Monday, February 04, 2002
Newton shoulders some blame in UK football debacle
College football notebook
The Associated Press
LEXINGTON, Ky. — Former University of Kentucky athletic director C.M. Newton accepted some responsibility for the football rules violations that got the Wildcats three years' probation last week.
Newton said Saturday he was “angry” and “embarrassed” by the dozens of recruiting improprieties unearthed by internal and NCAA investigations.
Newton retired as Kentucky's athletic director on June 30, 2000.
The NCAA announced Thursday that more than three dozen violations were committed by the football program from 1998 to 2000, including academic fraud, impermissible recruiting contacts and gifts of cash, apparel, lodging and meals to prospects and high school coaches.
“First of all, I'm embarrassed personally,” Newton said at Rupp Arena before Kentucky's 91-74 basketball victory over South Carolina. “Many of these things happened during that last six months of my tenure. Frankly, I'm angry about it.”
Kentucky president Lee Todd said Saturday he appreciated Newton's candor, and added, “I think there's enough responsibility to go around.”
On Thursday, Todd announced the creation of a committee to review how the UK athletic department operates. The review will include an examination of the job performance of Newton's successor, Larry Ivy.
Newton said Ivy “absolutely” should keep his job, but added that his opinion might not carry much weight.
Newton defended the oversight of Kentucky football during his tenure, saying he disagreed with the NCAA's finding of a lack of institutional control.
Newton said his primary mistake was assigning Claude Bassett director of football operations duties in 1999. Newton said he was persuaded by head coach Hal Mumme to give those duties to Bassett, who already was the program's recruiting coordinator.
Bassett wound up being involved in most of the rules violations that earned UK its NCAA sanctions.
“As it turned out, we put the fox in the hen house,” Newton said. “My first inclination was to go find another former football coach and put him in that slot. Hal thought Claude could handle that slot. As it turned out, that was a very poor decision on my part.”
Todd said Newton's contributions to the university cannot be overshadowed by the football scandal.
GEORGIA TECH:
Less than two months after George O'Leary's deception, Georgia Tech is embarrassed again by a misleading biography.
The school announced Saturday that defensive coordinator Rick Smith was forced to resign after a three-man committee concluded he misrepresented himself in his biography.
New receivers coach Tommie Robinson, who hadn't earned the master's degree listed on a school-released profile, was allowed to keep his job.
ARMY DEATH:
Army wide receiver Anthony Miller, who made three starts for the Black Knights, died after a heart attack.
Miller, a 20-year-old from Temple Hills, Md., was hospitalized Thursday after complaining of nausea and dizziness and died Friday.
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