Pac-10 Probe of Huskies Checks DuBose Situation

The Pacific 10 Conference is investigating whether Jim Heckman, the son-in-law of Don James, Washington football coach, tried to persuade Demetrius DuBose, former Notre Dame star, to transfer to Washington.

Such activity is an apparent violation of NCAA recruiting rules.

The DuBose matter is a new facet of a wide-ranging probe of the Husky football program being conducted by the Pac-10. The conference initiated its investigation late last year as a result of published reports describing impropriety by Washington boosters.

DuBose, a linebacker who attended Seattle’s Bishop O’Dea High, recently completed his senior season at Notre Dame. The Irish’s leading tackler in each of the last two seasons, he is expected to be a high pick in this year’s NFL draft.

According to sources, who asked not to be identified, DuBose has informed Pac-10 investigators that he was told by Heckman on at least two occasions that Washington would be a better place for him to play college football if he intended to settle in the Seattle area.

DuBose, the sources said, told the Pac-10 that Heckman made the alleged comments during the 1988-89 academic year--when DuBose was a high school senior--and again in the summer of 1990.

DuBose spent part of that summer working for Heckman, whose business interests include a Seattle-based magazine devoted largely to Husky sports. DuBose was preparing to start his sophomore year at Notre Dame at the time.

The Pac-10 is looking into the matter because NCAA rules stipulate that representatives of a university’s athletic interests cannot contact athletes for recruiting purposes at any time.

Heckman is president of Sports-Image, Inc., which publishes Sports Washington magazine. A former UW student, he is also listed as the magazine’s publisher. He is married to James’ youngest daughter, Jeni.

Asked if he is aware that the Pac-10 is investigating his dealings with DuBose, Heckman said: “I’m sure that’s untrue. Those rumors are untrue.”

He declined further comment, saying: “I’m not going to answer any questions from you.”

Published reports last month revealed that Heckman urged a former Husky player to recant allegations of NCAA rules violations that had appeared in The Times. According to the reports, Heckman also offered the former player, Vince Weathersby, $500 for an interview.

Heckman has filed a libel suit against The Times, alleging that the newspaper incorrectly reported that the offer of a payment to Weathersby was tied to the former player recanting his allegations.

Weathersby, a tailback from Dorsey High who attended Washington from 1984 to ‘88, was one of several former Husky players quoted in a number of stories that appeared in The Times Dec. 9. The stories described how Washington boosters had engaged in a longstanding practice of providing players with cash and other benefits in apparent violation of NCAA rules.

DuBose will not comment on the Pac-10 investigation, according to Jeff Irwin, a Scottsdale, Ariz., agent who is expected to represent DuBose and other Notre Dame players eligible for the NFL draft this year.

The Pac-10 investigation is being led by David Price, the conference’s associate commissioner. He has declined comment on the case.

Washington officials have also declined comment.

The Pac-10 inquiry marks the second time in a year that booster-related activity involving DuBose has been scrutinized.

DuBose was suspended for Notre Dame’s first two games of the 1992 season after an NCAA investigation revealed that he had received more than $1,000 in cash and other improper benefits from a Seattle couple with ties to Notre Dame.

According to the sources familiar with the Pac-10 matter, information obtained by the NCAA during its investigation of DuBose’s dealings with the Seattle couple led the Pac-10 to contact DuBose as part of the Washington probe.

DuBose has told the Pac-10 that he was in high school when he met Heckman, the sources said. DuBose was the subject of an article in Heckman’s magazine, then known as the Northwest Sports Review.

According to the sources, DuBose told the Pac-10 that during recruiting, Heckman spoke to him of how Husky boosters take care of Washington players when the players’ careers are finished.

In the summer of 1990, after a freshman year at Notre Dame in which he had played sparingly, DuBose worked briefly for Heckman’s company, running errands and doing other office chores.

In his statement to the Pac-10, the sources said, DuBose said that Heckman made further references that summer to the way the Seattle business community responds to those who have played for the Huskies.

The Pac-10 is trying to determine whether Heckman tried to recruit DuBose for the Huskies in 1988-89 and later attempted to use the job and the alleged comments to persuade DuBose to leave Notre Dame, the sources said.

A source familiar with Heckman’s business dealings told The Times that Heckman “made no bones about the fact . . . that he was really intent on getting Demetrius to switch schools.”

The source said he heard Heckman tell DuBose at one point during the summer of 1990: “The (Seattle) business community is set up to take care of you after college (at Washington).”

The source said he had not been contacted by representatives of the Pac-10.

Findings from a Pac-10 investigation are presented to the conference’s Compliance and Enforcement Committee, which reaches a conclusion and recommends sanctions, if necessary. The Pac-10 Council then makes a ruling, subject to the approval of the schools’ chief executive officers.

Sanctions can range from a reprimand to a ban on postseason competition.

Because of the Pac-10’s reputation for diligence in pursuing enforcement matters, the NCAA is not likely to get involved in the Washington case until the conference has finished with the case.

The NCAA does, however, have the right to review and modify any findings of fact or penalties stemming from the conference’s investigation.