Valvano Told to Resign as N.C. State AD : Grade Policy Misused, Changes Needed, Says University President

University of North Carolina System President C. D. Spangler today called on North Carolina State basketball Coach Jim Valvano to quit as athletic director and said the “status quo is not good enough” in the school’s basketball program.

Spangler said he wanted Valvano to resign as athletic director no later than Dec. 31. Valvano said Thursday he would resign if asked to do so, but there was no immediate comment from him today.

“It is essential that the athletic director be in an unambiguous position,” Spangler said. “Mr. Valvano has served without pay in this position . . . but I believe that is a responsibility he should not carry along with his duties as a coach.”

‘Academic Integrity’

“My foremost concern has been with the issue of academic integrity,” Spangler said, adding that he also wanted booster clubs--such as N.C. State’s Wolfpack Club--to make public their annual audits.

No violations of NCAA rules have been found by a four-man commission he appointed to probe allegations about the men’s basketball program, Spangler said. But the spirit of the system was violated, he added, through the use of “incomplete” grades to allow players to remain technically eligible to play.

“The system has been misused,” he said.

The book “Personal Fouls,” by Peter Golenbock, sparked a six-month investigation into the basketball program at N.C. State. Allegations in the book included improper changes of grades for basketball players, improper payments and lavish gifts to athletes, drug abuse and concealment of drug test results.

Spangler said more than 160 people were interviewed by his commission.

N.C. State Chancellor Bruce Poulton resigned Monday, and was not among university chancellors attending today’s meeting of the University of North Carolina Board of Governors.

NCAA Investigation

The NCAA also has investigated the men’s basketball program at N.C. State and that report is expected in the fall, Spangler said. Poulton and Valvano requested the report.

Valvano was expected to attend a meeting later today of the N.C. State University Board of Trustees in Raleigh.

Spangler said nothing was found to support allegations of lavish gifts and payments to players. But he said there were some rule violations in “the disposition of tickets issued to players” that have been reported to the NCAA.

He said an effort was being made to “see that the problem will not reoccur.”

Spangler also said players had been found trading extra basketball shoes to a local store and that players had received discounts “at a local restaurant.”

The commission also checked summer employment by athletes.

Spangler said the commission found that a player was employed by a firm hired by Valvano, but that the situation had been authorized by the Atlantic Coast Conference.