UW football program moves on after stinging Pac-10 sanctions

by Tom Griffin | December 1, 1993

A legendary football coach resigns, the team faces a two-year bowl ban, the athletics department is out $1.4 million in TV revenue … can anything good come out of the Pac-10 sanctions and subsequent retirement of Don James?

Reluctant to relive the 10 months of investigation, UW Athletics Director Barbara Hedges hesitates, then compares the experience to a battle zone. “It was like being in a war and having the missiles coming at you all the time. There was a constant barrage of stories. It was the cumulative effect that was most difficult.”

Yes, she concedes, the stress could have brought on battle fatigue, but it didn’t. Physically, she worked through the strain during early morning “power­ walks” in her Madison Park neighborhood, where other strollers might spot Hedges with her dog, ending their walk at the local Starbucks.

Mentally, she says, “I tried to keep everything in perspective. I tried to keep my sense of humor. I tried not to be bitter, but there is some bitterness in me. Working with Don James helped me a lot. He is so strong, so organized about everything that should be done.”

Like any war veteran, Hedges admits, “You never want to go through anything like this.” But in her mind, there is also a positive side for the UW athletics program and the University.

First, unlike other college programs that saw coaches and players leave after the NCAA imposed penalties, not one football player or coach has left to go to another school.

This resounding vote of confidence in the UW program is due to Coach Jim Lambright and his staff, Hedges says. “He did an outstanding job of putting his arms around that team and reassuring them. To his credit and the other coaches’ credit, the team remained intact.”

Hedges called Lambright’s promotion, only seven days before the season opener against Stanford, “one of the smoothest coaching transitions in history. We did not miss a beat.”

Secondly, there has been an outpouring of support for the football program. Not one of the 67,000 season ticket holders has returned a ticket and each home game remains a sellout. The athletics department plans to launch a major fund drive in the future and has received signs of strong preliminary support.

“It appears that donors and fans are continuing to support this program and believe in it as strongly as before,” Hedges notes.

Third, through this trial by fire, the athletics program has been strengthened. It has undergone internal and external reviews that have cleared up any areas where it may have been vulnerable. “We feel real comfortable with what we are doing,” Hedges explains. “We have a commitment to make it the best in the country, to make sure we’re doing everything that is right.”

To help enforce NCAA standards, Hedges hired Ralph Bayard as the athletic department’s compliance officer on Oct. 26. Bayard will oversee a team to enforce all 439 pages of the NCAA rule book.

Prior to coming to the UW, Bayard was associate executive director of the Washington Interscholastic Activities Association, which oversees high school sports. A UW alumnus with a B.A. and M.A. in communications (1971 and 1977), he played football under Jim Owens. In his new job Bayard will also oversee student-athlete support services.

In addition to a new compliance officer, athletics now has two sports psychology graduate students on staff to help improve both individual performance and team performance. “Not only does this help our teams, but it strengthens the contact between the athletics department and the faculty,” notes Hedges.

Connections are also being made to the community. In the planning stages long before the investigation and sanctions, the department has launched a community service program called Purple Hearts. The effort links a team with a community group for the entire academic year. The volleyball team might link up with Children’s Medical Center or the football team might adopt an elementary school, Hedges explains.

UW teams, coaches and student-athletes have done community service for years, such as the College Baseball Classic co-sponsored by the UW which touches 17,000 boys and girls each spring. But this is a more formal, department-wide effort, “a gift to the community,” Hedges says, that will also impress upon players the part they play as role models. “You never know how you’re going to touch a person’s life,” she says.

While they connect with the community, student-athletes will also stay connected to the student side of their identity. In addition to their usual academic load, freshmen on scholarship status must take a “life skills” course for credit, coordinated through the under­graduate dean’s office and taught by various faculty.

“If there is an at-risk student, we’re going to pay a lot of attention to that student,” Hedges adds.

The athletics department will be paying a lot of attention to finances as well. Accounting standards for entertainment money during recruiting—especially the 48-hour visit to campus—have already been tightened. Student-athletes will also have to fill out a financial disclosure form—a check-in/check-out system—that will track items like loans or new cars. The summer employment program will include more monitoring, including unannounced site visits.

There may even be changes in the way the Pac-10 directs its investigations. Hedges says a new committee is being formed to look at the Pac-10 process compared to the NCAA system, which conducts investigations for all other college conferences.

That’s one positive that may help other schools but is too late for Washington. When the Pac-10 decision was coming last August, Hedges anticipated a one-year bowl ban and some scholarship cuts. In the end the UW faced a two-year bowl ban, a one-year loss of TV revenue and cuts in scholarships and recruiting visits.

When she first got the news of the sanctions, Hedges says she was “totally numb.” She continues, “It did not appear to me, from everything I know, that this case warranted that severe a penalty.”

The “most shocking and most severe” was a switch in penalties between the four-member compliance committee, which heard two days of testimony, and the 30-member Pac-10 Council, made up of faculty and athletic representatives of the conference.

The committee recommended a two-year loss of TV revenue and a one-year bowl ban. The UW questioned the severity of the TV penalty as well as significant reductions in scholarships. The whole council then voted for a two-year bowl ban and a one-year loss of TV revenue. The increased bowl penalties were the final straw for Coach James, who felt innocent players and coaches were unfairly punished. He announced his immediate retirement.

“The council took it upon themselves to impose a more severe penalty without all of the information available. The four people on the compliance committee who heard all the testimony were as fair and impartial as they could be. They had a much better sense of what should happen than the council,” she declares.

Some fans felt the penalties were so unfair that the UW should abandon the conference. “You can’t pick up your toys and leave,” Hedges responds. “We have no intention of leaving the conference. It is a great conference competitively as well as academically.”

Looking back, she says one story the media missed was the contributions of Don James. “They missed what Don has done over 18 years. The high standards he has held, what he has tried to do every day he was here, to build the best program in America, in every way.”

That some people blame her or President Gerberding for James’ retirement is “ridiculous,” she adds. Their anger is “misplaced.” “The University approached the investigation in the most professional manner we could. The number one goal was to uphold the integrity of the University of Washington, that was first and foremost.

“No one can ever say that the process was shoddy, not professional, not conducted in an exemplary manner. We know it was the way it should have been done.”

On the other side, there are some voices questioning the existence of intercollegiate athletics at the UW. They wonder why a university is expected to be a farm club for professional football and basketball teams.

“The University is not expected to be a professional farm club. Participation in athletics is a cherished part of the college experience,” Hedges says. At a big university athletics play a vital part in creating unity. For the University of Washington—where about half of the undergraduates work more than 15 hours a week and about 72 percent commute—there aren’t many common experiences that join together the engineers and the art students, the physicists and the M.B.A.s.

“Athletics bring a sense of community to a university,” says Hedges. “It’s the glue that keeps everything together. It should be a positive part of the experience of every university. We have to work hard to make sure that is the case here.”

Questions and answers about the sanctions

The Pac-10 Conference imposed sanctions on the University of Washington Aug. 22, following a 10-month investigation into the UW football program. In reaction to the sanctions, Football Coach Don James announced his immediate retirement after 18 years as the Huskies’ head coach. Jim Lambright, a 25-year veteran of the coaching staff and former Husky line­backer, took over. The following is a brief review of the sanctions.

What NCAA rules did the UW violate?

The Pac-10 said there were 15 violations of NCAA rules. The major violations involved a $50,000 loan to former Husky Quarterback Billy Joe Hobert; excessive summer-job wages paid to student-athletes by Los Angeles booster Jim Kenyon; free meals and excessive wages given to players by Seattle booster Roy Moore; improper recruiting conduct by Bellevue booster Clint Mead and by Seattle booster Jim Heckman; and the misuse of entertainment funds by players hosting recruits.

Were any coaches or administrators involved in the violations?

No.

What were the penalties imposed by the Pac-10?

The UW football program has been placed on a two-year probation, including a two-year ban on post-season bowl games. The program will forfeit its share of the 1993 Pac-10 television revenues, estimated at $1.4 million. Its annual football scholarship allowance has been cut back from 25 to 15 for the next two years. Paid recruiting visits to the UW have been cut back from 70 to 35 in 1993-94 and 40 in 1994-95. Votes were unanimous by both the Pac-10 Council (27-0) and the Pac-10 presidents and chancellors (9-0). UW officials were excluded from voting.

What did the Pac-10 Council members feel was the worst violation?

According to Arizona State Professor Jerry Kingston, chair of the Pac-10 compliance committee, the most serious violation was the lack of institutional control over the use of entertainment funds for recruits. The Pac-10 cited eight cases where players improperly distributed $10 to $40, either keeping the meal and entertainment money or sharing it with recruits.

How do these sanctions stack up to those imposed on other schools?

In 1982 USC suffered a three-year probation from the Pac-10, including a two-year bowl ban and a two-year TV ban, for improper employment, abuse of free tickets and academic fraud. USC employees were involved in the infractions.

Last August the NCAA imposed a two-year probation on Auburn for six major violations such as cash payments to a student-athlete—including bonuses for game performances—and lack of institutional control. An assistant football coach was involved in some payments. Auburn faces penalties similar to Washington: a two-year bowl ban, a one-year TV ban and a reduction of scholarships.

What will the Pac-10 do with the TV money it took away from the Huskies?

The money will be put in an interest-bearing account. Its fate will be deter­mined later by the chancellors and presidents of the Pac-10 institutions.

Why did Coach James retire?

James was prepared to continue as football coach when the preliminary sanctions were under discussion. Those sanctions would have involved a two-year TV revenue forfeiture and a one-year bowl ban. The UW questioned the severity of the TV penalty as well as the significant reductions in scholarships. The Pac-10 Council applied a more severe penalty to the football program with the addition of the second-year bowl ban. It reduced the TV penalty to a one-year forfeiture. Coach James felt strongly that a two-year bowl ban punished innocent players and coaches who had nothing to do with the infractions.

What exactly did Coach James say?

Part of his statement was as follows:

“Yesterday, this conference elected to add on a second year of bowl bans. However, they will continue to allow us to play on television so that they can reap monetary benefits, as they have been doing because of the outstanding play of our Huskies for many years.

“I have decided that I can no longer coach in a conference that treats its members, its coaches and their players so unfairly. Therefore, effective immediately, I am retiring as head coach of the Washington Huskies.”

How badly crippled will the UW football program be?

James told the media, “Jim Lambright is, without question, the most qualified man in the country to take over the job as head football coach of the Huskies.” While the scholarship cuts will be felt, due to the NCAA’s overall cap, the UW has not been awarding the maximum for several years.

What they said about the sanctions and the Don James retirement

“We have suffered for nearly 10 months from media character assassination. By looking at the penalties, it appears we are all guilty based in large part upon statements of questionable witnesses.” —Former UW Football Coach Don James.

“Neither the University’s investigation nor that of the Pac-10 commissioners found any instance of willful misconduct by any University employee. Whether one considers the penalties imposed by the conference to be appropriate or fair is a matter of individual judgment. I do not.” —UW President William P Gerberding.

“We would hope to set a new example for college athletics across the country …. There was never any sense reflected in the council or by any members that we had an outlaw program on our hands. We do not see this as a persistent effort to evade the rules. … The simple lesson was there was a significant infraction.” —Oregon Law Professor James O’Fallon, acting chair of the Pac-10 Council.

“The conference was trying to determine a penalty that best fit the situation.” —Pac-10 Associate Commissioner David Price.

“We, along with many others, were extremely disappointed with the penalties imposed by the Pac-10 Conference, which we believe to be excessive . … We believe the University comported itself with dignity and integrity. Regrettably, in situations like this, there are those who look to assign blame for unexpected outcomes and have directed their attention to the University president. On behalf of the Board of Regents we emphatically state there are absolutely no grounds for blaming President Gerberding for the severity of the Pac-10 penalties, which he vigorously opposed.” —UW Board of Regents.

“In a time when eight of the league’s 10 schools operate athletics at a deficit, they hand their strongest member a crippling penalty that may take a decade to overcome? And for what? Loose meal money during recruiting trips? A few soft summer jobs in Southern California? In essence, UW coaches were convicted without being charged. Don James did the right thing in retiring.” —Blaine Newnham, Seattle Times sports columnist.

“James should have stayed and fought. He should have accepted this biggest challenge of his coaching career. He should have stayed to rebuild the program and repair his reputation. He owed it to the school, but more importantly, he owed it to himself.” —Steve Kelley, Seattle Times sports columnist.

“The investigation didn’t darken James’ reputation, it cleared it. There is another reason much closer to home that explains why James has not been at peace in this town until now. If the news media are interested in finding it, they need look no further than the nearest mirror.” —John Carlson, Seattle Times editorial columnist.

“Do you know what charge they hung on the Huskies? Failing to keep accurate records of the chump change players are allowed to spend while entertaining visiting athletes. … Because the UW didn’t have receipts to cover all the chump change, Don James is leaving the campus in disgrace, and the UW’s efforts to examine and defend his program have cost the school $575,000, with the figure climbing daily.” —John Owen, Seattle Post-Intelligencer sports columnist.

“The most glaring hypocrisy was the conference’s willingness to allow the Huskies to appear on TV, but keeping all the revenue for itself. What that says is: ‘We don’t respect you or what you’re doing. But we’ll set you up to do it and then take your money.’ That’s called pimping.” —Art Thiel, Seattle Post-Intelligencer sports columnist.

“I think it was totally biased. I think [other Pac-10 schools were] sick and tired of the University of Washington kicking their hind every time they played them.” —Former UW Quarterback Billy Joe Hobert.

“Whoever went out and took this man out of office, tomorrow morning I want them to wake up, look in the mirror and realize what they did. People pushed him too far. It was his only way of fighting back.” —Team Co-Captain Jim Nevelle on the James retirement.

“We don’t have 72,000 people when we give a seminar about our work. I understand that.” —UW Professor Emeritus Edmond Fischer; who shared the 1992 Nobel Prize in medicine with UW Professor Emeritus Edwin G. Krebs, on why the football sanctions got more media coverage than their award.

“When a conference can beat you up that bad, it’s almost like eating your young …. If you have any pride at all you have no choice but to walk away or tell them what they can do with it. That’s why everybody loved the song ‘Take This Job and Shove It.”‘ —Iowa State Coach Jim Walden, who once coached WSU; on the James retirement.

“Since when is a higher standard bad? If the NCAA wants to slap Auburn’s wrists, let it. … The Pac-10 long has maintained that it will hold itself to a higher standard, and this is technicolor proof.” —Pat Forde, Louisville Courier-Journal sports columnist.

Husky fans and Don James admirers need to keep things in perspective …. The University of Washington is first and foremost an institution of higher learning, dedicated to the advancement of knowledge and the education of young people.” —Tacoma News-Tribune editorial.

Comments compiled from official statements, press releases and media reports.

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Tom Griffin is managing editor of Columns.