Popularity Couldn’t Save Him

Stan Thomas, considered by some as the most influential figure in California high school sports, perhaps had become too popular for his own good.

The former football coach, principal and district administrator accepted the job as commissioner of the vast CIF Southern Section with little fanfare in 1986. He quickly made a name for himself by building good relationships with the section’s executive committee, co-workers and the media.

He was accessible, quotable and friendly. One of his constituents once described him as “sort of God.” But Thomas’ popular run ended unexpectedly last Wednesday when he was forced to resign and ordered to pay $5,000 restitution for abusing his expense account. He has made limited comments since then.

Details of his expense spending have not been made public and section officials are hoping to put the incident behind them.

A trip to Hawaii last October, occasional getaways with his wife, golf engagements and lavish meals are some of the incidents that have been mentioned.

A year-end audit of the office last August revealed uncharacteristic spending by Thomas that contributed to the section’s $112,000 deficit, the largest in its history. It was the second year in a row the audit showed a deficit.

Executive committee members, concerned with the latest audit, began investigating the section’s spending. That is when they found Thomas had been running up his Visa credit card balance,

Although Thomas has not criticized the committee for releasing him, he has said his spending habits were constant over the years and that all were business-related.

It is likely Thomas felt many of his habits were justified and did not feel he was doing anything wrong. But he was spending money he and the section could not afford.

In a time when school districts have been slashing athletic budgets and corporate sponsorship money has been drying up, Thomas should have followed the lead and cut back on his expenses.

Last year, he attended National Federation high school meetings in Hawaii and Nashville. Considering Thomas is a section commissioner and not a state commissioner, these trips were unnecessary.

Golf games with executive committee members should have been scaled back when it became obvious the section could no longer afford them.

Thomas, 62, often believed he was so popular that he could do no wrong. He showed this by engaging in an embarrassing tug-of-war with Harry Welch, football coach at Canyon Country Canyon. When Welch allegedly held an illegal practice in May of 1991, Thomas ordered him to sit out a season. The punishment was not in line with others for the same violation. Welch fought the matter in court and recently won a two-year legal battle with the CIF.

When the Riverside Press-Enterprise requested information from the Southern Section on an alleged racial incident during a Hemet-Perris football game in the fall of 1989, Thomas felt threatened. He withheld the newspaper’s press credentials for a short time in the fall of 1990.

For the most part, however, Thomas ruled the CIF’s largest and most prestigious section with few problems. He handled an increased load of transfers, hardships and appeals well and with relatively few complaints. When he resigned, Thomas was making an annual salary of $85,800. He received a company car and monthly gas mileageallowance of $125.

Despite seven years of hard work and diligence, however, most will remember only his failure to control personal expenses.

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The Southern Section’s executive committee did a poor job handling the investigation of Thomas and his subsequent resignation.

When the committee put Thomas on paid administrative leave Oct. 6, it told the Southern Section office staff that it was to keep the matter quiet. Later that week, a couple of committee members leaked the story to the press. The committeethen issued a statement last Monday stating that Thomas was on paid leave and directed all other questions to its attorney, Spencer Covert.

Covert was also left to deal with reporters when the committee announced Thomas’ resignation. Covert had never been involved with the Southern Section before and barely knew Thomas.

The committee ended up handling a sensitive subject in an insensitive manner, leaving reporters to deal with attorneys who barely knew their clients.

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Dean Crowley, Southern Section associate commissioner, has been filling in for Thomas since he was placed on paid leave. Crowley, 59, apparently can have the job as commissioner if he wants it. He said he will discuss the matter with the executive committee before making a decision.

If Crowley decides to stay put, the Committee would be smart to go after Ray Plutko, the section’s commissioner from 1980-86. Plutko resigned to become commissioner of the Colorado High School Activities Assn. He returned to Southern California three years ago and is currently the principal at Temple City High and the president of the Rio Hondo League.

Plutko is a top-notch administrator and a stickler for organization.

“If someone calls me about the job I’ll listen,” Plutko said. “But right now I don’t think I would be interested.”

Prep Notes

Los Alamitos, which trailed Cypress, 2-0, after the first quarter, ended up winning the Empire League game, 62-2, last Thursday. The Griffins improved to 6-0. . . . Loyola running back Jerome Porter broke his right leg last Monday during practice and is out for the season. His replacement, Kadar Hamilton, rushed for 201 yards in 19 carries in a 33-15 victory over Bellflower St. John Bosco Friday. . . .

Rick Price, a 6-6 guard from Gardena Serra, has made an unwritten commitment to Duke. He chose the Blue Devils over Kansas. . . Mike Carson, a 6-11 1/2 center from Chino Don Lugo, has made an unwritten commitment to Oregon.

Times’ Top 20 Football Poll

The Times’ top 20 high school football poll, with teams from the City and Southern Sections.

School Sect. Div. Rec. LW 1. Bishop Amat SS I 6-0 1 2. Eisenhower SS I 6-0 2 3. Newbury Park SS III 6-0 3 4. Los Alamitos SS II 6-0 4 5. Antelope Valley SS I 5-1 5 6. Hart SS II 5-1 6 7. Loyola SS I 5-1 7 8. LB Poly SS I 5-1 8 9. Hawthorne SS III 5-1 9 10. Fountain Valley SS II 6-0 10 11. Norco SS V 6-0 11 12. Quartz Hill SS I 6-0 13 13. Hunt. Beach SS II 6-0 12 14. Taft City 4-A 6-0 14 15. Irvine SS IV 5-1 15 16. Dominguez SS II 6-0 16 17. Mater Dei SS I 5-1 18 18. Esperanza SS II 4-2 17 19. Rowland SS III 6-0 19 20. St. Paul SS I 5-1 NR