The New Year’s Day bowl games only raised more questions, such as, what does Colorado have on the refs? - and why does Federal Express spend millions to be associated with oranges? In the final seconds of the FedEx Orange Fiesta and Tournament of Gators Parade, to employ the game’s official title out of respect for the concept of corporate sponsorship, Notre Dame’s Raghib (Rocket) Ismail reeled off a heart-stopping 91-yard punt return. That would have been a game-winning touchdown - if the play hadn’t been nullified by a party-pooping clipping call that preserved Colorado’s 10-9 victory. Would the 11-1-1 Buffaloes be allowed to back into a title that way? Yes, said the AP poll. But for the first time in 12 years, UPI differed; the coaches it surveyed came up with undefeated Georgia Tech. A subsequent NEWSWEEK Poll resulted in a virtual deadlock between Georgia Tech and Colorado.
One can’t even say the season ended in a muddle; it hasn’t quite ended. In early February, Notre Dame coach Lou Holtz must appear before the NCAA to answer charges that he violated rules about giving financial support to players. The amount of money involved - a total of $950 does not speak of a flagrant disregard for the rules. The incidents, moreover, took place in 1984 and ‘85, when Holtz was coaching at the University of Minnesota. Still, there exists the real possibility of guilt by association for the so-far scandal-free, and sometimes holier-than-thou, folks at Notre Dame.
Holtz has admitted there is some basis for two of the three charges. The 54-year-old coach says he did give $250 to former player Jerry Keeble to pay for a correspondence course. Holtz says “humanitarian reasons” prompted the gift, and that he knew Keeble was no longer eligible to play football. Another charge involves $200 that Holtz allegedly gave to a recruit who had lost his wallet. The coach says it was $20, and that he had no desire “to gain a competitive edge” by buying the young man’s allegiance. Holtz has also been accused of giving $500 to academic adviser LeRoy Gardner to pass along to Keeble. The coach denies this, adding that he can’t understand why Gardner wants to harm his reputation.
Don Yaeger, the author of a recently published book called “Undue Process: The NCAA’s Injustice For All,” thinks he knows why. Holtz’s problems represent just a few of the 21 charges that the NCAA has lodged against Minnesota “and some people there,” Yaeger says, “are slinging mud at Holtz to deflect attention from themselves.” Part of the case against Holtz is based on information obtained from a former university employee who has been convicted of embezzling more than $186,000. “The evidence may be tainted, but it doesn’t matter,” says Yaeger. According to the author, the organization cares only about preserving the players’ amateur status, and for one reason. “If they said that athletes should be compensated,” he says, “the money would have to come from their lush $98 million budget.”
What’s indisputable is that in March the NCAA will hand down its decision regarding Holtz. The charismatic coach has denied that he is looking for an NFL job, and during his most recent “Tonight Show” appearance on Jan. 3 he joked with Johnny and said he’d stay in South Bend. Clearly, Holtz is standing behind his official statement, in which he says he expects to be cleared. He ought to look at the record. If Holtz is exonerated, he would be the first formally accused coach to be absolved of guilt in the 84-year history of the NCAA. On the other hand, as Yaeger says, “the NCAA is inconsistent in terms of severity.” In a season when nothing follows from what came before, there can be no surprises.
A NEWSWEEK Poll of football fans showed that no one has a clear claim on the top spot.
Which college team do you think deserves to be the national champion?
21% Colorado 21% Georgia Tech 11% Notre Dame 5% Miami 3% Florida State 3% Washington 2% Other
For this NEWSWEEK Poll, The Gallup Organization interviewed a national sample of 759 adults by telephone Jan. 3-4. The margin of error is plus or minus 4 percentage points. Some “Don’t Know” and other responses not shown. The NEWSWEEK Poll c 1991 by NEWSWEEK, Inc.
