PCAA Notebook : Studying Comes Before Winning at Nevada Las Vegas This Season

Harvey Hyde has never been accused of being more concerned with winning friends than football games. The Nevada Las Vegas football coach has fueled feuds with both Fresno State and Cal State Fullerton.

At least two Pacific Coast Athletic Assn. athletic directors refer to him in less-than-printable terms off the record.

Hyde recently declined to call a Utah State media luncheon to answer a few questions about an upcoming game. And his school’s sports information director has stopped using his quotes in her weekly press releases.

On the field, though, Hyde’s team was thriving. The Rebels were 3-8 in his first year, 7-4 in 1983 and 11-1 last season.

Those records are before forfeits, however. Las Vegas was forced to forfeit all of its wins in 1983 and ’84 after seven players were declared ineligible because of transcript irregularities.

This year the Rebels are 3-3. After they got off to a 1-3 start, Hyde announced that his players would be practicing less and studying more for the rest of the season.

“You can only drive a car 100 miles per hour for so long before a part wears out . . . you can only demand so much,” Hyde told the Las Vegas Sun’s John L. Smith. “You’ve got to be willing to give up something. I’m saying I must adapt.”

The change in emphasis will probably only mean a half hour less practice or one less weightlifting session, but it sounds like a step in the right direction.

Smith sounds a bit skeptical, though.

“As long as the theory does not change when UNLV is undefeated after four games instead of 1-3, Hyde’s announcement is admirable,” he wrote.

More Trouble in the Desert: Las Vegas senior defensive tackle Greg Sims pleaded guilty to burglary last month, but will remain with the team until sentencing.

Sims, from Manuel Arts High School, faces a 1-to-10-year prison term or probation, after admitting to breaking into a room at the Landmark Hotel, owned by longtime Rebel booster William “Wildcat” Morris.

“My feeling is we should let due process run its course because he’s never been in trouble in his life,” Hyde told the Las Vegas Review Journal, explaining his decision to keep Sims on the team.

Bill Walsh, a receiver at San Jose State, was presented with a special award by San Jose State President Dr. Gail Fullerton during halftime of a recent game against Cal State Fullerton. The San Francisco 49er coach expressed his thanks and ended his short speech with, “Fullerton has a good program, but the Spartans are going to kick their bleep.”

Later, a sheepish Walsh said the remark “just slipped out.”

The Spartans know the feeling. The ball slipped out of their hands eight times and they lost to the Titans, 20-18.

Utah State basketball Coach Rod Tueller, noted for his sideline histrionics, is now also the Aggies’ athletic director.

Will the athletic director scold the basketball coach for throwing his sport coat?

“That’ll never happen,” Tueller said, smiling.

“First of all, the basketball coach’s wife would get real mad if he threw his clothes. And anyway, the basketball coach has a special rapport with the AD here.”

PCAA Notes

Fullerton quarterback Kevin Jan was named Offensive Player of the Week for his 21-for-35, 215-yard performance in the Titans’ last-second 32-30 win at Utah State. Jan, in the best game of his career, passed for two touchdowns and ran for one. . . . It was a slow week for the conference’s defensive players. UNLV’s Daryl Knox (five unassisted tackles and one sack) and Fresno State’s Chris Pacheco (six unassisted tackles, one for a loss) shared Defensive Player of the Week honors. . . . If Fresno State can maintain its current scoring average (35.8 points per game), it would be the best since the conference’s first year, 1969, when San Diego State averaged 46.4. . . . Cal State Long Beach quarterback Doug Gaynor’s 70.1% completion rate midway through the season is better than the conference record, also set in 1969, by San Diego State’s Jesse Freitas. . . . San Jose State (1-5) is last in the conference in pass defense and rushing defense, allowing a total of 494 yards a game.