Chapman Now Plays the Waiting Game

Chapman University’s football program Wednesday endured the type of day that every collegiate sports team dreads.

A day after the school declared its star player, running back Darnell Morgan, ineligible for playing a fifth season in violation of National Collegiate Athletic Assn. rules, officials hoped to find a way to keep from forfeiting the Panthers’ five victories this season.

On campus, where the Panthers have enjoyed remarkable success in the three years since the football program was resurrected, some students wondered at the sudden turn of events.

“People on campus today were asking, ‘Why are all these bad things happening to you?’ “junior linebacker Freddie Cepeda said. “I don’t have an answer for them.”

Added Mike Waasdrop, a senior: “I don’t think the blame should be on Darnell. The blame has to lie on the Athletic Department. It’s pathetic that the department had to be notified from an outside source. It’s unfortunate that the whole team has to suffer.”

Chapman officials said Wednesday they were cooperating with the NCAA, hoping the matter could be settled with a minor penalty. Chapman officials began investigating Morgan’s status after The Times raised questions about the number of years he played at Cerritos College before transferring to Chapman in 1994.

NCAA officials refused to comment, directing all questions to the university. Typically, the NCAA examines precedents in determining sanctions, an official said.

Chapman Athletic Director Dave Currey said the university will increase its scrutiny of transfers to prevent a repeat of Morgan’s situation. Morgan claimed on an eligibility form that he used one year of eligibility at Cerritos. Chapman did not call Cerritos for verification; Morgan actually played two seasons at Cerritos and was in his third at Chapman, Currey said.

Morgan, in a statement released by the Athletic Department, said he did not believe he had lost a year of eligibility in 1991 because he was injured for part of the season. And he expressed remorse for possibly endangering the team’s chances of making the Division III playoffs.

“It makes me feel bad that I’m making everybody look bad,” Morgan said. “It was a big mistake. I feel nobody is really at fault. I especially feel bad for my teammates--I didn’t mean to do this to them.”

The NCAA is expected to make a ruling in one to two weeks, Currey said. It is Chapman officials’ hope that the NCAA would not rule the Panthers must forfeit their five victories.

“We’re not even using the ‘forfeit’ word around here this week,” Currey said.

At least on the outside, Chapman players showed little sign of the team’s problems as they prepared for a practice Wednesday evening.

“Everything’s the same as always, I guess,” junior linebacker Keith Dykes said. “What else can we do?”

As practice began, Coach Ken Visser shouted, “Let’s have a good one tonight.”

For Chapman, which has dominated its competition since football returned three years ago, Morgan’s departure comes just two weeks after two other football players were arrested on suspicion of robbing another student. But charges were not filed against the pair after the victim changed his story.

“We have been meeting and talking about the program’s direction the past two weeks,” Currey said. “Certainly on campus, our faculty is very interested in what we’re doing. We’re worried about eligibility questions. We’re certainly worried about [athletes] getting into fights on campus, which was the altercation that led to the arrests. We don’t condone improper behavior.”

Currey said Chapman assured the NCAA that the university has beefed up its compliance procedures and will run checks on every student who transfers there. The university has only one full-time staff member to handle the process, which involves more than 400 athletes.

“The Division III mentality figures [that] students are participating in sports as a secondary reason,” said Associate Athletic Director Penny Brush. “The Division III mentality is that students are in school to be students.”

Chapman also faces some criticism from opposing programs, in part because of the team’s dominance on the field.

“Chapman seems committed to making football a priority and to be competitive on a national level,” said Roger Caron, coach of Division III Pomona-Pitzer. “That’s fine. But that’s not our immediate goal.

“We are an independent school and would rather play people more like us.”

Pomona-Pitzer, which played Chapman in 1994, has since dropped the Panthers from its schedule. Whittier, Claremont-Mudd and Menlo have also dropped Chapman, at least for this season. Redlands, Occidental and Azusa Pacific are also considering dropping the Panthers next season, according to officials at each of the schools.

Currey said Chapman’s success is to blame for the scheduling problems. Chapman is 20-3-1 so far and undefeated this season. But he said losing local opponents could cause problems.

“It brings travel into the picture and that brings a cost factor,” Currey said.

Added Visser: “It’s going to be tough. In the immediate future we’re going to be struggling to find games.”

Those difficulties can wait for next season. The Panthers are preparing for Saturday’s game against La Verne.

“Right now, all we can do is hope for the best and focus on La Verne,” said Cepeda, the linebacker.

Some students remain confident about the program and their team.

“We would have won all of the games even without Darnell,” junior Willis Sutcliff said. “Darnell is just icing on the cake. It doesn’t matter who the running back is, our team is too strong. Take Darnell away, but don’t take away the playoffs.”

Also contributing to this report was Times correspondent Paul Halpin.