Image provided by: University of Oregon Libraries; Eugene, OR
About Oregon daily emerald. (Eugene, Or.) 1920-2012 | View Entire Issue (Nov. 13, 1996)
Illinois fires football coach ■ OUSTED: Lou Tepper compiled a losing record in his five seasons on the job By Matt Kelley Tne Associated Press CHAMPAIGN, 111. — Lou Tep per took pride in running a clean program at Illinois and in his play ers’ high graduation rate and civil ity. In the end, those qualities couldn’t overshadow two straight poor seasons for the Fighting Illi ni, and Tepper was fired. “It became a question of com petitiveness,” athletic director Ron Guenther said at a news con ference Tuesday. “We had all the elements. We just weren’t win ning games. This is not a business decision. Ultimately, this is about winning games.” In a statement Monday, Tepper said, “Our philosophy has been to educate by promoting academic achievement, positive social be havior, racial harmony and hard nosed winning football.” Tepper said he was “sorry that we have not had more success on the field this season.” Tepper, 51, is 25-29-2 in five seasons at Illinois. He said he disagreed with the decision, but will remain coach at Illinois (2-7, 1-5 Big Ten) in the Illini’s final two games — Satur day at Minnesota and Nov. 23 against Wisconsin in Champaign. Minnesota coach Jim Wacker also will be in a countdown situa tion. He announced today he is leaving after five losing seasons, but will coach the last two games. Purdue’s Jim Colletto and Indi ana’s Bill Mallory are the other Big Ten coaches who are leaving. Guenther praised Tepper’s “class and dignity” in announc ing the firing Monday. “Unfortunately, we have not been as successful on the field as we would expect, and we feel a change in leadership is necessary at this time,” Guenther said. Tyrone Washington, a safety who played under Tepper from 1992-95, said he respected the coach. “It’s a shame it had to go down like this,” Washington said. “Things just didn’t work out for him.” Illinois lost its first three games by a combined score of 116-11, lowering already dismal atten dance at Memorial Stadium. The Illini played before an average of more than 16,000 empty seats in Champaign this year, including a crowd of 54,000 in the 69,000 seat stadium for last week’s 48-0 loss to No. 2 Ohio State. Topper’s replacement probably will make more than the $286,342 Tepper made as coach, members of the university’s Board of Trustees said. “We’re aware that coach Tep per was probably in the middle or lower end of the pay scale among his counterparts,” said board Chairman Thomas Lamont. LSU admits to NCAA violations ■ CONTROVERSY: The track team will voluntarily reduce its number of scholarships By Guy Coates The Associated Press BATON ROUGE, La. — After denying for two weeks there were NCAA violations involved in LSU’s scholarship scandals, athletic director Joe Dean now admits to one. The admission came after a letter was sent to Dean by the state, asking that he certify that there were no violations, legislative auditor Dan Kyle told the House Education Committee Tuesday. In a letter dated Monday, Dean acknowledged there was a “secondary” violation and that the NCAA will allow LSU to voluntarily reduce the number of scholarships in the track program. NCAA rules don’t allow athletes to accept a spe cial chancellor’s scholarship, Kyle said. The student receiving the scholarship was a walk-on athlete in the track program, he said. Dean couldn’t be reached immediately for com ment. Rep. Buddy Shaw, R-Shreveport, lauded Kyle, say ing that if Dean had not been sent a letter “we would not have known” about the violation. “You are right,” said Rep. Carl Crane, R-Shreve port. “We would have never known about this if Dr. Kyle hadn’t asked for certification.” Kyle gave the committee information two weeks ago saying that “one or two" athletes had received scholarships from the chancellor’s Incentive Award program. That program, geared for minority students in need, became a source of embarrassment for LSU when a university audit showed most of the scholar ships were given to white students and a large num ber of them went to a certain fraternity. The chancellor’s assistant, who was associated with that same fraternity, handed out the scholar ships. He apologized and resigned. A week ago, chancellor Bud Davis resigned over the flap. During that time, Dean said in a news release and later at the Press Club of Baton Rouge that there “were absolutely no NCAA violations.” Dean also chastised legislators who indicated there might have been violations. The athletic director said last week the NCAA rules are complex and that legislators should have called him before making such comments. Minnesota coach to leave after season ■ RESIGNATION: Jim Wacker is one of four coaches in the Big Ten who will not return next season MINNEAPOLIS — After five losing years as Minnesota football coach, Jim Wacker is leaving at the end of the season. “I think it’s time for this pro gram to have new leadership; I think it’s time to hire new peo ple,” Wacker said at a news con ference. “I have no doubt this ad ministration’s going to pick the best person for the job. And they’re going to get it done. It’s go ing to turn.” Wacker is one of four coaches in the Big Ten who won’t be back next season. Indiana fired Bill Mallory; Purdue coach Jim Collet - to announced his resignation; and Monday, Illinois fired Lou Tep per. Wacker said he told the players this morning at an emotional meeting. He was seen leaving in tears. “Let’s just say it’s a tough, tough day,” Wacker said at the news conference. “I came in five years ago with high expectations and dreams. I had no doubt at this time we would be at the top of the Big Ten and Rose Bowl champi ons. The main reason it didn’t happen is the guy you’re looking at right here. It just didn’t hap pen.” Wacker has said he wanted to end the season with at least six wins to make his fifth season a winning one. The Golden Go phers are 3-6 and on a six-game losing streak following a 45-28 loss Saturday to Wisconsin; two games remain. Wacker told friends Monday he wanted the Gophers to be able to hire a new coach by Dec. 1, the Saint Paul Pioneer Press reported. He said it was a tremendous dis advantage when he was hired in late December 1991 and couldn’t assemble a staff until after Jan. 1, the newspaper stated. Wacker, who is 15-38 in his fifth season, has a mandate to win five games this season. When he signed a two-year contract exten sion just before the final game of 1995, it included the stipulation that he would resign if he didn’t win at least five. Meet: Joint practice session next for Ducks ■ Continued from Page 7 perienced rowers instead of eight. However, both the men and women’s races in Washington this weekend featured an eight man entry from Oregon. The Head of the Lake meet is the most prestigious head race on the West Coast and featured squads from Stanford, Gonzaga and Washington. The men fin ished 15th out of 16 boats, while the women placed 10th out of 12. Although the places were lower than those at last week’s Portland Loop, “We had a much better row than last week,” Holmes said, “and our margins were much closer.” Both races were won by Wash ington, which competes at the NCAA level and is a fully-funded program. While the Ducks hus tled to find enough rowers for two boats, the Husky’s men’s team featured 125 freshman. Next up for the Ducks is a joint practice session with Oregon State this Saturday. The novice boats from each school will also have a competition. Following that, the Ducks will hibernate un til spring, when the new season starts. Spring races are 2,000 me ters, as compared to fall’s 5,000 meter contests. Practice sched ules will be adjusted accordingly, with rowers doing sprint work outs three days a week and run ning on off days. Come race days, the Ducks hope to be on a level with crews from Western Washington, Puget Sound, Portland Lutheran and Oregon State. Interface Listen Ud1 with Dan Carlin U f * 3-6pm Weekdays on KUGN 590AM http://www efn org/~sing/cttb email: sing@efivorg AMERICAN PIE NETWORKS, INC MMMM a I a a 8 fl ■ mm m ■ 8aami.ii.ift ASDO Student Senate Forum Tuesday and Wednesday November 12th & 13th Ben Linder Room, EMU 9 am - 3 pm Help Direct Student Incidental Fees For • ASUO Programs • EMU Activities & Programs • Student Athletic Seats Create your own Custom Holiday Gifts T-Shirts P 1 1205 Willamette Street 344-3555/fax 344-0870 http://vvww.kinkos.coni Jack Purcell’s I Limousines for your Feet! Canvas $29.95 Leather $3995 Eugene Athletic Eugene Athletic Supply Co. 16 Oakway Center Eugene, Oregon 97401 800-452-5075*343-1288 Comer of Coburg & Oakway Roads
