News

Prognosis for Beth Holtz termed 'excellent'

The wife of South Carolina head coach Lou Holtz had successful surgery in October to remove her adrenal gland and a cyst on her ovary. The procedure on Beth Holtz was performed at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minn.

In a statement after the surgery, Holtz said that the operation went extremely well and his wife's prognosis is excellent. He said she will recover at the family's home in Orlando, Fla.

Holtz left his team for three days to travel with his wife for the surgery. He was back on the sidelines the following week during the Gamecocks' 30-10 home-loss to Kentucky.

This operation is the second in three years for Beth Holtz. She underwent throat cancer surgery two years ago.

Beth Holtz consulted doctors again this fall complaining of numbness and a lack of circulation in her leg.

Tumors were found in her adrenal gland, lung, kidney and ovary. According to Skip Holtz, her son and an assistant coach, only one tumor - the one found in her adrenal gland, was deemed to be malignant. Further, Skip Holtz told the Associated Press that the latest troubles are unrelated to the throat cancer, which remains in remission.

Lou and Beth Holtz have been married for 38 years and have four children, Luanne Altenbaumer, Skip, Kevin and Elizabeth Messaglia.

Illinois State player sentenced to six years in jail for frat house brawl

Prosecutors said Illinois State University football player Kenneth Ramsey led a group of 30 to 40 of his teammates into a 1998 fraternity house brawl. The judge presiding over the bench trial agreed and sentenced Ramsey, 23, to six years in prison—the minimum sentence required by law.

Eight Redbird players were charged in the incident, but Ramsey was the only to stand trial for the March 1998 fracas at the Sigma Alpha Epsilon house. He was convicted of two counts of home invasion and one count of mob action in a case where the players attacked about 40 fraternity members in retaliation for a fight the night before. Authorities said as many as six fraternity members were injured in the melee.

Charges were dropped against football player Aveion Cason in June due to insufficient evidence. Robert Boyd, who pleaded guilty to misdemeanor battery, received 24 months probation and was ordered to pay a share of $9,000 in restitution to fraternity members.

Five other players who earlier pleaded guilty to more serious charges were sentenced to 90 days in the McLean County Jail and also ordered to pay restitution

Redskins bring Arnsparger aboard to help shaky defense

With an offense in high gear but a defense giving up huge chunks of yardage throughout the early part of its early season schedule, the Washington Redskins have retained the services of legendary defensive guru Bill Arnsparger. The 23-year NFL coaching veteran will join the 'Skins in the capacity of defensive assistant.

Washington defensive coordinator Mike Nolan is under fire with the squad on pace to set a new NFL record for most yards allowed.

"I have worked well with Bill in the past and I look forward to combining our efforts once again," said Nolan.

In the 1970s, Arnsparger, who will be 73 in December, was the architect of the Dolphins "No Name Defense" and later developed the "Killer Bs" defense in the 1980s. His defenses ranked either first or second in the NFL in nine of 11 full seasons with Miami. In addition, he has coached in five Super Bowls

Arnsparger last coached in the 1994 season as defensive coordinator of the San Diego Chargers. The Chargers were among the AFM leaders in total defense that season and played in Super Bowl XXIX.

FSU, Bowden agree to five-year contract extension

College football's second-winningest active head coach, Florida State's Bobby Bowden, will continue to guide the Seminole football program through the 2004 season.

Bowden, in his 24th season with the 'Noles, signed a five-year extension with FSU in October. The package means Bowden's total compensation will be about $1.4 million, including endorsements, speaking fees, camps and a base salary of just $165,000, according to Florida State A.D. Dave Hart Jr.

"Bobby's new contract is representative of the University's appreciation of his role in our national visibility, the manner in which he represents us and the revenue generated through the program he leads," Hart said.

"I've said for some time now that as long as my health is good, and it is very good right now, that I have no desire to stop coaching," said Bowden, whose 1993 team were national champions. "I appreciate the continued commitment from the University. This is the second contract I've signed since Dave Hart came to Florida State. Each time I got a pretty darn good raise to go with it, so I feel fortunate."

Bowden, who turned 70 on Nov. 8, is the only coach in the history of college football to record 12 straight 10-win seasons, 11 straight bowl victories and lead 12 straight teams to top four finishes in the AP poll. He is fifth all-time in Division I-A coaching with 297 victories, trailing only Penn State's Joe Paterno (312) among active coaches. Since 1989, Florida State has produced more first-round draft picks, 15, than any other school.

"As Coach Bowden nears the milestones of 300 career wins, Bear Bryant's win mark, and hopefully a couple additional championships," said Russ Campbell, one of Bowden's representatives, "his endorsement income should continue to increase."

Kentucky decides game trophies symbolizing alcohol are no longer appropriate. . .
out goes the Beer Barrel (vs. Tennessee) and Bourbon Barrel (vs. Indiana).

Less than one year after a fatal alcohol-related truck crash involving two Kentucky football players, Tennessee and Kentucky have discontinued using a beer barrel as the trophy for their football rivalry. No longer will the game be played for the beer barrell.

Kentucky athletic director C.M. Newton announced that he and Tennessee athletic director Doug Dickey made the decision to stop the 74-year-old tradition. The blue, white and orange-painted keg has traditionally gone to the winner of each year's game.

But last November, the annual post-game display was canceled out of respect for the victims of the crash one week earlier that killed Kentucky transfer player Arthur Steinmetz and Eastern Kentucky student Scott Brock.

Tests showed that Kentucky football player Jason Watts, the driver and sole survivor of the wreck, had a blood-alcohol content 1 1/2 times the legal limit following the Nov. 15 crash. He pleaded guilty to two counts of reckless homicide and was sentenced to 10 years in prison.

Newton also would like to see the Bourbon Barrel trophy, given annually to the winner of the Kentucky-Indiana football game, go the way of the now-defunct Kentucky-Tennessee Beer Barrel.

"Our recommendation, and hopefully Indiana will go along with it, is that it's time to put that one to rest also," Newton said Monday.

Kentucky and Indiana have played for the trophy, a half-barrel mounted on a board, since 1987.

Newton said getting rid of the barrels is in keeping with stricter alcohol guidelines that his department enacted after the Watts crash, as well as the school's decision to end alcohol-related sponsorships of Kentucky athletics.

"We've gone to a zero-tolerance policy as a department and we put our money where our mouth was," he said.

Houston beats out L.A. for NFL expansion franchise

The city of Houston is back on the NFL map after paying a record $700 million for an expansion franchise and beating out Los Angeles, the second-largest TV market in the country.

NFL owners voted 29-0—with Arizona and St. Louis abstaining—in October in favor of the Houston group, led by businessman Bob McNair. Twenty-four votes were need for approval.

Organizers for the Los Angeles bid were unable to agree on a stadium site, causing a delay in putting together a proposal and costing the city a chance to rejoin the NFL. The city has been without professional football since the Raiders left for Oakland and the Rams bolted for St. Louis after the 1994 season.

The NFL previously had awarded a franchise to Los Angeles on a conditional basis. But after a deadline for city leaders for a stadium proposal came and went, Houston was back in the running.

"It's a great day for Houston, we hope a great day for football," McNair said. "Our facility will be second to none."

The $700 million franchise fee is the highest for a sports team in U.S. history. With a retractable-roof stadium carrying a price tag of over $300 million in the works, the Houston deal will be worth over $1 billion. As part of the agreement, Houston will be the site of a Super Bowl 'as soon as practical after completion of the stadium," commissioner Paul Tagliabue said.

Houston, the nation's 11th television market, has been without NFL football since the Oilers relocated to Tennessee following the 1996 season.

Owners also voted in favor of league realignment from six divisions—one with six teams and the rest with five—to eight divisions of four teams each.

Houston will be placed in the AFM, where the old Oilers played. That means one AFM team will have to be switched to the NFC.

The name of the Houston team is not yet determined, but Tagliabue said it would not be "Oilers."

The new Houston franchise will play its first season in 2002.

Knee replacement surgery delayed for Alvarez

Wisconsin head coach Barry Alvarez will have to wait to undergo surgery on his knee due to an infection found by doctors just before the operation to replace the knee was to commence.

Doctors at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minn. aborted replacement surgery after finding the infection on Oct. 5.

Alvarez, 52, coached the Badgers from the press box with his right leg elevated during Wisconsin's win over Ohio State the week before. The following week he was forced to watch his team's 20-17 overtime victory over Minnesota from a hospital room while defensive line/assistant head coach, Jerry Palermo, led the team as acting head coach. Before and during the game, Alvarez communicated with assistant coaches via telephone lines. A videotaped pregame message featuring Alvarez was shown to his players prior to the game.

Alvarez has severe arthritis in the knee—due, in part, to his playing days at Nebraska. The knee was operated on unsuccessfully last spring and doctors told him the knee would have to be replaced.

Prior to the Badgers' Sept. 4 game vs. Murray State, he said he "heard something pop" while walking down the ramp at Camp Randall Stadium. Alvarez coached the first half of the game on crutches before leaving the field to coach the second half from the press box.

Georgia offensive line coach Pat Watson dies after victory

Pat Watson, a 32-year coaching veteran and offensive line coach at the University of Georgia, died of a heart attack following the Bulldogs 24-23 victory over Central Florida on Oct. 2.

Watson, 56, felt discomfort at his home after the game and was taken to St. Mary's Hospital, in Athens, Ga., where he died that night.

"Not only was he a good coach that always thought of the team," Georgia defensive back Jeff Harris told the Associated Press, "but he was a good person. It hurts to lose such a guy."

This was Watson's second season at UGA. He joined the staff in 1998 as a defensive ends coach. Watson moved to offensive line this year afer the departure of Chris Scelfo for Tulane.

Prior to coming to Georgia, Watson coached at Furman (1969), Mississippi State (1970-71), North Carolina (1967 and 1972-77), Virginia Tech (1978-86), Georgia Tech (1987-91 and 1995-96) and Texas (1992-94).

Watson is survived by his wife, Freddie, and children, Jane and Cal.

Jacksonville State head coach quits after loss

After his players didn't rally around him as he had expected, Mike Williams resigned as Jacksonville State's head football coach in October.

JSU Director of Athletics Joe Davidson called the decision by Williams, "a unique situation." He also stressed that it was Williams' decision and that he was not forced to leave.

Williams, who was in his third season as head coach, leaves with a record of 9-17. His first squad went 1-10, but the Gamecocks improved to 7-4 last year. JSU was 1-3 this season following a 34-13 loss to Samford on Oct. 2. That's when Williams began talk of leaving the team in an attempt to inspire his players.

"After the ballgame, in the dressing room, I said something to my team that I regret saying, and the reason I said it was to get a different reaction than I got," Williams commented.

"But I'll tell you what I said. I stood up in front of the team, and I told them I was going to resign as their head football coach because I felt like that the problem was not them or our coaches. I felt like the problem was me.

"And, of course, the reaction I wanted to get from our team was: 'No, coach, it's not you; it's us, and we'll rally together, and we'll pull back together.'

"But I really hurt some of the kids in the dressing room. I think, you know, it was just bad timing for me, a bad choice of words."

He added: "This was the hardest thing I ever had to do in my life . . . God has a plan for me, and I'm looking forward to that plan."

Davidson hopes a permanent replacement for Williams will be named by December. Offensive coordinator Jeff Richards has been serving as interim head coach.

Changes at the Top

Earlier this year AFM published its annual listing of the comings and goings that constituted the head coaching changes across the nation. As the 1999 season began, a total of 80 new name plates had been installed on head coach office doors throughout the NFL, college, JUCO and the CFL.

In the September issue, we gave you a snap shot of the changes that had occurred at the NCAA Division I-A level. This month, we show you, as Paul Harvey would say, "The rest of the story."
NFLTotal new coaches: 9
Avg. age: 49
Avg. experience (years): 23
Oldest: George Seifert, 59, Carolina
Youngest: Andy Reid, 41, Philadelphia
Most experience: 30, Seifert and Gunther Cunningham, Kansas City
Least experience: 14, Dick Jauron, Chicago

NCAA Div. I-ATotal new coaches: 20
Avg. age: 46
Avg. experience: 22
Oldest: John Robinson, 64, UNLV
Youngest: Chris Scelfo, 35, Tulane
Most experience: 37, Lou Holtz, South Carolina
Least experience: 11, Rick Neuheisel, Washington

NCAA Div. I-AATotal new coaches: 10
Avg. age: 43
Avg. experience: 20
Oldest: Cal McCombs, 54, VMI
Youngest: Dave Clawson, 32, Fordham
Most experience: 31, McCombs
Least experience: 10, Clawson

NCAA Div. IITotal new coaches: 17
Avg. age: 39
Avg. experience: 17
Oldest: Dennis Darnell, 52, East Central (Okla.)
Youngest: Patrick Nix, 27, Henderson (Texas) State
Most experience: 30, Darnell
Least experience: 3, Nix

NCAA Div. IIITotal new coaches: 15
Avg. age: 40
Avg. experience: 14
Oldest: Tom Rowland, 55, Illinois College
Youngest: Bill Carven, 27, Nichols (Mass.) College
Most experience: 28, Regis Scafe, John Carroll (Ohio) and Tom Shea, William Penn (Iowa)
Least experience: 5, Carven

NAIATotal new coaches: 6
Avg. age: 41
Avg. experience: 21
Oldest: Charles Linn, 59, Evangel (Mo.)
Youngest: Mike Feminis, 31, St. Xavier (Ill.)
Most experience: 37, Linn
Least experience: 9, Feminis

Junior CollegeTotal new coaches: 2
Avg. age: 31
Avg. experience: 7
Oldest: Ken Edenfield, 33, Southwest Mississippi J.C.
Youngest: Mike Flaten, 28, Mesabi (Minn.) C.C.
Most experience: 10, Edenfield
Least experience: 4, Flaten

CFLTotal new coaches: 1
Jim Barker, 42, Toronto Argonouts: 20 years coaching experience

AFM asks . . .

We asked some of the top coaches in the countryto finish this statement. . .
" The one thing I will not tolerate in a player is. . ."

Mike Ditka
New Orleans Saints

"...a lack of effort."

Fisher DeBerry
Air Force

"...trust. You want to be able to trust the ones you trust. If all members have committed to the team's goals, then each member must trust that all members are doing their part."

Bob Stoops

"...a bad attitude."

Joe Taylor
Hampton University

"...selfishness. There are a few things in life that you can do without the efforts of others. You must work on your socialism and your ability to work with others."

Tommy Bowden
Clemson

"...lack of effort. Whether it is in the classroom or on the field, if a player gives great effort, he has a greater chance for success. Mistakes will occur, but lack of effort is unacceptable."

Brian Billick

"...disrespect—for his coach, teammates, family or people he interacts with on a daily basis."

Jim Mora
Indianapolis Colts

"...unselfishness on the part of the players. The willingness to sacrifice individual success for team success..."

Mike Bellotti
Oregon

"...selfishness or putting himself above the team."

Frank Solich
Nebraska

"...being untruthful. There has to be a relationship between a player and coach that is built on trust."

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