BCA Upset With Lack of Progress

The Black Coaches Assn. expressed dismay Monday during the last full day of the NCAA convention at Indianapolis.

When 13 college football coaching positions opened, the BCA mailed information on more than 50 African American candidates and contacted each of the schools with an opening. Only one black coach, Tyrone Willingham, was hired, moving from Stanford to Notre Dame.

“One of the arguments we continued to hear was that, ‘We would certainly have entertained interviewing someone if we had known about them,’” said Floyd Keith, executive director of the BCA. “So we sent a list to every Division I-A president and athletic director. If you’re doing your homework, you would research that list.”

Keith was joined at a news conference by representatives of the Minority Opportunities Athletics Assn. and the Minority Opportunities and Interests Committee.

The group leaders said they were not satisfied with the results of the BCA’s effort to promote black coaches.

Willingham was replaced at Stanford by former Florida assistant Buddy Teevens, who is white.

One other black coach, Louisiana Lafayette’s Jerry Baldwin, was fired after going 6-27 in three seasons.

That leaves only four black head coaches--Willingham, Michigan State’s Bobby Williams, San Jose State’s Fitz Hill and New Mexico State’s Tony Samuel--among 115 major college programs.

According to figures released by the BCA, the percentage of black head coaches declines even more when Division I-AA, Division II and Division III are added.

Excluding historically black institutions, Keith said, only 14 of 547 head football coaches are black.

If there are not changes, Keith said the organizations may resort to using “political influence and financial concerns” to bring about change. None of the leaders would elaborate on that.

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South Carolina running back Derek Watson was dismissed from the team after he was charged with possession of marijuana, Coach Lou Holtz said.

Watson was arrested early Saturday in a nightclub parking lot, according to police Lt. Mike Gambrell in Greenville, S.C.

“I feel badly for Derek, but he clearly understood that if he chose to do certain things, he would no longer be a part of the football team,” Holtz said.

Watson, a junior, led South Carolina in rushing two of the last three seasons.

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Arkansas running back Cedric Cobbs, arrested last week on drug and traffic charges, has agreed to random drug testing and other conditions set down by Coach Houston Nutt. Cobbs and his parents met with Nutt on Sunday.

Cobbs faces a court appearance Feb. 20.

To stay on the team, Cobbs agreed to drug counseling and a provision that forbids him from leaving Fayetteville without first telling Nutt. He also must complete assigned community service projects each weekend and attend study hall.

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The NCAA granted Auburn quarterback Daniel Cobb a rare sixth year of eligibility.

Cobb, 23, missed the 1997 and 1998 seasons because of a condition that caused a blood clot in his throwing shoulder.

The NCAA allows athletes additional playing time for special circumstances preventing the student from participating for four years.

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Donte Stallworth, the Tennessee receiver who changed his mind about leaving college early for the NFL, must be reinstated by the NCAA before he can play again for the Volunteers.

Stallworth, a junior, said last Thursday that he would leave a year early to make himself eligible for the NFL draft. But he met with Coach Phillip Fulmer the next day and said he wanted to stay.

Tennessee officials are working to have Stallworth’s eligibility restored so he can return for his senior season.

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Less than a month after losing to Utah in the Las Vegas Bowl, USC began off-season conditioning. Rejoining the team was receiver Marcell Allmond, suspended from school last season after a series of fights with other students.

Gone from the Trojans are two reserves, kicker John Wall, who has decided to transfer to Pierce College, and defensive lineman Nate Goodson, who has quit playing football because of injuries.

The Trojans are tentatively scheduled to hold spring practice from March 23 through April 20.

Miscellany

Alexei Yagudin of Russia easily won his qualifying group at the European Figure Skating Championships at Lausanne, Switzerland, positioning himself to win back the title in the absence of Yevgeny Plushchenko.

With teammate Ilya Klimkin second behind Yagudin and Alexander Abt winning the afternoon group, the Russian trio appears poised for a sweep of the medals, even without the current European and world champion, Plushchenko. He is out with a groin injury.

France’s Brian Joubert was second to Abt in his group.

The women’s event begins Wednesday.

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St. Andrews, the storied Scotland golf course where Tiger Woods won his first British Open title in 2000, will hold the tournament again in 2005.

It will be the 27th time the Open has been played on the Old Course, just north of Edinburgh. The first time was in 1873.

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Shelly Finkel, Mike Tyson’s advisor, believes a Tyson challenge to WBC-IBF heavyweight champion Lennox Lewis will be signed by Jan. 22.

Lewis, who was in New York, also said the match would be made.

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Oleg Lisogor of Ukraine won the 50-meter breaststroke and 100-meter individual medley at a FINA World Cup swim meet at Imperia, Italy.

Among the women, Chinese and Russian swimmers dominated on the first of two days of competition.

In the 50-meter breaststroke, Lisogor edged Italy’s Domenico Fioravanti with a time of 26.96 seconds. Lisogor won the 100-meter individual medley in 54.42, a second ahead of U.S. swimmer Ron Karnaugh.