Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: THURSDAY, May 24, 1990 TAG: 9005240021
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C-1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: Bill Brill
DATELINE: MYRTLE BEACH, S.C. LENGTH: Medium
While the presidents aren't expected to do anything official at today's business session, the aim is to get them involved in athletic programs, ACC Commissioner Gene Corrigan said Wednesday.
Maryland's William Kirwan and Virginia's lame-duck president, Robert O'Neil, will not be here. Kirwan is involved in graduation and O'Neil, who is being replaced this summer by John Casteen, has a Board of Trustees meeting.
But Wake Forest's Tom Hearn will be on hand, and he is the mover and shaker among the college leaders.
Hearn also serves on the Presidents Commission and the Knight Commission.
The focus of the Knight study of college athletics is to have the presidents directly involved in their athletic programs.
The presidents have been kept informed of the ACC's model conference program, which includes a limit on practice time and a ban on athletic dorms, with the purpose being to improve the quality of life for athletes.
However, Corrigan said, the ACC will not make the model conference official immediately.
"What we are trying to convince the presidents is not to push for the program unilaterally, but to see if we can't get all the conferences to go along," Corrigan said. "If that doesn't happen next year [at the NCAA Convention in January], we've said we'll look at it again next February."
Corrigan said he believes the atmosphere among the nation's Division I colleges supports reform and cost-constraints.
There have been reports that the Big Ten, Pacific 10 and Big East already have agreed to the model conference in concept.
A meeting of league commissioners in June may get others in the fold.
The hope is to get so many of the major conferences to support reform that all of the leagues will have to go along.
The Southeastern Conference is unlikely to back the ban on athletic dorms, and it will resist any cutbacks in football. But, Corrigan said, "If we can get enough schools to come along, that won't matter."
The purpose of having the presidents here is to further integrate them into the running of athletic departments.
"In the past, it's been difficult to get the attention of the presidents at schools like Duke and Virginia," Corrigan said.
"They haven't had problems, and they feel they have people running their athletic programs that they trust who keep them advised."
The Knight Commission, which also includes several members of the Presidents Commission, has learned that the school leaders must leave their ivory towers and understand what is happening in athletics.
"I think it is a fair criticism of the [presidents] commission that we didn't talk to the coaches," Hearn said last week after a Knight hearing.
In the ACC, the aim is to have the presidents personally involved, at least to the point of being familiar with the agreements reached during this week's executive sessions.
There will be no excuse for the ACC presidents not knowing what is happening.
The ACC women's basketball tournament will be awarded to Rock Hill, S.C., and Winthrop College instead of Salem, Va., a source said Wednesday.
The 1992 event will be played the week before the men's tournament at nearby Charlotte, N.C.
The ACC source said the women's coaches apparently felt it would help attendance by having the two tournaments close together geographically.
Rodney Rogers, the 6-foot-7 power forward from Durham, N.C., has met the requirements for Proposition 48 and will be eligible to play for Wake Forest this season. Rogers is considered one of the best prospects in the nation.
All six of Wake's recruits are now qualified, and the Deacons are regarded as having one of the best recruiting classes in the country.
A Tuesday night conversation between Corrigan and NCAA executive Steve Morgan:
"Is the Clemson situation resolved?" Corrigan asked.
"Yes," Morgan said.
"Does Clemson know?" inquired Corrigan.
"They don't want to know," was the answer.
The official word on any Clemson penalties is expected next week. ACC, CBS have contract.
by CNB