Bullard Attempting to Lead a Revival at USC : He Wants Trojan Program, Which Was Left in the Blocks, Back on the Track

When the NCAA reduced scholarships to 14 for track and field in 1978, it had an adverse affect on college programs all over the country.

But private schools with high tuition costs took the brunt of the legislation. In USC’s case, a giant was brought to its knees.

The Trojans once dominated track as the New York Yankees dominated baseball. USC has won 26 NCAA outdoor titles, far more than any other school.

USC has also produced more Olympic track athletes than any other university. But we’re dwelling in the past.

In recent years, USC has had a token track program in comparison to its high profile of the past and had virtually abandoned the dual meet program.

But Ernie Bullard, USC’s new track coach and a former Trojan pole vaulter in the late 50s, is trying to revive the program. It’s not easy, he says, but the challenge is stimulating.

Bullard is a former San Jose State coach. He replaced Vern Wolfe, who retired after 22 years as USC’s coach.

Bullard says he is exploring every avenue to build up USC’s team, both in quality and quantity.

“We’ve decided not to divide the scholarships and we’re going to try to burn the candle at both ends with a good dual meet team while being competitive in the Pac-10 and NCAA meets,” Bullard said.

As a private school, USC’s problem is obvious. A full scholarship costs $13,200 compared to about $4,000 at UCLA, a state university.

The NCAA ruling allows for 14 scholarships or the equivalent, meaning that a school could have 28 athletes on half of a grant. But it’s difficult for USC to find athletes who are able to come up with $7,000 to pay for their half of a scholarship.

So Bullard is trying to bolster the numbers on his team through academic scholarships, Cal and ROTC grants, football-track combinations and any other financial assistance that the university can provide.

And he says that he can’t make any mistakes in the 14 scholarships that he gives. They must be proven, quality athletes.

“For example, right now we’re looking for a long distance runner, steeplechase and 5,000 meters,” Bullard said. “We’ll spend that money on a potential world-class athlete whether he lives across the street or across the sea.”

USC hasn’t had a quality distance runner for many years and every race from 1,500 on up was practically forfeited to other teams in dual meets.

Wolfe and his former assistant, Ken Matsuda, relied on sprinters, hurdlers and relay teams for the bulk of their points.

“It’s almost criminal what the NCAA has done to private schools,” Bullard said. “We have kids who would have been on scholarship in the past, but they’re asked to take out loans and pay back $6,000 to $7,000 a year just to come here.

“There are inconsistencies with the NCAA’s ruling. There are 17 events in women’s track and they have 16 scholarships. The men have 21 events with only 14 grants. Moreover, the NCAA doesn’t provide any scholarships in cross country, although we’ll have a cross country team next fall for the first time in 13 years.”

Bullard says he’ll try to challenge the NCAA through legal means, if necessary, to get relief from the scholarship limitation ruling. He has appealed to the Trojan Force, a USC track booster’s club, to help him in his lobbying with the NAAA.

Meanwhile, Bullard and his assistant coaches, Leo Davis (sprints), Larry Knuth (distances) and Kevin Coyne (weights) are scrambling to field a competitive team this season. Coyne, a former Boston University head coach, was recently hired.

USC returns several athletes who helped account for a surprising third place finish in last year’s Pac-10 meet. But sprinter Luis Morales, the Pac-10 200-meter winner, has a stress fracture in his right leg and will be redshirted. Anthony Caire, a quality high jumper, isn’t on the team this season because of disciplinary reasons.

Bullard has acquired more depth with close to 50 athletes as opposed to 27 in 1984.

Key performers include sprinter Darwin Cook, who won the 100 meters in the conference meet; long-triple jumper Ed Tave, who has placed fourth in the NCAA long jump the past two years; sprinter Antonio Manning, with a best of 20.58 seconds this season in the 200; pole vaulters Doug Wicks and Steve Klassen; decathlete Mike Gonzales; quarter-miler Terry Ivey; triple jumper Michael Pullins; hammer thrower John Wolitarsky, and freshman half-miler Eric Schermerhorn, the state prep 800-meter champion from Woodbridge High in Irvine.

Knuth says he has some promising freshmen, walk on-distance runners in Romney Mawhorter (a transfer from Occidental), John Armon and Rob Diaz. The Trojans have their first scoring meet of the season Saturday, a double-dual with San Diego State and Iowa at Cromwell Field.

“We have so many holes that nobody will be easy for us in dual meets,” Bullard said. “It’s difficult to say where we’ll finish in the Pac-10 meet, but we might finish in the top ten in the NCAA meet with Cook, Wicks, Wolitarsky, Gonzales, Tave and the sprint relay team making some inroads.”

Bullard plans to showcase his track team with four meets at the Coliseum next season, including a relay carnival and the Pac-10 championships.

“We’ve met with Jim Hardy, the general manager of the Coliseum, and he said there are no immediate plans to remove the Coliseum track,” Bullard said. “There are still a lot of stones to turn and it’s a tough job. You feel the responsibility, and you know the heritage. I was part of it.

“But I feel nothing but support here. I think the pressure comes from myself. I think we can do it. How successful is successful? We’ll probably have to look back on that.”