Tuesday, February 05, 2002
UK's woes prompt Mumme's 'remorse'
Bearcat suspended over role in brawl at high school game
Enquirer staff, wire reports
LEXINGTON — Former University of Kentucky football coach Hal Mumme said Monday through his attorney that he has “great personal remorse” concerning the events that led to his forced resignation and subsequent NCAA penalties against the Wildcat football program.
Mumme, who received a $1 million settlement last February, has not spoken publicly about Kentucky's penalties or the events that helped land the program in trouble. The NCAA said most of UK's more than three dozen violations were committed by former assistant coach Claude Bassett, who was hit with a “show cause” order that equates to an eight-year ban from NCAA coaching.
The NCAA last week placed UK on probation for three years, took away 19 scholarships over the next three years and banned the 'Cats from postseason play in 2002.
Mumme was named in two of the allegations, including one major infraction that he failed to properly monitor Bassett's activities. Beyond that public reprimand he was not penalized and is free to coach in the NCAA immediately.
Mumme's attorney, Travis Bryan, released a four-paragraph statement from Mumme that was headed: “Address to all UK fans.”
In the statement, Mumme called the NCAA findings against him “fair” and said he and his wife June “love UK and the Commonwealth” and that he turned down several job offers during his four years at UK “because of that love.”
Mumme said he knows some fans wanted him to speak publicly about what transpired but he did not because it was his belief that the “only proper place to talk about this complicated combination of events” was with the NCAA's committee on infractions.
CINCINNATI:
J.J. Wilson, a Bearcats reserve safety, will serve an indefinite suspension from the team until charges of aggravated assault, rioting and resisting arrest, stemming from a brawl Saturday in Western Pennsylvania, are resolved.
Wilson, a junior, was arrested at a high school basketball game between his hometown school, Farrell High, and Sharon High, located about 60 miles northwest of Pittsburgh. With about two minutes remaining in the game, a fight broke out. At least three police officers were injured. Wilson, 20, posted bond and was released from the Mercer County Jail on Monday, jail officials said.
According to the UC athletic department policy, “Student-athletes criminally charged with any form of violence will be suspended from all sports activities until the charges are resolved. Student-athletes convicted or admitting to any form of violence will be dismissed from the Department.”
—Gary Estwick
TENNESSEE:
Receiver Donte Stallworth will not play for UT next season and instead will try to go pro.
Stallworth told the Vols he did not want to appeal the NCAA's decision to deny his eligibility for a final season at Tennessee.
“I wish he had gone through the appeals process, but he expressed to me he wanted to go on to the NFL and make the most of his opportunities,” coach Phillip Fulmer said.
Stallworth, a junior from Sacramento, Calif., announced on Jan. 10 he was leaving the university early to enter the draft but changed his mind before the NFL's deadline the next day. The NFL office retrieved his paperwork, eliminating his name from the early-entry draft list.
But NCAA rules stipulate that even the intention to enter the draft results in lost eligibility.
To complicate matters, Stallworth met with Memphis agent Jimmy Sexton and received nearly $1,300 in benefits, including airfare for his brother and a dinner, before he changed his mind. Stallworth and Sexton said no agreement was made for Sexton to represent him.
HURRICANES: Coach Larry Coker was rewarded for winning the national championship, receiving a five-year, $5.25 million contract.
The deal includes a salary of $850,000 this year, a raise from the $450,000 Coker received as a first-year head coach in 2001. His pay will increase $100,000 a year through 2006, and the contract includes incentive clauses. “It's certainly a charmed life,” he said. “Some great things have happened, and happened very quickly.”
The contract was announced a year and a day after Coker was promoted from his job as offensive coordinator to succeed Butch Davis. Coker led the Hurricanes to a 12-0 record, including a 37-14 victory over Nebraska in the Rose Bowl on Jan.3, and he became the first rookie head coach to win the national title since Michigan's Bennie Oosterbaan in 1948.
Coker's contract is comparable to the five-year, $5 million deal former Miami RedHawks safety Ron Zook signed with the Florida Gators last month. But it doesn't match the $1.4 million-a-year deal the Hurricanes offered Davis before he left for the Cleveland Browns.
Bobby Bowden has a $2 million-a-year contract with Florida State through 2004.
MEDIA: TBS acquired the rights to Saturday night Pac-10 and Big 12 games starting next season from Fox Sports Net. The five-year deal covers 11 games per season through 2006.
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UK's woes prompt Mumme's 'remorse'