5/3/03 - Something About Larry

Better to be half-cocked than not cocked at all. That's why I've waited 10 days to formulate an opinion on the much-debated expansion of the ACC.

Oh, I've had a few opinions, but they last only until I make my next phone call.

To read some accounts, Miami and two other Big East teams will be joining the ACC any minute. However, there are other people - longtime and knowledgeable ACC observers - who say it will never happen.

Call that the "no way" faction. There are three other camps: likely, unlikely and possible. At the start of the day Friday, I was in the unlikely camp. Now, I've switched to the possible side.

There was a time, two years ago, when I was blamed by fellow journalists for starting the Miami expansion rumors. All I had done was mention in an Internet column that the rumors existed and did not attach much significance to them.

I was ready to dismiss the current rumors with similar indifference, but have been advised otherwise. One way or another, the Miami issue will be resolved by the end of the summer. It will not drag on.

Although the ACC could expand to 10 teams and invite only Miami, more likely is a scenario that the ACC would expand to 12 teams. News stories Friday in the Miami Herald and Charlotte Observer indicated that Syracuse and Boston College would be the Hurricanes' partners in the move.

The perception is that Miami, Boston College and Syracuse would deliver coveted TV markets, but ACC interest in Virginia Tech is more sincere than some beat reporters would believe.

Associate commissioner Mike Finn, a member of the ACC inner circle, has a degree from Tech. Dave Braine, the Georgia Tech athletic director, previously was the AD at Tech. Clemson athletic director Terry Don Phillips is an ex-Hokies football coach.

The theory has been advanced that Tech, with more than 5,000 annual graduates, is a market unto itself.

Some people would say the main issue here is money. Would increased revenues created by a football championship game offset the earnings that the nine current ACC members would have to share with 1-3 new members?

Not now, it wouldn't. To make up for the shared revenue, the ACC would have to generate an additional $25 million, but the ACC isn't the Southeastern Conference. In the current market, an ACC football championship wouldn't generate more than $15 million.

"But, those are current dollars," I've been told. "You've got to look down the road 10 years."

Believe me, with four kids to put through college, I've been looking down the road 10 years and I don't see Fat City.

In the end, it won't come down to money. It will come down to votes. A new member would need the approval of seven of nine schools. No one thinks Duke will vote for expansion. North Carolina has reservations about the money.

Virginia athletic director Craig Littlepage has expressed interest in expansion, but the athletic directors don't vote. The presidents do. Publicly, UVa president John Casteen has to support the Hokies' candidacy, but what does he do when the curtain closes in the voting booth?

Another thing: How does all this happen? Does Miami apply for ACC membership, knowing there is a possibility it will be voted down? Could the ACC vote on expansion without specifying the teams?

Let's not be naive. Deals can be cut outside the public spotlight, but that will be a lot tougher after a Final Four tirade by Big East commissioner Mike Tranghese. Now, people are watching.

What's that I said about ACC expansion being possible? That was four hours ago. I think I'm back to unlikely.

Virginia cautious about expansion
Craig Littlepage says much is yet to be determined before the ACC makes a decision on expansion.
By MARK BERMAN
THE ROANOKE TIMES

Miami has a decision to make. So does the ACC.
The ACC has been chatting with Miami as it ponders expansion. If the nine-member ACC adds three schools, it will be able to split into two divisions and hold a potentially lucrative football title game. It is uncertain how many ACC members favor expansion, but Virginia isn't against exploring the idea.

"I'm curious and interested in the benefits of conference expansion," Virginia athletic director Craig Littlepage said. "Can the ACC thrive or sustain itself at nine members or does the future dictate that the ACC have more than nine members in terms of moving forward and enhancing its stature as a major conference?"

If Miami jumps to the ACC, the ACC would presumably add two other Big East schools so it can have 12 members. The fates of Virginia Tech and the other Big East schools rest with Miami's decision.

"There's only one school that's driving this, and that's Miami. The rest of us react," Syracuse athletic director Jake Crouthamel said Thursday. "We're waiting for Miami."

The South Florida Sun-Sentinel reported Wednesday that Miami athletic director Paul Dee, football coach Larry Coker and women's volleyball coach Nicole Welsh met with that school's board of trustees last Friday to discuss the issue of whether to jump to the ACC.

"I gave them [the board members] an update," Dee said in Thursday's Miami Herald. "It was not for the purpose of getting a vote."

Littlepage said the ACC has to decide whether staying at nine members is "good enough to continue to be an elite conference nationally." The ACC has to be willing to adapt, said Littlepage, but he does have concerns.

"The idea of expansion interests me, but it would have to be for the right reasons," Littlepage said. "Some of the shortcomings of expansion would have to be addressed related to travel, related to scheduling, related to financial impact, related to welfare of our student-athletes and missed class time."

Littlepage's other concerns include how ACC men's basketball tournament tickets would be distributed and if all 12 teams would participate in that tournament.

"There are some things that are unique to the ACC that become extremely difficult as far as having 12 members as opposed to nine," he said.

Littlepage said UVa yields between $7.5 million and $8 million per year from ACC revenue-sharing. Adding more schools would mean less money for Virginia. Expansion might also mean UVa will have to spend more money to send its teams on road games.

There are financial pluses to expansion, though. TV networks and cable channels might pay even more money for the rights to air ACC football and basketball games. A football title game could also be a financial bonanza.

"It all comes down to sponsorship and television, but certainly you're talking about the potential for millions of dollars institutionally" per school for a title game, Littlepage said.

If the NCAA gets tougher about the level of progress athletes must make toward their degrees, Littlepage might be reluctant to make UVa athletes miss more class time by traveling greater distances to road games.

"Academic reform and conference expansion could be mutually exclusive," Littlepage said. "When you look at the opportunities for revenue generation of a football playoff game, the rewards are pretty evident, but there are some costs that go beyond just the financial cost and they relate to some of the welfare elements about ... increased travel, the adverse impact potentially it might have on academic performance."

Crouthamel has said Miami's departure would result in the Big East losing its Bowl Championship Series berth. That's why if the ACC takes Miami, then Virginia Tech and Syracuse would be interested in joining the ACC. The danger for Tech is the ACC could take Miami, Syracuse and Boston College, leaving the Hokies out in the cold.

Littlepage said he wouldn't plead Tech's case to his fellow ACC members.

"There wouldn't be any lobbying that we would do on any one institution's behalf," Littlepage said. "If Virginia Tech is going to be a candidate for expansion, they would need to articulate that. If the ACC decides it wants to expand, there are a lot of good reasons to consider that. I think Virginia Tech has some very positive qualities."

Seven of the nine ACC schools would have to vote in favor of expansion.

"Our conference has never reached a consensus on expanding beyond our current nine members, but I do believe that our institutions feel it is a subject that should not be ignored," ACC commissioner John Swofford said in a statement. "Our feeling is that if we are to stay at nine members, it should be a proactive decision, not one of neglect."

Littlepage said the ACC has talked about expansion off and on for the last five or six years. If the college landscape shifts, the ACC might wish it had done more than just talk. The ACC's pool of prospective members could shrink if the 11-member Big Ten or 12-member Southeastern Conference acts before the ACC.

"I don't look at this in terms of what other conferences are going to be doing or whether someone might beat the ACC to the punch," Littlepage said. "It's what is in the best interest of the ACC in terms of will expansion help or hurt, can the ACC sustain itself and thrive by remaining at nine or by moving to 12? That's what has been the discussion."

While the ACC and Miami ponder their futures, the rest of the Big East waits.

"We've been waiting for Miami for six years," Crouthamel said. "Twice Miami has said no [to leaving the Big East] - two different presidents."

"I feel confident the Big East is going to stay together and be strong," West Virginia athletic director Ed Pastilong said. "I don't see a departure by anyone."

Although his team won the Group AAA Division 6 state championship, Hylton High School football coach Lou Sorrentino has experienced mixed feelings this week as he has watched film with college coaches.

One of Hylton's top returning players was James Parker, a 5-foot-10-inch, 175-pound defensive back who was shot to death in late March.

In newspaper accounts, teammates talked of exchanging recruiting letters with Parker and, while there might have been questions over Parker's chances of qualifying, he deserved to be mentioned among Hylton's best prospects.

"He had a huge upside," said Sorrentino, who said he had not delved into the circumstances of the shooting but understands it was accidental. "He was a very explosive player who packed a wallop. He was big-time as far as pure talent."

Parker had been among a group of four rising seniors that Sorrentino was recommending to Division I coaches, along with linebacker Endor Cooper (6-2, 190), linebacker Jackie Watkins (6-0, 230) and cornerback Deon Butler (5-11, 160).

Cooper, already a qualifier, runs well enough that he may play safety in college. None of the Hylton juniors has an offer, but schools with representatives at Hylton this week included Virginia Tech, Wake Forest, West Virginia and Marshall.

A 30-day spring evaluation period began Monday. College coaches are not allowed to make recruiting presentations to prospects but they are allowed to exchange pleasantries in the event of an "incidental bump."

Cooper and Watkins were among a group at Virginia last month for the Cavaliers' spring game. Other visitors included Nathan Bryant, Chris Spinner and Ian Childress from Liberty (Bedford), linebacker Jerrod Mayo from Kecoughtan (Hampton) and lineman Marcus Brooks from Collegiate (Richmond).

Virginia Tech also had a large contingent at its spring game, but the Hokies did not make a huge push for players from the distant reaches of the state who have two other opportunities to visit Blacksburg this summer -- for the Nike camp at Tech or the Hokies' summer camp.

BEFORE GOING TO Hylton, Sorrentino was the head coach at Culpeper, where his 2001 team included quarterback and defensive back Stefan Orange, who was redshirted by Virginia this past fall before dropping off the team and returning home during spring practice.

Sorrentino took time off from his spring break to accompany Orange on a visit to Charlottesville and was successful in persuading Orange to resume classes. They have been in telephone contact this week and Sorrentino was somewhat taken back by reports that Orange would not be rejoining the football team.

Sorrentino said Friday that he did not think Orange has asked to be released from his scholarship.

"Stefan had seen the reports this week," Sorrentino said, "and he told me, 'I guess this means I'm gone.' I called [UVa coach] Al Groh and he said he was just reacting to information he had received up there. I've got to get back in touch with him. Before the spring game, I thought the door was open."

Sorrentino said Orange was apprehensive about returning to Charlottesville in April and meeting with Groh and seeing his teammates but Orange was touched by the reception he received from classmates like Wali Lundy and Tony Franklin.

"What Stefan told me was, 'Coach, I'm going to finish up the semester, get my grades and take a deep breath.'," Sorrentino said. "Personally, I'm not ready to say he definitely won't be back there."

GRAHAM COACH Glynn Carlock said coaches from Marshall, Penn State, Wake Forest and Virginia were in Bluefield on Thursday to inquire about junior running back Ahmad Bradshaw, the Group AA player of the year.

Carlock said he thinks it is the first time Penn State has sent a coach to Graham since the early 1980s. Carlock said he did not attach any significance to Virginia Tech's absence and felt certain he would see some of the Tech coaches Friday night at a clinic in Marion.

Some Internet reports have suggested a strained relationship between Graham and Tech, but Carlock pointed out that Tech successfully recruited former G-men Eddie Hall and Eddie Neal in the 1980s.

Carlock said it is his understanding that Virginia has made an offer to Bradshaw and apparently there is legitimate mutual interest. Carlock said he anticipated that West Virginia would be dispatching a scout to Graham, "but it's a two-day drive from up there," he said half seriously.

Carlock said the word he was getting early in the week was that former Graham and UVa offensive tackle Mike Mullins was close to signing with Atlanta. Mullins, now close to 310 pounds, went undrafted after December back surgery.

REPORTERS COVERING UVa are waiting for confirmation that 6-10 Jason Cain from Philadelphia has signed a letter-of-intent with the Cavaliers. Cain told reporters April 25 that he had committed to Virginia, but it wasn't until the UVa coaches had come off the road at mid-week that the letters were sent to Cain.

NCAA finds Iowa State guilty of rules violation
Associated Press

DES MOINES, Iowa -- Larry Eustachy, already suspended by Iowa State for his behavior at late-night parties, was suspended for one game by the NCAA on Friday for a secondary rules violation.

The NCAA found Iowa State guilty because Eustachy twice paid players for making free throws. The university was ordered to suspend Eustachy for one game, but that might become moot because athletic director Bruce Van De Velde has recommended Eustachy be fired.

Iowa State had reported the violations to the NCAA and will not appeal the ruling, said associate athletic director Bill Smith, the university's compliance coordinator.

Van De Velde's recommendation to fire Eustachy followed newspaper reports that he drank and partied with college students after games in Columbia, Mo., and Manhattan, Kan.

Photos from the Columbia party show Eustachy kissing young women and being kissed by them on the cheek. Eustachy disclosed this week that he is an alcoholic and is seeking treatment.

The payments to the players -- the most anyone received was $20 -- took place during the 2002-03 season. Van De Velde said the violations, while troubling, had nothing to do with his recommendation to fire Eustachy, who has until Monday to appeal.

"This was not the decision maker," Van De Velde said Friday night.

The university reported the violations to the NCAA and sent the organization a report of its own investigation on March 27.

In that report, the university imposed its own penalties:

A letter of reprimand to Eustachy and a freeze on his salary for the fiscal year starting July 1.

A letter of reprimand to Bob Sundvold, the basketball program's administrative assistant.

Requiring the basketball staff to attend educational sessions on NCAA compliance.

Reinforcing to players the importance of recognizing potential violations and then reporting them.

The NCAA accepted those penalties and added the one-game suspension. The findings, received by the university on Wednesday, also said the NCAA was "extremely concerned" by Eustachy's actions and said he should "avoid any further similar violations."

"We've self-reported and there are no major sanctions on the institution other than the suspension of our basketball coach for one game," Van De Velde said.

"But it does put our program under a microscope and the NCAA had articulated that in their letter back to us."

Eustachy would lose about $8,000 because of the sanctions, Iowa State said. He is paid about $1.1 million a year.

The NCAA agreed with Iowa State's findings that Eustachy paid a player, whose name was blacked out in the report, $20 for making a free throw in Iowa State's 74-70 victory over Baylor on Feb. 1.

According to the report, the player made a free throw to win the game. In the game, Iowa State secured the victory with one free throw by Marcus Jefferson and two by Jake Sullivan.

On Feb. 13, Iowa State's report said Eustachy had his team play a game of "cutthroat" free throw shooting at practice and the winner would receive $10. Five players received $10 each for winning their contests, the NCAA said.

Eustachy told a trainer to take the $10 out of the players' meal money so it would not be a violation, the report said. But the report said the trainer misunderstood and nothing was deducted from the meal money.

The university began its investigation Feb. 19 and two days later, declared the five players ineligible for the Cyclones' Feb. 22 home game with Kansas State.

But the players repaid the money and were allowed to play, the university said.

Smith said the violations were reported by someone in the athletic department, but he could not reveal that person's name.

"I have to protect the confidentiality of the athletic department staff member who brought that information to me," Smith said.

Van De Velde said he was upset that someone other than Eustachy reported the violations.

"Any time cash is exchanged and you have to learn about it through other people, then you get concerned because you wonder what else is out there that hasn't come to you from other people," Van De Velde said.

"If a coach had come to me and said I want to tell you about this, it wouldn't have bothered as much. But I had to learn from other sources. That really concerns me."

The athletic department brought in an outside consultant to help in its investigation. Van De Velde estimated the investigation cost the department from $5,000 to $6,000.

On Friday, students demonstrated again in support of Eustachy.

Joined by members of the basketball team, about 300 students displayed pro-Eustachy T-shirts and posters as they protested outside the office of the university president. It was their fourth demonstration in two days.

Also Friday, assistant coach Steve Barnes denied using threats or intimidation to rally support for Eustachy. Barnes was suspended with pay Thursday for making what the university said were threatening remarks against school and athletic officials in a telephone call to a player's parents.

Another assistant, Randy Brown, is facing federal child pornography charges and is to be tried June 2. Brown has been on leave since Jan. 29.

Forte implicated in assault of UNC football player
By NEIL AMATO : The Herald-Sun
namato@heraldsun.com
May 3, 2003 : 12:50 am ET

Former North Carolina basketball player Joseph Forte has been implicated in the reported assault of a UNC football player at Woollen Gym.

Campus authorities are trying to locate Forte, said Maj. Jeff McCracken of UNC Police. Forte, who left school in 2001 after his sophomore season for the NBA, has not been charged in the Thursday afternoon incident.

James Gibson, a reserve fullback on the football team, suffered "severe lacerations," according to a police incident report.

McCracken said the incident happened in front of numerous witnesses during or after a basketball pickup game at Woollen Gym.

McCracken said police were in the early stages of the investigation as they tried to interview witnesses and Forte.

Gibson, a sophomore from Alexandria, Va., and Forte could not be reached for comment. Gibson, 20, has played two seasons for the Tar Heels, mainly on special teams after joining the team as a walk-on in the fall of 2001.

Forte, 22, faces gun and drug charges after being stopped two weeks ago for speeding in Maryland. The Greenbelt, Md., native, a reserve guard for the Seattle SuperSonics, was arrested after a trooper smelled marijuana and searched Forte�s car.

Police in Maryland said more than 20 grams of marijuana were found along with a .22-caliber pistol and an ammunition clip.

Slain Hylton DB was "a pure talent"