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St. Cloud coach reprimanded for prank

St. Cloud State officials didn't think it was funny when head coach Randy Hedberg asked a player to pick up a non-existent Australian player from the airport.

School officials reprimanded Hedberg and ordered him to seek counseling to improve his interpersonal skills in the wake of the prank.

Hedberg asked running back Scott Schmitz to pick up an Australian football player from the Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport when he was taking a former St. Cloud State player to catch his flight. When Schmitz returned from the airport without the non-existent Australian, he said Hedberg asked him why he "could not find an Aborigine at an airport."

Because Schmitz was driving a university-owned car, the incident was reported to the NCAA. The governing body has not yet determined whether it will punish Hedberg.

Texas A&M coach Dorr needs help

Texas A&M University has established a special fund to raise money to defray the medical expenses of assistant coach Raymond Dorr, who is battling ALS, commonly known as Lou Gehrig's disease.

The 59-year-old Dorr was diagnosed with the debilitating neurological disease in the spring of 1999 when he was quarterbacks coach for the Aggies. While now a special assistant to head coach R.C. Slocum, he is on sick leave from the university.

"Like the true trooper Ray is, he is fighting this battle like he approached every big game he encountered," said Tim Cassidy, associate athlete director for football operations. "Ray has touched many players and coaches lives throughout his 33 years of college football and is one of the most highly respected men I know."

A veteran of numerous bowl games, Dorr coached at Kentucky, the University of Southern California, Southern Illinois University, Washington, Kent State and Akron.

Donations can be sent to Felecia McDaniel, Wells Fargo Bank, P.O. Drawer 913, Bryan, Tx., 77805. Make checks payable to the Raymond E. Dorr Medical Expense Fund. Anyone with questions about the fund drive can call Cassidy at 979-845-1859.

Musgrave jumps out of the pressure cooker

Just months after former Denver Bronco's quarterback Bill Musgrave was labeled a "comer," he is now officially a goner.

Four games into the season, Musgrave last month announced he was stepping down as offensive coordinator of the Carolina Panthers. His resignation was strange enough. But even stranger was his reason.

He told the Charlotte Observer that he left his first-year post because the "offense wasn't in sync. I thought the best way for it to get in sync and for the season to be salvaged was for me to step away."

Some observers say Musgrave's departure underscores the pressure that faces NFL offensive coordinators. For the 33-year-old Musgrave, who was promoted to offensive coordinator after spending a single year as the Panthers quarterback coach, the pressure may have been too much.

Even Panthers head coach George Seifert said he may have been too hard on Musgrave.

Speaking of his treatment of Musgrave after the young coach blew a call in the team's 16-13 overtime loss to Dallas on Oct. 1, Seifert said, "You look at some of the things you've done and you're upset with yourself. That's all you can really do in a situation like this is reflect on what you've done. And you say, 'Maybe I shouldn't have done this' and 'Maybe I shouldn't have done that.' But then at the same time, in some ways maybe you are who you are."

As for Musgrave, he is expected to return to coaching, probably next year. But most agree it won't be as an offensive coordinator in the NFL.

Should instant replays go to college?

Upset by a couple of bad calls? Better keep your mouth shut.

Just ask Indiana University head coach Cam Cameron who was fined $10,000 in September after publicly criticizing the officiating in his team's 41-38 home loss to North Carolina State.

"You can slice it any way you want. That football game was flat taken from Indiana University," he told reporters after the game. "You saw it with your own two eyes. I have never seen anything like that in my life."

After the Big Ten fined him, Cameron began to see things differently.

He apologized for his outburst and said in the future he would take any complaints directly to the Big Ten commissioner instead of to the public.

Still, Cameron isn't the only one complaining about bad officiating, and some are wondering whether the NCAA should follow the NFL's lead and institute an instant-replay system for disputed calls.

Illinois coach Ron Turner raised the prospect of NFL-style instant replays after the Big Ten ruled that officials made two bad calls in Illinois' Sept. 23 game against Michigan. The calls, that came in the final minutes of Michigan's 35-31 victory, may have cost Illinois the game.

In one case, the officials ruled Illini halfback Rocky Harvey fumbled, when a replay showed the ground jarred the ball loose. Minutes later, after Michigan recovered the ball, officials ruled that Wolverine tailback Anthony Thomas was down before he lost the ball near the goal line. The replay clearly showed that Thomas dropped the ball.

Even after Big Ten officials acknowledged the mistakes, Turner didn't blame the calls for his team's loss. He said Michigan played well in the game that saw the Wolverines rally from a 21-7 deficit.

Still, he says, the calls show the need for the instant replay.

"You would at least like to get it right and let the players decide it," he said.

But NCAA officials said Turner and other coaches who favor instant replays shouldn't hold their breaths.

David Parry, Big Ten officiating coordinator and national coordinator of officiating for the NCAA, said it's "highly, highly unlikely" colleges will see the instant replay rule instituted anytime soon. Equipping every college stadium with the proper equipment is simply too expensive, he said.

Coslet ends agony in Cincinnati

In its first three games this year, the Cincinnati Bengals were outscored 74-7. They haven't had a winning season since 1990 and have gone 10 years without making the playoffs, the longest current streak in the league.

So, maybe it shouldn't have come as a surprise when head coach Bruce Coslet resigned last month, a day after the Bengals lost its third straight game — it's second straight without scoring a point.

But it did.

Bengals President Mike Brown said he did not expect Coslet to turn in his resignation on Sept. 25, a day after the team's 37-0 loss to Baltimore.

But even Brown he had trouble finding anything good to say about Coslet's last game as head coach.

"That was about as thorough a beating as you'll see," he said summing up the game in which the Bengals rushed for just four yards.

Dick LeBeau, the assistant head coach and defensive coordinator, was immediately tapped to replace Coslet, who was promoted from offensive coordinator after Dave Shula was fired in 1996.

While his first season saw the Bengals rack up a 7-2 record, it was all downhill from there. Coslet ended his tenure in Cincinnati with a 28-35 record.

Coaches finally get a home of their own

The American Football Coaches Association is finally going to have a permanent home.

Construction began in September on a 10,000-square-foot building in Waco, Texas that will be the 78-year-old organization's first national headquarters.

Traditionally, the association's office has been housed in the hometown of its executive director. Since 1994, the office has been in Waco because the executive director has been former Baylor head coach Grant Teaff. Before that, during the 11 years Charlie McClendon was executive director, the headquarters were in Orlando, Fla.

According to association officials, Waco was chosen because the Texas town is located in a hotbed of football. There's eight NCAA Division I-A schools, the Dallas Cowboys, and numerous strong college and high school football programs within three hours of the city.

In addition to administrative offices, the headquarters will house a museum highlighting the history of the association. Display space will be available to anyone who wants to honor a coach who has had a major impact on their lives. The building is to be completed in April.

Indiana loses offensive coordinator to cancer

Pete Schmidt, Indiana's offensive coordinator and quarterback coach, died last month after a yearlong battle with cancer. He was 52.

"It's not often you get an opportunity to hire one of your idols, yet I was fortunate enough to do that four years ago when I hired Pete," Indiana head coach Cam Camerson said.

Cameron brought Schmidt to Indiana in 1996 from Albion College. Schmidt was head coach at the Michigan school for 13 years. His teams compiled a 106-26-5 record, earned five conference championships and won the 1994 Division III national championship. He was named the division's national coach of the year.

He is survived by his wife, Becky, and three children - Amy, Peter and Sarah.  

Texas A&M-Kingsville slapped for eligibility violations

Texas A&M University-Kingsville is on probation for two years, will lose 12 athletic scholarships over the next three years and will be prohibited from post-season play this year after the NCAA found that the school broke academic eligibility rules.

The NCAA found that the university had allowed 23 students, mostly football players, to compete knowing they were ineligible under NCAA rules. From 1996-99, the Committee on Infractions found, the school allowed 12 students, including 11 football players, to compete even though they had not earned the minimum number of credits during the previous academic year.

Further, the committee found that the school allowed nine students to transfer from two-year colleges and participate in sports even though they didn't have enough credits, and allowed one football player to play even though he had exhausted his eligibility.

In their report, members of the committee noted that they had met with university officials in September 1999 and expressed concern about the eligibility of several football players. University officials allowed the players to participate anyway. The players were later found to be ineligible.

"The university should have acted with more caution," said Larry Blumberg, an infractions committee spokesman. "This case was a major case because of the large number of student athletes who were involved."

University president Marc Cisneros admitted mistakes were made. "We've already made changes to make sure it doesn't happen again."

For instance, the university agreed not to allow the head football coach to also serve as director of athletics. Ron Harms resigned last year as head football coach. A few months later he also gave up the post of athletic director.

In addition, the university agreed to forfeit the 1998 football season and put the program on probation for two years. Since the committee's findings also dealt with athletes that participated in volleyball, baseball and men's track and field, school officials also placed those programs on university probation and agreed to forfeit any games or competitions in which ineligible athletes participated.

Vikings' Dennis Green wins contract extension

Dennis Green is set to remain head coach of the Minnesota Vikings for another four years.

Green, who became the second black coach in modern NFL history when the Vikings hired him in 1992, last month signed a three-year contract extension that will carry him through the 2004 season. According to ESPN.com, the extension is worth $9 million over the three years, not including incentives.

The extension seems to settle the question of what will happen to star receiver Randy Moss, who had hinted that he might look elsewhere if Green didn't remain at the helm.

"If they had gotten rid of Denny, that would mean they want to turn this whole team around. How much turning can you do?" Moss asked.

Moss said his loyalty to Green isn't unique. "The love we have for Denny is tremendous. I don't think everyone looks at him as a head coach, but as a friend."

Green has taken the Vikings to the playoffs seven times during his eight-year tenure. But he's won just three of 10 postseason games. Before coming to Minnesota, he was head coach at Stanford for two years and was an assistant with the San Francisco 49ers during the two years before that.

His relationship with Viking owners haven't always been as cozy as his relationship with the players. That seemed to change when Red McCombs bought the team from a 10-man ownership group.

"Red McCombs and I have a great working relationship," Green, 51, said after the contract extension was announced. "Red has shown everyone that whole idea of purple pride."

Bowling Green's Blackney headed for greener pastures

What did you do for me today?

The question that has hounded many winning coaches spurred Bowling Green head coach Gary Blackney to announce he would step down at the end of the season.

Although Blackney is the third winningest coach in the Ohio school's history, he has not had a winning season in the MAC since 1994 and got off to a 0-4 start this year.

"I think there is a need for change, both for myself and for the program," he told reporters last month. "I think this diverts attention away from my job status and hopefully puts it back where it should be, and this is on the accomplishments of our players."

The Falcons were undefeated in the league during Blackney's first two seasons as head coach. Further, under Blackney, the school that had never won a bowl game, won two - the California Raisin Bowl in 1991 and the Las Vegas Bowl in 1992. The team also established a MAC record 19-game winning streak.

Holmoe finally agrees to contract extension at Cal

Rarely has a school fought so hard to persuade a head coach to hang around.

A year after university officials began wooing him with contract extension offers, University of California head coach Tom Holmoe in September finally agreed to a one-year extension.

"I didn't feel this was necessary because I hope to be at Cal for a long time," Holmoe said after he signed the agreement that extends his contract through the end of the 2002 season. "I also understand that everyone wants success for the program, and I am accountable for that, and I sincerely believe in postponing any rewards until we have that success. However the administration felt this was a symbol of their commitment to our program. For this gesture, I am grateful."

Cal Chancellor Robert Berdahl and Athletic Director John Kasser, however, said they aren't completely satisfied with the agreement. They said they will now begin trying to persuade Holmoe to sign a longer extension.

"Tom has a mindset that he should be rewarded as the team begins to show improvement in the win-loss column and I respect his integrity," Kasser said. "However, I believe in having stability and I believe Tom is the right person for our head coaching position at Cal. We'll keep talking and when he feels the timing is right, I'm sure we'll work out an even longer agreement."

After last year's 4-7 record, Holmoe started the season with an 8-14 career record. A month after signing the extension, the Golden Bear's stood at 1-4.

Jerry Claiborne, one of coaching's best, dies of heart attack

Jerry Claiborne, one of the winningest coaches in college football history, died last month at Vanderbilt University Medical Center in Nashville, Tenn. He was 72.

Claiborne, who succumbed to a heart attack after gall bladder surgery, died a month after being elected into college football's Hall of Fame.

Claiborne was a blocking back and defensive back for the University of Kentucky between 1946-49 and played for Paul "Bear" Bryant. After graduating, he worked as an assistant under Bryant and then followed him to Texas A&M where he worked as an assistant.

He spent 1957 working as an assistant at Missouri before joining up with Bryant at Alabama from 1958-60.

Claiborne was named head coach at Virginia Tech in 1961. He stayed there for 10 seasons and led the Hokies to a 61-39-2 record. He worked as an assistant in Colorado during 1971 before being named head coach at Maryland in 1972. He remained in Maryland for 10 season, compiling a 77-37-3 record.

In 1981, he became head coach at Kentucky. While he posted a 0-10-1 record during his first season, two years later the team earned a spot in the Hall of Fame Bowl. While Kentucky lost the 1983 bowl game, it returned the next year and defeated Wisconsin 20-19. It is the last time Kentucky won a bowl game. He also guided the Wildcats to their last win over Tennessee, in 1984, and Florida, in 1986.

When he stepped down in 1989, he had a 41-46-3 record over eight seasons and was the 21st winningest coach in football history with a record of 179-122-8.

He is survived by his wife, Faye, five siblings, two sons and two daughters.

Former Utah St. coach sues college over firing

Former Utah State coach Dave Arslanian has sued the university, claiming an administrator secretly hired a new coach five weeks before he was fired.

Mick Dennehy was introduced as Utah State's new coach Dec. 3, one day after Arslanian was fired midway through his four-year contract.

Arslanian claims in his lawsuit that former Utah State president George Emert secretly hired Dennehy five weeks earlier without telling Arslanian, the university's Board of Regents or the University of Montana, where Dennehy had coached for four seasons.

The lawsuitseeks unspecified punitive damages for fraud, breach of contract and breach of good faith. It also accuses Utah State of failing to pay salary and benefits totaling $310,504 that Arslanian claims he is still owed.

The school's counsel, Craig Simper, said the new football coach was hired the same day that Arslanian was fired.

"I fail to see the consequences of a two-hour overlap," Simper said.






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