Ex-Arizona Coaches Take Exception to Steroid Report

Ohio State head Coach John Cooper and two assistants are taking exception to a reference of alleged steroid use by players while they were coaching at Arizona State.

In his autobiography, “Bo,” which hits stores Sept. 16, Michigan Coach Bo Schembechler wrote, “I have coached against teams that used steroids. I lost a Rose Bowl game in 1986 to an Arizona State team that, it was later reported, had a number of players who used steroids.”

In another part of the book, Schembechler wrote, “When we went there (to the Rose Bowl) I remember saying, ‘God, these guys are so big and aggressive.’ Then, a couple of years later, one of their coaches was quoted in an Arizona newspaper as admitting the players were pumped up. We probably played an artificial team in the Rose Bowl. And we lost.”

Cooper, starting his second year as head coach at Ohio State, was the head coach at Arizona State for three years, including the 1986 Rose Bowl. Ohio State offensive coordinator Jim Colletto and defensive coordinator Bill Young also were on the Arizona State staff.

Cooper has denied that there was a steroid problem at ASU and points to disclaimers published after the original stories appeared in the Mesa (Ariz.) Tribune.

“If you read what Bo said, he said it was reported that the players used steroids, and he’s right. It was reported that way. Except two days later the story was retracted by the paper that ran it in the first place,” Cooper said.