Man Sues LSU, Claiming He Got Job Offer for Aid in Trying to Recruit Female Player

A $1-million damage suit has been filed by a man who claims that Louisiana State University reneged on a promise to give him a job if he would help in recruiting a female basketball player from Houston.

LSU has denied all of the allegations and asked that the suit by Timothy W. Childs be dropped.

The suit does not name the basketball player. Childs’ lawyer, Jack Dampf, said the recruit signed to play at the University of Houston.

The suit, filed in federal court here, says Childs was living in Houston in March, 1983, when he was contacted by somebody in LSU’s athletic department on behalf of Tom Ficara, who was coordinating television and radio coverage of LSU athletics. The suit says that Childs was offered a job coordinating local cable television coverage over LSU’s Tigervision.

Ficara is no longer at LSU.

The suit said that Childs met with Ficara, thought he had the job, but then ran into stalls and eventually was unable to get in touch with Ficara. Meanwhile, the suit says, the potential recruit signed, on April 19, 1983, with another school.

Childs says, in his suit, that he met with Athletic Director Bob Brodhead and was told that although the job was still available, there were some problems with a contract. But the job never materialized, the suit says.