Boycott Is Near ‘Nuclear’ : College basketball: BCA’s Washington trying to get arbitration from Congressional Black Caucus.

Drake University basketball Coach Rudy Washington, executive director of the Black Coaches Assn., said he will meet today in Washington with members of the Congressional Black Caucus in hopes of getting an arbitrator to mediate the ongoing dispute between his group and NCAA leaders over scholarships.

Speaking to reporters after his team’s game at Tulsa on Thursday night, Washington said the BCA will move ahead with plans to stage a series of boycotts, beginning with Saturday’s games, if the matter cannot be resolved.

“It’s right on the verge of being nuclear,” he said. “If we can’t come to some kind of terms, I’m really afraid of the season itself (being lost). . . .

“We’re reasonable men, and I think the NCAA is reasonable. But, again, we were made promises that weren’t kept.”

BCA leaders said Tuesday the group will stage the walkouts to show displeasure with NCAA convention delegates’ rejection of a proposal that would have restored the scholarship limit in Division I men’s basketball to 14. NCAA cost-containment initiatives have reduced the number of scholarships from 15 in 1991 to 14 last year and to 13 this year.

The BCA believes the delegates’ failure to approve the scholarship proposal will serve to further limit blacks’ access to higher education.

Washington and other BCA leaders have refused to provide details of the planned disruptions except to say that players will be involved.

The Ft. Worth Star-Telegram, quoting an unidentified source with knowledge of the BCA’s intentions, reported Thursday that the group has targeted nine games--including USC’s matchup with Washington State at Pullman--scheduled for Saturday, the birthday of slain civil rights leader Martin Luther King. In each of the targeted games, minorities coach both teams.

“Some games will be delayed, some won’t be played, at some games the teams will leave at halftime,” the newspaper quoted its source as saying. “There will be a variety of things that will occur throughout the season. There won’t be any games where just one team is involved, so there won’t be any forfeits.”

There were signs Thursday, however, that the BCA was preparing to engage in a milder form of protest.

The Associated Press, quoting an unidentified source, reported that several high-profile black coaches, including USC’s George Raveling, would walk off the court just before their teams’ games Saturday and that players would not be involved.

“My take on it, from people around the country, is this (boycott) may not come off at all,” said Mike Gilleran, West Coast Conference commissioner. “The reaction nationally apparently hasn’t been what the coaches would have wanted.”

Another college athletic official, who asked not to be identified, said: “There’s a feeling (the boycott) isn’t going to be as widespread as reported.”

One factor that could be forcing the BCA’s hand is the lack of a statement of support from the National Assn. of Basketball Coaches.

“We’ve been in conference most of (Wednesday) night and (Thursday),” Duke Coach Mike Krzyzewski, a member of the NABC board, said after his team’s game with Wake Forest Thursday night in Durham, N.C. “No decision has been made.”

Another factor is pressure from college chief executive officers, some of whom reportedly have threatened to take a hard line against coaches who pull their players off the court.

Edward Fort, North Carolina A&T; chancellor, told the Greensboro (N.C.) News and Record that, while he is sympathetic toward the BCA, his school’s coaches and players will not participate in a boycott.

In an interview with the Nashville Tennessean, Tennessee State Coach Frankie Allen, a BCA member, said he would not participate in a boycott.

“It would be easy for me to go along with boycotts, but I have a commitment to this university and the 14 players I coach,” he said.

Meantime, commissioners from the 33 NCAA Division I conferences, meeting via conference call Thursday, discussed a variety of scenarios, including the prospect of games that would be canceled because both teams refused to play.

NCAA playing rules stipulate that, in such a case, the referee declares “no game” and refers the matter to the conference involved for appropriate action.

According to sources, the consensus among the commissioners was that conferences should tag both teams in such instances with forfeit losses.

“That seems logical to me,” Gilleran said. “If both teams don’t show, it should be a double forfeit. I don’t know another way to do it. Rescheduling is not an option.”

Athletic directors, athletic faculty representatives and senior administrators for women’s sports from Pacific 10 Conference schools will participate in a conference call today to discuss the situation. Following that meeting, Pac-10 CEOs will also meet via conference call.

Tom Hansen, Pac-10 commissioner, declined comment when asked what course of action he will recommend to the two groups.

Gene Corrigan, Atlantic Coast Conference commissioner and president of the College Commissioners Assn., said: “We’re all hopeful that we don’t need these procedures. There are other forces at work out there.”