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News Nuggets, 06.04.04
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Compiled from staff reports and electronic dispatches

Shame-ridden SEC vows systematic cleanup

DESTIN, FL — Dave Odom knew the Southeastern Conference had an image problem when he talked recently with a colleague from another major league about scheduling a game. "He told me there were only four teams in the SEC he would play," said Odom, the men's basketball coach at South Carolina.

The message was clear: Two-thirds of the SEC's 12 schools should be avoided because they played loose with the rules.

Acknowledging its reputation as a renegade conference, the SEC approved a policy Wednesday that is designed to reduce the sort of cheating that has put a constant stream of schools at odds with the NCAA. The policy is supposed to streamline the process for reporting violations and make schools more accountable for keeping their people in line.

Four SEC schools — Alabama, Arkansas, Auburn and Kentucky — are currently on probation. Georgia and Mississippi State recently admitted to rules violations but have yet to be sanctioned by the NCAA.

Over the past decade, nearly every league school has been accused of malfeasance, some more than once. The SEC's reputation for athletic excellence has been tarnished by recruiting scandals and academic fraud.

"This is the first time in the history of the league that we've all come together in the process, looked each other in the eye and acknowledged the issues we've had," SEC commissioner Mike Slive said. "We don't want them to happen anymore."

At its annual spring meeting on Florida's gulf coast, the SEC unanimously approved the recommendations of the "Task Force on Compliance & Enforcement." Slive has set a goal of having all SEC schools off probation by the summer of 2007.

A centerpiece of the new policy: If one school suspects another of violating NCAA rules, a strict protocol is prescribed for reporting the allegations.

The new policy, which might become known as the "Phillip Fulmer Rule," is supposed to give coaches a clear-cut policy for dealing with suspicious behavior by a rival school.

Fulmer, the Tennessee football coach, told an NCAA investigator in 2000 that he suspected improper dealings between Alabama boosters and recruits. While assured of confidentiality, Fulmer's claims were revealed during a federal lawsuit that claims he was part of a conspiracy to bring down the Crimson Tide football program.

The NCAA wound up placing Alabama on probation for five years, including major scholarship reductions and a two-year ban on playing in a bowl.

"I think everybody has gotten the message that this is the way things need to be," Fulmer said. "We want to have the reputation around the country that the SEC is not only a great conference academically and athletically, but we do things the right way."

Still, the new policy provides no penalties for a school that doesn't comply with the reporting guidelines. Slive is counting on "peer pressure" to keep members in line, which could be difficult given the SEC's track record.

When Odom was coaching in the Atlantic Coast Conference, he was amazed at all the rule-breaking that seemed to prevail in the SEC. Coaches talked openly about paying for players and bragged that they had their own system of checks, balances and avoiding the NCAA.

"I'd say, 'How in the heck do you get by with that stuff," Odom recalled. "They'd say, 'Hey, local rules prevail. We take care of our own."

The SEC is now urging schools to shy away from hiring coaches who have run afoul of NCAA rules at other institutions.

Feds drop charge against WVU linebacker

CLARKSBURG, WV — A federal judge has dismissed a firearms dealing charge against suspended West Virginia linebacker Muhammad "Mo" Howard.

Judge John S. Kaull granted the prosecution's request to dismiss the charges on Tuesday. Assistant U.S. Attorney Shawn Angus Morgan wrote in an affidavit that since the charges were brought against Howard "the development of the evidence" had led the government to decline to make its case.

Court filings did not elaborate on what changes to the evidence had taken place, and a spokeswoman for the U.S. Attorney's Office did not immediately return a call Thursday seeking comment.

Howard, a 22-year-old from Baltimore, had been accused of buying more than 20 inexpensive firearms between March 26 and June 2, 2003, from Morgantown firearms dealer Colonial Arms and selling them without a license.

Howard told authorities he started to complete the paperwork for a federal firearms license but did not finish it, according to the complaint.

Howard's attorney, Brian Kornbrath, did not immediately return a call seeking comment.

Coach Rich Rodriguez had suspended Howard from the team pending the outcome of the investigation. Athletic department spokeswoman Shelly Poe said Rodriguez was traveling, but planned to meet with Howard next week.

Howard, who also plays on special teams, had eight tackles in as many games last season with the Mountaineers, including five unassisted tackles.

News Nuggets are compiled periodically from staff, ECU, Conference USA and its member schools, and from Associated Press and other reports. Copyright 2004 Bonesville.net and other publishers. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

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