By Bill Koch
The Cincinnati Enquirer

One of the first things Rick Minter did when he took over as the University of Cincinnati's head football coach was to establish a lettermen's golf outing every year during spring practice.

The first person he invited to honor at that outing was Sid Gillman, who went 50-13-1 as UC's head coach from 1949-54. Gillman, who was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1983, died Jan. 3 at the age of 91.

"It was the only time I got to meet him in person," Minter said Monday.

Minter, in his 10th year at UC, can break Gillman's Bearcat record for career coaching victories with a win Saturday over Temple (0-2) at Nippert Stadium.

"He did it in less time than I did," Minter said. "It's just an honor to be mentioned with him."

Minter, who's 50-56-1 at UC, still laughs when he recalls his meeting with Gillman back in 1995.

"I heard these stories from guys that I had gotten to know here about the tremendous difference in recruiting and recruiting rules," Minter said. "Maybe they didn't have any rules."

When Minter told Gillman about the recruiting rules he faces, and that the NCAA limits how much time players can practice, Gillman asked, "How do you win?"

Minter said he heard stories from some of Gillman's old players, many of whom still support the UC program, about that era.

"They would pay their players for little things like sacks or touchdowns or whatever, just a little money here or there," he said. "I don't know if it was legal or not. He just said, 'The rules are different today than what they were then.' "