people have instant access to you and to information,” Turner said. “[The] fact of the matter is you can’t pay a lot of attention to it because those people are speaking from their personal view and they have no in-depth knowledge about what they’re writing about. They’re writing from what they see on the field. … They’ve never talked to families, support staff to know what’s going on every day.”

The NCAA is not legally allowed to create rules regarding personnel decisions of collegiate athletic departments, whether alumni donations are involved or not, said Stacey Osburn, an NCAA spokeswoman.

Hansen told the Times he plans to donate the $100,000 he offered for termination of Turner’s employment.

Tuner said he was hired to reconnect UW sports with the University’s culture of integrity. With student athletes motivated, engaged and performing well in the classroom, the program has progressed greatly in this area, he said.

“I’ve had a great experience at Washington; I wouldn’t trade it for the world,” Turner said. “I guess the greatest disappointment is that key people maybe don’t have as much patience as I do. The things I believe about intercollegiate athletics aren’t what some people here apparently hold to be the case.”

Before Turner came to the UW from Vanderbilt in 2004, former football coach Rick Neuheisel was investigated by the Pac-10 for gambling on college basketball, and a former softball team doctor improperly prescribed and distributed narcotics to players.

On Thursday, Jan. 10, the same day the Times released its report about the e-mails, the paper published an editorial written by Emmert that critiqued the country’s “obsession” with intercollegiate athletics. The president called for successful competition within the framework of a university’s values.

Upholding integrity, Turner said, is why he brought Willingham to the UW. His expectations weren’t a certain number of wins, but creating a positive student experience. He said he expects next year’s UW football program to be better than this year’s.

Some, like Rick Kirsten, a 1967 alumnus and local art gallery owner, are puzzled by the decision to keep Willingham.

“Husky football is a huge thing, and I was unhappy that they didn’t let Willingham go because he hasn’t been successful at all,” Kirsten said. “I think he should’ve just pulled the plug on him. He had been fired from Stanford and Notre Dame both. … He seems like a really nice guy, but maybe he’s too nice to be a football coach because most of the winners are jerks.”

Willingham is entering the fourth year of his five-year contract.

Turner remains undecided on future plans. He says he is open to accepting an athletic director position if it’s a good fit, though he may explore opportunities in industry or education — but nothing too far from intercollegiate athletics.

Scott Woodward, vice president for external affairs, will take over for Turner at the end of this month. The search for Turner’s replacement will begin this academic year.

[Reach reporter Meghan Peters at sports@thedaily.washington.edu.]