DKR ran a clean program as football coach and would not tolerate boosters giving benefits to players in any sport as athletic director. He despised cheaters.
However, that couldn’t stop the $100 handshakes and envelopes stuffed into lockers during games.
Anecdote:
My brother was treasurer of the men’s basketball booster club during DKR’s AD tenure. At one point the club officers were discussing raising enough cash to buy a used car for a player who was in dire need of transportation to get to campus for class and practice.
Somehow Royal caught wind of the “plot” and called them into his office, whereby he read them the riot act that if they proceeded with that sort of unethical activity he would remove them from the club and ban them from the 40 acres. That meant no tickets or attendance to any sporting activities on campus at all.
I can’t vouch for anything that occurred after he retired though.