SMU Football Coach and Athletic Director Announce Resignations

Southern Methodist football Coach Bobby Collins and Athletic Director Bob Hitch resigned Friday as a result of the latest allegations of recruiting violations in the Mustang football program.

Dr. William B. Stallcup Jr., the university’s interim president, said in a statement that the resignations were effective immediately.

“During their years of service, SMU sports teams have enjoyed marked success,” Stallcup said. “Under the prevailing circumstances, however, it is my judgment that Mr. Hitch’s and Mr. Collins’ resignations are in the best interest of the university.”

Terms of the resignations, including whether or not Hitch and Collins will be paid for the remaining years of their contracts, will not be revealed, Stallcup said.

Stallcup said the SMU athletic department will be managed by Dudley Parker, associate director of athletics, until an acting director is appointed. A search for successors to Hitch and Collins will begin in “due course,” he said.

During a news conference, Collins said he was not asked to resign and decided to quit after talking it over with his wife. He said that recruiting would have been difficult under the circumstances.

“My plans are to continue coaching,” Collins said. He said he had met with his players just before the news conference and told them: “Tough times don’t last. Tough people do.”

In five years at SMU, Collins posted a 43-14-1 record, including a 6-5 mark in 1986.

Hitch, who also said he was not asked to resign, was asked if the resignations could be interpreted as an admission of guilt regarding possible violations of National Collegiate Athletic Assn. rules.

“You can take it any way you want,” Hitch said.

SMU, which has been placed on NCAA probation five times, is currently on probation through August 1988.

The Mustangs, who were barred from bowl games in 1985 and 1986 and from live television in 1986, also lost all their scholarships after the 1985 season and are limited to only 15 in the current recruiting season.

Three weeks ago, Dallas station WFAA-TV reported on allegations made by former Mustang linebacker David Stanley, who said he received $25,000 when he signed with SMU and that he and his mother received $750 per month from the SMU athletic department. Stanley said the payments continued after SMU began its latest probation in August 1985, through December 1985, when he left the university.

University President L. Donald Shields resigned two weeks ago, citing health problems aggravated by the new allegations of wrongdoing in the football program.

The NCAA could suspend the school’s football program for two years if the latest allegations are proven.