UCF Knights Blog

Here is a link to Sha'reff Rashad's Signing Day photo gallery over at KnightsNews.com.

UCF football coach George O’Leary completed his coaching staff Saturday with the hiring of D.J. McCarthy of Boca Raton as receivers coach. McCarthy comes to UCF from the University of Nevada and replaces long-time assistant Sean Beckton.

“I’m very happy to have D.J. join the staff,” O’Leary said. “ He has ties to the state of Florida and has a wealth of experience with the passing game. He will be a good addition to the staff already in place.”

McCarthy was receivers coach for the Wolf Pack since 2000 and was instrumental in the development of record-setting receiver Nate Burelson, who led the nation in receptions in 2002 with 138 catches. Burelson set many Nevada and Western Athletic Conference records, including receptions in a game with 19 and receiving yardage in a game with 326.

“It’s a dream come true to be here,” McCarthy said. “When you grow up in Florida and you want to coach, you think about being able to coach at one of the universities. For me, UCF is at the top of that list.”

McCarthy graduated from the University of Washington in 1994, where he played receiver for the Huskies. He then began his coaching career at his alma mater, Boca Raton High School, where he spent two years and coached former UCF receiver Tavirus Davis. He also coached for a year at Fort Lauderdale High School before moving into the college ranks at West Hills Community College in California.

Prior to joining the staff at Nevada, McCarthy spent two years as a coaches assistant in the NFL with the Oakland Raiders. He got his start in the NFL as an intern with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in 1998. (UCFAthletics.com)

That was quick -- looks like O'Leary already had his guy in mind. D.J. seems to have a good coaching background and he's a Florida native, specifically talent-laden South Florida. I hope he's a good recruiter.

"I feel like I'm the luckiest draft pick in the entire league this season," Burleson, a third-round pick from Nevada-Reno, told the St. Paul Pioneer Press. "Some rookies may feel like they're not being used enough and they're in the wrong system. I couldn't imagine being on another team in the league. I'm on an undefeated team, I play with great guys and I'm starting alongside Randy Moss. It couldn't be better."

Especially since Nevada-Reno assistant coach D.J. McCarthy helped Burleson get ready for the NFL by putting together a highlight film of Moss for him to study during his final season.

"I wanted him to see how the pros approach the game," McCarthy told the newspaper. "So I made him watch the best." (Black, ESPN.com)

Hmm … makes for an interesting connection between O'Leary and McCarthy.

The UCF Athletics Association has borrowed $7 million to begin construction on four women's athletics facilities, including an aquatics center scheduled to open in fall 2005.

Spelling out some details at a UCFAA board meeting on campus Friday, Athletic Director Steve Orsini said the loan also will allow the association to finish off the school's softball complex and to construct a new boathouse on Lake Pickett for the rowing team.

It already has finished one project, resurfacing the track for the women's track team.

"Hopefully, we'll see plans soon and see dirt flying," Orsini said, noting a team of architects and construction firms have been assembled for those athletic projects and others.

The association borrowed the money against future restricted student fees earmarked for gender-equity issues, he said.

If the construction schedule is kept, Orsini will hire a women's swimming coach for UCF's new program this fall with an aim toward competing in Conference USA in 2005-06 …

… The Golden Knights already have reached their ticket revenue goal for 2003-04 and say they believe they'll be about $100,000 ahead after basketball season. Football was about $80,000 over projections despite a 3-9 season, Orsini said.

UCF President John Hitt said Orsini will detail in the spring his plan to pay for a pending move to C-USA, construction of myriad facilities, the addition of more scholarship athletes and salary increases.

"It's not zero risk, but it's pretty minimal, and the potential rewards are great," Hitt said.

"I understand there's some nervousness, but the people who are aren't looking at the revenue but are focusing on the expenses."

Orsini said the association is negotiating to borrow money from the school to pay for immediate upgrades. (Schmadtke, Sentinel)

Sounds good to me.

Offensive line coach Joe Gilbert has taken the same position at the University of Central Florida after three years at UT.

I got to talk to Joe this afternoon in his office, as he prepared to make the move. The lure of sunny Florida and more than doubling his current salary, was too much to turn down. He will be recruiting northern Florida for UCF and also going after the top 25 to 30 offensive linemen in the nation.

Joe also told me that UCF's commitment to football, in a financial sense, was very strong. At this week's signing day ceremonies, the school had 500 people paying $100 a plate.

Gilbert was one of my favorite UT assistants, because he was always upbeat and friendly. He had the respect of his players, who truly cared for him.

He was an exceptional O line coach. Just think of the protection that Bruce Gradkowski had this past season. And he was a great recruiter. He brought in six players in this current class including standouts like Andre Bouldin, Jalen Parmale and Andrew Decker. Other outstanding players he recruited include tight end Josh Powell, defensive tackle Patrick Clark and tailback Astin Martin. (Myers, ToledoRockets.com)

And, from another Toledo website …

Today UT made a public announcement confirming that Gilbert was indeed gone. In an article written by Mark Myers in the Rocket Report, Mark said that Gilbert ”was always upbeat and friendly, and that he had the respect of his players, who truly cared for him.” I echo Mark’s words. In the times that I had conversations with Gilbert, he always had something positive to say and his positive outlook carried over to the football team.

Gilbert is an excellent teacher of offensive line techniques and he will be missed in that regard, but a real forte has been his ability to recruit quality student athletes for Toledo. In terms of recruiting, Gilbert has been to Coach Amstutz what Amstutz was to Gary Pinkel, a gifted recruiter.

Since becoming a member of the Toledo staff in 2001, Gilbert has been “The Man,” usually responsible for signing between five and seven members of any one class. This year he successfully recruited and signed Andrew Decker, Greg Hay, Bret Kern, Jalen Parmele, and Sean Zabinski.

I always thought that if Rob Spence, left the program, Gilbert would be a logical choice to succeed him as the offensive coordinator. Joe handled that position at Maine for three years (1996-1999) before moving on to become the head coach at Mansfield University in Pennsylvania for the 2000 season. His departure leaves some big shoes to be filled. (Janiszewski, ToledoRocketFans.com)

He sure sounds like a good one.

Brian Miller will play first base and pitch in relief. Miller, a former Science Hill all-star quarterback, attended Central Florida, where he played football. (Richardson, Elizabethton (TN) Star)

He left last summer to be with his sick mother. He would have been a 5th year senior last season. He's now playing baseball at Milligan College (in his hometown of Johnson City, TN).

Huskies offensive lineman signs scholarship with University of Central Florida

When he started playing high school football, Ryan Karhut figured he'd be lucky to make it as far as the junior level.

After finding some success in the trenches of the Edmonton Huskies offensive line, Karhut thought he might have an outside shot at playing some college ball. Quite frankly, says the Spruce Grove product, the next step he's about to take is simply a dream come true.

With three years of All-Canadian play with the Huskies bolstering his image, the CJFL's top lineman in 2003 deserves the full-ride deal he signed Wednesday with the University of Central Florida Golden Knights. Though the 22-year-old tackle only qualifies for two years of eligibility under the NCAA's Division I rules, UCF has given him a four-year scholarship - the final two will be spent as a student-assistant coach.

"It feels very much the same as when I joined the Huskies, like I was getting in on the ground floor of building something big," said Karhut.

"My whole life I've dreamt of playing in the States, playing top-notch football against the best competition, so there was no way I could say no."

Read more …

There is a different attitude in and around the UCF baseball program this season. After a disappointing 2003 campaign that ended with a 31-25 record, the Golden Knights have are poised to return to the top of the Atlantic Sun conference and as one of the elite programs in the nation.

From the team chemistry to the infusion of more talent and quality depth both in the field and on the mound, the Golden Knights in 2004 have the makings of another championship club.
Head coach Jay Bergman, entering his 22nd season at the helm, is excited about his team’s chances in 2004 and likes the makeup of his club. “I think we have had a great change of attitude on the team,” stated Bergman. “Coaches call it chemistry, and I really feel that this team has great chemistry.”

After winning two consecutive A-Sun titles in 2001 and 2002, the 2004 team is primed to return to the top of the conference and earn a spot in the NCAA Championships.

One area that jumps out right away on the 2004 club is the team speed. “Speed is a real factor that we have this year,” stated Bergman. Last season, we just did not have the team speed that we possess this season.”

“The best thing about our 2004 club is the depth we have. We have added quality depth from last season and now have the ability to be flexible with the lineup and with the number of quality pitchers we have.”

Read more …


And, here is a baseball preview article by Scott Wallin of Pegasus Magazine.

Earlier Thursday, O'Leary confirmed that offensive lineman Norm Lewis, linebacker Antoine Poe and linebacker Chad Breeden are done with football at UCF. Lewis (shoulder) and Poe (neck) are done for medical reasons, Breeden for reasons O'Leary declined to disclose.

Two other players, guard Seth Ulsh (knee) and receiver Andre Sumpter (knee), will miss spring practice. Both should be healthy for two-a-days in August. (Schmadtke, Sentinel)

That explains where the extra scholarships came from.

BTW, Lewis and Poe will still have their education (tuition, room and board) paid for. They just aren't being counted for the 85-scholarship limit purposes. Athletes who suffer career-ending injuries aren't kicked to the curb.

For UCF football Coach George O'Leary, the hard part is over.

At a press conference yesterday, O'Leary announced that 21 student-athletes will be added to UCF's roster after a successful recruiting campaign. Despite getting off to a late start due to a change in coaching, the Knights received some much-needed additions to their offensive and defensive lines.

"I want to bring players in that fit what I want as far as character, education and athletic ability that will grow with the program," O'Leary said.

With only eight offensive linemen on the current roster, O'Leary and offensive coordinator Tim Salem knew where the Knights' biggest hole was.

"I think number one, that when we looked at the class when we got here in January, I thought the areas of concern were offensive line, defensive line and the corner position either through attrition or graduation with this senior class coming up," O'Leary said. "That is where we spent the bulk of our scholarships.

"We only have eight back. We only have seven practicing this Spring. Seth [Ulsh] is still out with a knee injury. Normally, for an ideal situation, you want to have 15 offensive linemen in the program. Obviously some of these freshmen are going to have some playing time. It's something that we're going to have to look at quickly and make a decision quickly."

O'Leary's staff reeled in nine offensive linemen, five defensive linemen and defensive backs, one running back and one quarterback.

"We ended up fairly well with the numbers we wanted to attain," O'Leary said. "Basically the coaches, with the limitations that we had and the time restraints, went out and did an out standing job, as far as getting the athletes we wanted to come to this school."

The bulk of this year's recruits are from Florida, but recruiting coordinator Brian Polian and the rest of the assistant coaches were able to pull some players from Georgia, Ohio, Louisiana, Pennsylvania, South Carolina and Canada.

Read more …

Now George O'Leary has no old ties to UCF on his coaching staff.

O'Leary on Thursday fired receivers coach Sean Beckton after he and Beckton could not come to an agreement on Beckton's new contact. Beckton confirmed the firing, and UCF officials were ready to release it by day's end.

"I always saw myself as a UCF coach," Beckton said. "I loved the staff I was on and I loved being under Coach O'Leary. I know they'll win games."

O'Leary did not return a call for comment.

Beckton, a Hall of Famer as a UCF receiver, was the lone holdover from former coach Mike Kruczek's staff. Kruczek was dismissed Nov. 10.

Beckton, who was a Golden Knights player from 1987-90, joined Gene McDowell's staff in 1996 and was one of Kruczek's favorite assistants.

O'Leary was hired Dec. 8 and offered Beckton the chance to stay, and there was little hesitation on Beckton's part.

"I appreciate Coach O'Leary and the opportunities he gave me, although it was a short time," Beckton said. "He made a business decision and so did I."

The dismissal came as O'Leary prepared to announce Joe Gilbert as his new offensive line coach. Gilbert has been coaching dominant offensive lines at Toledo.

Gilbert was on campus Thursday. He will replace Dave DeGuglielmo, who resigned two weeks ago to join the staff of the New York Giants. (Schmadtke, Sentinel)

This is very upsetting to me. I could not have been more wrong (it's the "side note"). I always liked Beckton and thought he was the only guy on the old staff worth keeping. He had a young unit last year and they were decent considering all the QB problems we had. And, four of his guys are in the NFL. I don't think "lowballing" a guy like Beckton during contract negotiations is good form. He's a UCF HOF'er for crying out loud. This is not cool.

Now for the good news, Joe Gilbert is an outstanding offensive line coach. I just love this line from Schmadtke, "Gilbert has been coaching dominant offensive lines at Toledo."

Joe Gilbert's bio on UTRockets.com


And, the "official" press release …

O'Leary Announces Staff Changes at UCF

UCF football coach George O’Leary announced two staff changes Thursday with the hiring of offensive line coach Joe Gilbert and the dismissal of receivers coach Sean Beckton.

“I’m very happy with the hiring of Joe Gilbert,” O’Leary said. “He has 17 years of college experience and I’m very impressed with the way his offensive lines have played. We took our time and made sure we hired the right person after we lost the previous coach to the New York Giants.”

Gilbert spent the previous three seasons as the offensive line coach at the University of Toledo where the Rockets posted a 27-11 record and finished among the top 15 in the nation in total offense each year. During that time Toledo won a MAC Championship, two MAC West Division titles and made two appearances in the Motor City Bowl. The Rockets won the 2001 Motor City Bowl and finished with a 10-2 record and a number 22 national ranking.

Gilbert also has experience as a coordinator and as head coach. He spent the 2000 season as head coach at Mansfield (Penn.) University and prior to that he was offensive coordinator at the University of Maine. He also has experience at Northeastern University and the University of Pennsylvania and University of Albany.
O’Leary cited philosophical differences in his decision to relieve Beckton of his duties. “I believe it’s in the best interest of the UCF football program that we part ways at this time,” O’Leary said.

Beckton, a full-time coach at UCF since 1996, had been the only coach retained from last year’s staff under Mike Kruczek. He played for the Golden Knights from 1987-90 and began his collegiate coaching career as a graduate assistant at UCF in 1992. (UCFAthletics.com)

I still don't feel any better. :(

During his tenure at Georgia Tech, coach George O'Leary became known for his defenses.

This season, O'Leary is hoping a couple of Cobb County defensive backs will be able to help him add to his reputation.

Marietta strong safety Jason Venson and South Cobb free safety Keith Williams are looking forward to their opportunity to show O'Leary and the Central Florida Golden Knights what they can do.

"I like that he's defensive-minded coach. I'm a defensive-minded player, so right there we clicked automatically," Venson said. "Defense wins games; that hooked me on him in the beginning and Orlando, it doesn't get any better than that. If you come from Orlando and you don't like it, something's wrong with you."

Rivals.com rates Venson, the Marietta Daily Journal's Defensive Player of the Year, as the 39th-best prospect in Georgia after a season where he had 110 tackles, an interception and five blocked kicks. He also returned three of those kicks for touchdowns last season. He should have the chance to blocks kicks for the Golden Knights pretty soon.

"Special teams-wise, they want to let me be the one that comes off the corners to block punts and kicks and that's all I did in high school, so I figured 'hey, see it in college," Venson said. "(I bring) speed and determination. I want to win more than anybody out there. They needed speed and somebody who wanted to win and play, I think that's me."

Williams recorded 100 tackles last season with a 52-yard interception return for a touchdown, two forced fumbles and three recovered fumbles. He was one of the Eagles' leading tacklers and forced other teams to run away from his side of the field.

"The new thing they're bringing in is a multiple defense. Sometimes they're going to blitz and they'll blitz the corners, not just the linebackers and D-line. They're bringing different people plus the secondary," Williams said. "It complements my style of play. I can bring aggressive mentality and smart play. I can come in and make a big impact on defense and hopefully get some playing time. They're going to try me out at corner first and if I do well at that, maybe I can get some PT at that. If not, I'll end up playing safety."

The Golden Knights, 3-9 last year, are looking for defensive linemen and secondary players especially, along with people for the offensive line.

"When we looked at the class we got here in January, I thought the areas of concern to me were the offensive line, defensive line and the corner position either through attrition or graduation with the senior class coming up," O'Leary said at his press conference Wednesday. "That is where we spent the bulk of our scholarships and we ended up bringing in nine offensive linemen, five defensive linemen and five defensive backs. Next year's recruiting will be more on a positional basis and hopefully help all of our positions out."

With a new coach and new system, there are plenty of chances for Venson and Williams to beat out some of the veterans and earn regular positions. Next year, the secondary will be a little slim so the Cobb pair could see the field.

"If I have to redshirt, I'll redshirt but I don't wan to," Williams said. "I want to get experience on the playing field as soon as possible."

The Golden Knights will play one more year in the Mid-American Conference this year before moving to Conference USA in 2005. That not only gives Williams and Venson a chance for more exposure but to play against C.J. Barrows and Gerald McRath of McEachern again, when UCF plays Southern Mississippi.

"Me and C.J. again," Venson said. "We've been talking about that. I told C.J. 'it never ends.' We went at it in middle school, went at it again in high school, now we're going to be going at it again when we go to Central Florida and Southern Miss."

Williams and Venson will also be more comfortable when they move in, helped by knowing somebody else from the area.

"I'm going to talk to him and see if he wants to room with me," Venson said. "It's nice to have somebody you can relate to instead of going out there by yourself and not knowing anybody." (Hines, Marietta Daily Journal)

MDJ photo: Local high school football players, clockwise from left, Aaron Kelly, Jeremy Ciulla, C.J. Barrows, John Morrison, Keith Williams, Todd Tate, Gerald McRath, Jason Venson and Hamilton Holliday all signed National Letters of Intent to play at Division I-A colleges.

There is one comforting thought in Leger Douzable's mind as he heads to a reeling Central Florida program to play football next season.

He has been here before.

Douzable, who signed his letter of intent to join the Golden Knights on Wednesday morning during a ceremony at Alonso High, knows what it is like to join a team with a sub-par record. After all, when he joined the Ravens varsity team it was coming off an 0-10 season.

Alonso went 2-8 his junior year, then 8-3 this season, including the school's first trip to the regional playoffs. Now he hopes to spread a little Ravens magic around Orlando. UCF was 3-9 this season, fired its coach with two games remaining and finished on a four-game losing streak. If anyone could use someone with experience in that type of situation, it is the Knights.

"It's nice to know you've done it before," said Douzable, a 6-foot-5, 270-pound defensive tackle.

Douzable had been talking to Florida A&M, Gannon (Pa.) University and South Florida but decided on his only campus visit that Central Florida was the place for him.

He said there was no one thing that put UCF over the top - including the $7-million, state-of-the-art strength and conditioning center to be completed next year - it was just an overall sense.

Read more …

I think someone should tell him that the football building was completed at the end of last summer.

Tampa Tribune photo: Alonso coaches Jeremy Earle, left, shakes hands with Leger Douzable, and coaches Denny Haywood and Lee Meitzler shake hands with John Forbes and James Rue on Wednesday.


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More …

Centennial offensive tackle Dominic Ignelzi (Central Florida) and receiver Kyle Langford (Florida Atlantic) both sounded relieved.

Ignelzi said he "kind of slept" on Tuesday night, but said he enjoyed signing the letter-of-intent and calling Golden Knights coach George O'Leary.

"The call after to tell coach that I had signed and faxed the letter over was exciting," Ignelzi said. "It's nice to think about going to a town (Orlando) where there's actually stuff to do." (Santucci, Vero Beach Press-Journal)

HOMEBOUND: One reason Northeast offensive lineman Eric Hodge signed with UCF was so he could be near his older brother, George. Last year, George, 19, was involved in an accident and pinned between two cars. He now uses a wheelchair.

"I try to take care of him as much as I can," said Eric, 18. "I want to be close and come home as much as possible." (St. Petersburg Times Staff Writers)

Offensive linemen Carlo Rossi and Mike Fuchs are headed to UCF and Air Force, respectively …

… Rossi, who wants to major in digital animation, is a 6-foot-6 (and still growing), 290-pound tackle. He was first recruited by UCF during the college football season. After Mike Kruczek was fired as head coach, he lost contact with UCF and drove up to the school in December with a tape.

By the time he returned home, UCF coach George O'Leary had called him twice.

"He was real thorough and explained everything," said Fuchs, who was also impressed with UCF's new football facility that opened last fall and includes a state-of-the-art weight room.

Rossi was also being recruited by Akron, Toledo and West Georgia, but said he wanted to go to UCF from the start. (Fuoco, The [Lakeland] Ledger)

Defensive lineman Emeka Okammor of Southern Lab and defensive back Johnell Neal of Redemptorist signed with Central Florida. Okammor had 42 tackles, including seven for loss despite missing part of the season with a stress fracture. Neal had 32 tackles and three interceptions …

… Okammor said a last-minute glitch nearly sunk plans to sign with Orlando-based UCF in a ceremony at SLHS.

"I looked down and realized my mom hadn't signed the papers," Okammor said. "So I had to go find her at her job. Then I signed. I'm excited. I guess you could say I'm going to the place (Orlando) everybody wants to go." (Fambrough, The [Baton Rouge] Advocate)

With scholarship offers from Hampton and South Carolina State, Andrews defensive lineman Jeremy Geathers could have been the 10th area standout to sign on Wednesday.

But his family decided it was best to hold off on making a decision.

That's partly because Central Florida will decide today if it wants to offer Geathers a full scholarship.

"They are waiting on coach George O'Leary to make a decision," Andrews coach Gerald Baxter said of the Golden Knights. "If they do bring him down and offer, I'm almost willing to bet that he will go there." (Pompey, Myrtle Beach Sun News)

Jeremy is a 6-3, 250-pound defensive end and he is the son of former NFL lineman Jumpy Geathers (a pass-rushing specialist with the Atlanta Falcons, Washington Redskins, New Orleans Saints and Denver Broncos). His cousin is former Georgia Bulldogs DE Robert Geathers, who recently declared early for the NFL draft. Robert Geathers Sr. (Jeremy's uncle) also played in the NFL, as a defensive tackle for the Buffalo Bills. He sure has the bloodlines.


Finally, here are Josh Sitton's photos from Signing Day and his recruiting visit..

Coach George O'Leary emphasized linemen in his first class with the Knights.

By Alan Schmadtke | Sentinel Staff Writer
Posted February 5, 2004

UCF counts as its recruiting base a state filled with skill-position players and speed players.

On Wednesday the Golden Knights got few of either --- on purpose. Signaling a new direction for its football program and some changes in recruiting philosophy, UCF Coach George O'Leary introduced a larger-than-predicted signing class stocked with linemen and void of receivers for the first time in memory.

O'Leary's first class at UCF includes Wednesday's 21 high school signees, one mid-year signee and a transfer from Kentucky who can practice but not play in 2004.

As predicted, the class is weighted with 14 linemen, nine on offense, five on defense. Included is University High quarterback Kyle Isreal and Seminole High offensive lineman Mike Lavoie, the only recruits from Central Florida. UCF signed no players from Brevard County, a place where it swarmed in recent years.

"We brought in big guys. I like big guys," O'Leary said. "The train's starting to move. We've got to find people to lay the tracks, not guys to hop on the train."

The class is unlike any the Knights have seen recently and are unlikely to see again in the near future. There are no junior-college signees, and the geographic scope of the class reflects an coaching staff assembled from Louisiana, Georgia, South Carolina and Buffalo.

UCF signed its first Louisiana players since 1997 in Baton Rouge cornerback Johnell Neal and defensive lineman Emaka Okammor. It signed Georgians Jason Venson, a cornerback from Marietta, Keith Williams, a cornerback from Austell, and Russell Phillips, a defensive lineman from Douglasville. It signed offensive lineman L.J. Anderson from Sumter, S.C. And it signed offensive lineman Ryan Karhut and defensive lineman Keith Shologan from Edmonton, Alberta.

With only eight blockers healthy for spring (possibly nine healthy veterans for the fall), O'Leary wants to travel with 10 or 11 come September. That means one or two first-year offensive linemen will make UCF's depth chart.

As a rule, that's unlikely, but he is counting on security in numbers. UCF needed more.

"I think less mistakes are made with linemen than they are with skill guys. You take a big body that's 6-6, 285 to 310 that throws his body around. You're going to get him stronger. You're going to get him quicker. And eventually they're going to help you. You don't want to make speed mistakes with skill kids, because you end up stuck with scholarships. They can't help you."

Fullback Jared Spivey of Savannah, Ga., is part of this class.

In terms of scholarship counting, so is defensive end Kareem Reid. A Coral Springs native, he transferred from Kentucky, starting school at UCF last month. He's not eligible for 2004 and will have two years to play two beginning in 2005.

The Knights were hamstrung by timing. O'Leary's staff did not recruit as a group until the first weekend of January. That came after a small staff re-evaluated all their potential recruits.

And by then, many prospects already had their official visits set or even college destinations decided.

Predictably, a great majority of UCF's signees are rated lower than many players the Knights have signed in recent seasons. That fact isn't lost on coaches. That said, they don't care much.

"Beauty is in the eye of the beholder," recruiting coordinator Brian Polian said "Coach firmly believes if we like what we see, and the young man meets the academic criteria and he's got good character, then we're not really concerned. What matters to us is our evaluation."

Before he went back to office late Wednesday, O'Leary raised the bar for himself, announcing he'll assign two coaches to recruit nationally with the goal of getting into living rooms of some of the top players nationally.

"We're going to see if we can convince one or two of those guys to come here," O'Leary said. "We'll see."

Alan Schmadtke can be reached at aschmadtke@orlandosentinel.com.

Seminole lineman Mike Lavoie hugs his mom, Tracy, after becoming 1 of 21 high school players to sign with UCF. (photo)

(From left) Area players Aaron Jones (Florida State), Joe Joseph (Miami), Brandon Siler (Florida) and Kyle Israel (UCF) each chose a different school. (photo)

Orlando Sentinel story link


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Sentinel: School-by-school recruiting rankings (UCF's class is ranked 10/11)

Bill Buchalter grades the state's I-A schools (UCF's class got a 'C')

Never was it clearer that there's a changing of the guard at UCF than Wednesday, when new coach George O'Leary set the course for the future by signing 14 linemen to national letters of intent.

The pass-happy days of Mike Kruczek are a thing of the past now that O'Leary is running the show at UCF. The Golden Knights' coach prefers a more physical style of play centered around running the football and playing stingy defense. With that in mind, O'Leary turned his focus to the lines on both sides of the ball, signing nine offensive linemen and five defensive linemen among the 21 players that committed to UCF on Wednesday.

"We brought in big guys," O'Leary said. "I like big guys. You can always find a place for them to help you. Where you make mistakes are with your skilled guys because if they aren't fast enough, you are stuck with them for three years. Linemen, you always find a place for them because of the natural depth of your team."

O'Leary, hired in December to replace the fired Kruczek, got a late start on recruiting his first class at UCF. And for the first time in years, UCF did not sign a wide receiver. Instead, the Golden Knights ended up with five defensive backs, a running back and a quarterback to go with the 14 linemen.

Read more …


AP: O'Leary signs first recruiting class at UCF

What George O'Leary lacked in time, he made up for in size with his first recruiting class at Central Florida.

Nine offensive linemen and five defensive linemen make up the 21 players who signed letters of intent with UCF on Wednesday. Five defensive backs, a quarterback and a running back also were among the class.

Recruiting was rushed because O'Leary got a late start. He was hired away from the NFL's Minnesota Vikings, whose season didn't end until Dec. 28, then suffered a mild heart attack three days later. By the time O'Leary got to work Jan. 5, his staff had exactly a month to hit the recruiting trail.

"The coaches, for the time restraints, did an outstanding job as far as getting the athletes that we wanted," O'Leary said.

Read more …

Few boosters carry most of the load for UCF athletics

By Alan Schmadtke | Sentinel Staff Writer
Posted February 5, 2004

In its modest athletic history, UCF has given proper names to three facilities.

One is the baseball stadium, named in honor of Jay Bergman, the school's decorated, longtime coach.

The other two carry Wayne Densch's name.

Densch made millions as a beer distributor in Central Florida, became a behind-the-scenes philanthropist locally and embraced the Golden Knights.

In 1986, his $1 million gift paid for most of the athletic department's scholarships at a time the department was recovering from a $1.2 million debt.

"If it wasn't for that first one," former athletic director Steve Sloan said of Densch's gifts, "UCF might not have athletics now."

It was the largest one-time donation in UCF's history. Sixteen years later, the Wayne Densch Trust donated another $2.5 million, this time to help build a new football building.

And that ends the history of deep-pocketed athletic boosters at UCF.

Until recently.

Late last year, former Golden Knights football player Harry deAntonio pledged a $1 million gift for football, then made a sizable down payment on it. When completed, deAntonio's gift will be the school's third seven-figure donation for athletics.

"I've been around long enough to know if you want to grow like they want to grow, you can't just depend on one person," said Leonard Williams, who has handled Densch's $22 million trust since his death 10 years ago. "They want to get bigger, and bigger means more people. That's business."

Stories such as deAntonio's stoke the Knights' sense of possibility.

Although he was a solid, multiposition player for UCF in the early 1980s, deAntonio lost his connection to the program after leaving school.

He stayed in touch with his former roommate, longtime Knights assistant Alan Gooch. He traded occasional calls with former teammates Scott Ryerson and Bill Giovanetti.

While building his business in Atlanta -- one that marries businesses to vacant office space -- those calls were pretty much the extent of his connection to UCF football.

Then one day he decided he wanted a real UCF helmet. He called the football office, where a secretary told him the Knights didn't have extra helmets to give out.

"Well, I'm willing to make a contribution for the helmet," deAntonio said.

Long off UCF's radar and vice versa, deAntonio wrote a five-figure check with a sweep of the pen that simultaneously caused him to catch Knights fever and their booster club to take quick notice. Little more than a year later, his seven-figure pledge is in place.

Like most large pledges, he cut a six-figure check and committed to 10 years of annual payments.

His donation is the lift-off point for a $16.5 million capital campaign for athletics, part of a university-wide push to upgrade facilities.

DeAntonio, 41, told athletics campaign chairperson Phyllis Klock he'll help her recruit donors and money to meet the goal. Although admittedly unhappy Gooch wasn't protected as a UCF assistant, it didn't diminish his enthusiasm. He said he wants to find one new booster a day, every day, for the foreseeable future.

"I'm telling people what finally sold me: 'You need to get back involved with your school. You're successful because of what they did for you back in the day,' " he said. "I look at this as simply helping one kid, one kid who comes to UCF and whose life is changed forever."

Party led to big gift

UCF athletics' biggest benefactor grew up in rural Kentucky and called Chicago home. Wayne Milford Densch came to Orlando because of business and stayed because of the weather, and he kept making money.

In 1960, Densch gave up his Anheuser-Busch distributorship in Waukeegan, Ill., for one in Orlando. The company then went from the No. 3 distributor in town to Anheuser-Busch's sixth-biggest nationally.

UCF was changed forever when in 1985, the Knights' new football coach was invited to a lavish birthday party for Densch. Gene McDowell, a former All-America linebacker at Florida State and assistant under FSU's Bobby Bowden, looked around the party and spied all the blue-chip players of another sort. Business leaders, politicians and social butterflies were all there.

"Wayne didn't hunt or fish. Wayne's hobby was people. He liked people," Williams said. "If he saw someone that needed a hand to get up, he'd give them a hand up."

Densch also liked sports, which put UCF in a special position. The Knights had sports, and they were poor.

At the party, a mutual friend introduced Densch, then 67, to McDowell.

A year later, Densch gave UCF $1 million to pay for athletic scholarships. It was the largest single gift in university history, and when the school completed a two-building athletic center, it named the center after Densch.

The magnitude still can be measured. Sixteen years later, the Golden Knights Club raised about $775,000 for its annual fund for scholarships. UCF's projected scholarship cost is about $4.2 million. (The NCAA values each UCF scholarship at $10,672.)

Densch died in 1994 at age 77, leaving millions in holdings that generate annual income from stock, bond and treasury holdings, according to Internal Revenue Service filings. Williams, a longtime snack-foods businessman whom Densch had brought in as an adviser, then chief executive officer, became sole trustee of the Densch trust.

He continues Densch's works through the trust and charity. Much of the money goes to senior citizens and the needy. Another chunk went to UCF.

After a long courtship -- "it took about 12 to 15 breakfast meetings," Sloan said -- Sloan and former Golden Knights Club executive Tom Scott persuaded Williams to give another gift to UCF. This time it was $2.5 million from the Densch Trust, funding more than a third of the cost of the Knights' Wayne Densch Sports Center, which opened in August.

"Have you seen that [head coaches'] office? I've been in CEOs' offices that aren't that nice," Williams said. "How about that desk? Wouldn't you like to have a desk like that?"

More donors needed

UCF Athletic Director Steve Orsini says there always will be a place in east Orlando for Williams, but that's not the whole picture. At some point, the Knights need more than one or two big donors.

Orsini's budget, currently at $17 million, is expected to grow close to $25 million within two years. That's still a leap from where Florida ($56.9 million) and Florida State ($37.3 million) are, but it's the same ballpark as schools in Conference USA, UCF's athletic home starting in 2005-06.

In the past two years, several circumstances have come together, giving UCF's fund-raisers hope that they can collect more money faster than they ever have.

Sloan's departure in the spring of 2002 allowed UCF President John Hitt to hire an athletic director whose primary purpose is to raise money. Orsini, a former certified public accountant hired from Georgia Tech, came in that summer.

Sloan was successful in cultivating Williams and other key boosters, and he was popular. But he was hired to build UCF's football schedule, to fix a once-gaping gender-equity problem and to bolster morale.

Benefitting from Sloan's groundwork and from a conference football schedule, Orsini has more time to be aggressive in his pursuit of donors.

"I spend a significant amount of my time talking to donors," Orsini said. "That's what's going to get us where we want to go."

Last year UCF's Board of Trustees approved the creation of UCF Athletics Association Inc., a privatized version of the athletic department. As a nonprofit, UCFAA requires a board of directors. Hitt, who appointed the board and serves as its president, smattered it with campus leaders and community leaders "who have been supportive of UCF."

By "supportive," Hitt means financially gracious. As board members, those community leaders are expected to keep giving money at a high level -- and to find more people like themselves.

"That was by design," Hitt said. "It's appropriate that people that are making decisions about athletics have a stake in the direction it takes. They'll want to see their money -- and other people's money -- invested in a wise way."

Other changes affect the Golden Knights Club. UCF's boosters used to operate independently. Recently, the club was placed under the UCF Foundation, the university's chief fund-raiser. It created the job of major gift officer and put it under the foundation, hoping to foster more donor relationships.

Hitt said his hope is that the move will mean athletics and other fund-raisers on campus would be better organized, more efficient and more profitable. Several groups, including the boosters, worried about poaching. Too many of them were hunting money from the same big donors. Now they work more in unison, Orsini said.

Boosters also split duties and added bodies. Tim Leonard, once responsible for running the boosters' day-to-day operations as executive director and for raising the bulk of the money, was appointed the major gift officer for athletics. He now spends all his time talking well-heeled supporters into giving big money for athletics.

Most recently, Orsini and UCF Foundation President Bob Holmes hired Gooch as the Golden Knights Club's new executive director. He's responsible for raising annual funds.

After 21 years at the school as a player and coach, Gooch may know more former UCF athletes than anyone. What's more, his recruiting skills, long proven in living rooms, could translate well to boardrooms.

Given UCF's financial goals, Leonard and Gooch have challenges. Conference realignment accelerated them.

In addition to the capital campaign, which does not include a convocation center, UCFAA -- over the next 18 months -- must pay off about $2 million of the $2.6 million to leave the Atlantic Sun and Mid-American conferences and to join C-USA.

"At one point, the plan was to take a break to build up our [booster] numbers to get ready for the next round of conference expansion," Leonard said. "We're not planning on any breaks. We're going hard all the time."

The GKC had 2,000 members in 2003, up from 1,850 a year earlier. More to the point, the number of bigger donors went up -- from 13 to 20 Diamond donors ($7,000 and above) and from 18 to 25 Silver donors ($3,000 to $6,999).

Orsini, Leonard and deAntonio promise more boosters with deeper pockets. The foundation and the GKC unearthed "between 10 and 20" potential high-dollar donors, Orsini said.

"I'm not at liberty to really say who the next Wayne Densch or Leonard Williams will be here, but we have people ready," Orsini said. "We cannot get to $16.5 million with one or two people. We have a plan, and it's only beginning."


UCF Booster Profile

• Name: Harry deAntonio
  
  
• Age: 41
  
  
• Job/title: Owner, Icon Commercial in Atlanta.
  
  
• Biggest donation: $300,000-plus (on a $1 million pledge).
  
  
• Why does he help?: "UCF was a very positive experience for me," he said. "Football there changed my life."

Alan Schmadtke can be reached at aschmadtke@orlandosentinel.com

Good Knight (photo)

Orlando Sentinel story link

ORLANDO - UCF head football coach George O’Leary announced the signing of 21 student-athletes to National Letters of Intent Wednesday on National Signing Day. The new class of UCF prospects features nine offensive linemen, five defensive linemen along with five defensive backs and one running back and quarterback.

“I think No. 1 that when we looked at the class when we got here in January, I thought the areas of concern to me were offensive line, defensive line and the corner position either through attrition or graduation with this senior class coming up,” stated O’Leary. “That is where we spent the bulk of our scholarships and we ended up bringing in nine offensive linemen, five defensive linemen and five defensive backs. We are very pleased with that and we were very happy to have another quarterback join the ranks.

“I was very pleased to get our quarterback from the local high school and I do think we filled all of the areas we needed some help from a depth standpoint,” added O’Leary. “Next year’s recruiting will be more on a positional basis and hopefully help all of our positions out. I thought this current class needed to spend time bringing in linemen on both sides of the ball.”

The 2004 recruiting class for the Golden Knights features 11 players from the state of Florida along with three players from Georgia, two from Louisiana and Canada along with one player each from Pennsylvania, Ohio and South Carolina.


2004 UCF Football Recruiting Class (23)

L.J. Anderson, 6-4, 300, OL, Sumter, S.C./Sumter HS
Augustus Ashley, 5-11, 190, DB, Jacksonville, Fla./First Coast HS
Leger Douzable, 6-5, 270, DL, Tampa, Fla./Alonso HS
Curtis Francis, 6-0, 185, RB, Green Cove Springs, Fla./Clay HS
Eric Hodge, 6-6, 308, OL, St. Petersburg, Fla./Northeast HS
Dominic Ignelzi, 6-4, 310, OL, Port St. Lucie, Fla./West Centennial HS
Kyle Israel, 6-3, 230, QB, Orlando, Fla./University HS
Ryan Karhut, 6-4, 280, OL, Spruce Grove, Alberta/ Spruce Grove Composite
Mike Lavoie, 6-5, 293, OL, Sanford, Fla./Seminole HS
Johnell Neal, 5-10, 180, DB, Baton Rouge, La./ Redemptionist HS
Emeka Okammor, 6-1, 300, DL, Baton Rouge, La./Southern Lab HS
Russell Phillips, 6-3, 245, DL, Douglasville, Ga./Frederick Douglass HS
Sha’reff Rashad, 6-1, 180, DB, Jacksonville, Fla./Episcopal HS
Kareem Reid*, 6-5, 265, DL, Coral Springs, Fla./Coral Springs HS (Kentucky transfer)
Frank Reina, 6-5, 275, OL, Miami, Fla./Palmetto HS
Carlo Rossi, 6-6, 285, OL, Lakeland, Fla./George Jenkins HS
Keith Shologan, 6-2, 275, DL, Edmonton, Alberta/Spring Grove Composite
Josh Sitton, 6-5, 295, DL, Pensacola, Fla./Pensacola Catholic HS
Kyle Smith, 6-3, 295, OL, Brockway, Pa./Brockway HS
Jared Spivey*, 6-3, 210, FB, Savannah, Ga./Benedictine Military School
Kyle Storey, 6-6, 280, OL, Dublin, Ohio/Dublin Coffman HS
Jason Venson, 5-11, 195, DB, Marietta, Ga./Marietta HS
Keith Williams, 5-11, 190, DB, Austell, Ga./South Cobb HS

* denotes already enrolled

Listing of signees with bios on each student-athlete.

Sticking with the program that stuck with him, Northeast's Eric Hodge said he will sign with the University of Central Florida this morning on national signing day.

A 6-foot-6, 330-pound offensive lineman, Hodge drew attention from Florida, Nebraska and Tennessee due to his size.

But many of those big-time programs started to lose interest because Hodge did not have a qualifying test score on the ACT until January. Once he qualified, Hodge narrowed his choices to Youngstown State and UCF.

Hodge, 18, chose the Golden Knights after coach George O'Leary came to his house. (Putnam, St. Petersburg Times)

Eric definitely has great size. I hope they can take that size and mold him into a good right tackle. He was an honorable mention on the 2003 All-Suncoast football team.

Pinellas-News photo: Marquel Harrington (14), Jeremy Frederick (10), Eric Hodge (76), and Jerrell Lamb (22) surround assistant coach Jim Cornillaud as they verify a play call from the sideline.

Other Jenkins players signing are running back Tyease Thompson (Iowa State), offensive lineman Carlo Rossi (UCF) and offensive lineman Mike Fuchs (Air Force). (Fuoco, The [Lakeland] Ledger)

Carlo is 6-6, 295.

UCF Commitments (20):

Jared Spivey, FB, 6-3, 210, 4.6, Savannah (GA) Benedictine Military School (already enrolled)

Augustus Ashley, CB, 5-11, 185, 4.49, Jacksonville First Coast
Dominic Ignelzi, OT, 6-5, 315, 5.2, Port St. Lucie West Centennial
Keith Shologan, DT, 6-2, 275, 4.9, Edmonton (AB) Spruce Grove Composite
Michael Lavoie, OG, 6-4, 290, 5.3, Sanford Seminole
Ryan Karhut, OL, 6-5, 295, 5.25, Edmonton (AB) Parkland / Edmonton Huskies
Leger Douzable, DT, 6-5, 275, Tampa Alonso
Keith Williams, DB, 5-11, 190, 4.5, Austell (GA) South Cobb
Frank Reina, OT, 6-6, 270, 5.0, Miami Palmetto
Johnell Neal, CB, 5-11, 170, 4.4, Baton Rouge (LA) Redemptorist
Curtis Francis, RB, 5-11, 180, 4.4, Green Cove Springs Clay
Josh Sitton, DT, 6-4, 295, 5.0, Pensacola Catholic
Sha'Reff Rashad, DB, 6-1, 190, 4.5, Jacksonville Episcopal
Emeka Okammor, DT, 6-1, 295, 4.8, Baton Rouge (LA) Southern Lab
Jason Venson, CB, 5-11, 190, 4.4, Marietta (GA)
Kyle Israel, QB, 6-3, 235, 4.8, Orlando University
L.J. Anderson, OG, 6-4, 300, 5.0, Sumter (SC)
Russell Phillips, DE, 6-2, 240, 4.9, Atlanta (GA) Douglass
Eric Hodge, OT, 6-6, 330, St. Petersburg Northeast
Carlo Rossi, OT, 6-6, 295, Lakeland George Jenkins

UCFathletics.com, the official athletics website of UCF, will provide up-to-the-minute coverage of Signing Day this Wednesday as the first official recruiting class of George O’Leary and his coaching staff takes shape. Click on UCFathletics.com on National Signing Day for updates on each signee as their letters of intent are officially received.

UCFathletics.com will provide bios on every signee as their letter arrives in the football office.

Wednesday at 3 p.m. George O’Leary will address the Orlando media in the football team meeting room in the Wayne Densch Sports Center to announce the 2004 recruiting class.

UCFathletics.com will have complete coverage of the O’Leary press conference following the event. (UCFAthletics.com)

Update: Ahh don't even bother. They changed their story since yesterday and now it says they will announce all of them at 3 p.m.


.   .   .   .   .   .   .   .


In the spirit of National Signing Day …

Did a 'Canes message board cost them a recruit?

A Lesson For Fans Who Post On Message Boards

This came from Aaron Jones interview. I pulled it out and posted it here so you guys can see the potential repurcussions of the things you sometimes say.

As you know, this is not a police state. We blacklist a lot of people and delete a lot of posts, but we can't be on here 24 hours a day babysitting everybody. We understand that sometimes FSU fans come on here and pretend to be Miami fans to inflame situations. We are doing our best to get rid of them. But just thought you guys would like to see the impression you made on one kid's family.

AARON JONES:
You may already know, my mom got a (subscription) to Warchant and one for CaneSport and I look occasionally, but she's primarily on there. She was reading all this stuff on CaneSport and they just had no loyalty to the players. And then at Florida State even when I was leaning towards Miami they never really had one negative thing to say about me. When I was leaning to Florida State they were like that 'something, something - that little punk - and this and that'. I can't be dealing with people like that. Say I miss a tackle at Miami are they going to be dogging me? I don't really need that. (CaneSport.com)

Interesting huh? I don't understand why "fans" would want to hurt their own school. It's so juvenile to bash a recruit because he didn't choose your school. Only losers allow the decisions of 17-19 year-olds to affect them like that anyway.


Willie Williams' Recruiting Journey

No comments necessary, these are simply classic:

Part 1 | On trip, FSU has Williams' number
Part 2 | Auburn fails to get Williams
Part 3 | UM trip is paradise for Williams
Part 4 | Williams visits Gators; doesn't take the bait

Having star power in high school doesn't guarantee success at the next level.

By Bill Buchalter | Sentinel Staff Writer
Posted February 4, 2004

Scott Joslin was perhaps the greatest high school lineman to play football in Orlando, a dominant blocker for Evans during the Bill Gierke era. Alan Hall was a quarterback wonder at Middleburg High. Linebacker Keith Carter was Florida's No. 1 high school player for South Miami High.

When it came to recruiting, each was a "can't-miss/five-star" prospect.

Alas, each missed.

Joslin signed with Florida but never played a down of college football. Hall went to Miami but ballooned into a 250-pounder and never enjoyed any success. Carter started for one year at Florida State, but an overlooked high school teammate named Derrick Thomas went on to become an All-American at Alabama and a perennial Pro Bowler in the NFL.

What we are trying to tell you on National Signing Day is that recruiting is not an exact science. Four and five stars next to a player's name do not guarantee stardom at the next level.

At their core, recruiting rankings are opinions. Everybody has an opinion, but that doesn't mean those opinions are correct. That includes the Sentinel's opinions on Florida's "best" players and it especially includes the "ranking" of recruiting classes. And fans shouldn't read too much into opinions.

After all, if recruiting rankings equated to wins on the field, Texas would have at least two national titles. And as everyone knows, Texas hasn't even played in a BCS bowl.

There were 14 players who played high school football in Florida on the rosters of the Super Bowl teams. Do you remember Al Wallace in high school? Rod Smart? Asante Samuel? Ted Washington? Anthony Pleasant? The majority of the Floridians in the Super Bowl weren't five-star, four-star or even three-star players in high school. But they're good enough to play in the NFL.

That's something to keep in mind when assessing the talents of your favorite school's recruiting class.

Think about Ray Lewis, perhaps the best linebacker in the NFL. What about Jonathan Vilma, Miami's top linebacker for the past three years? They were relatively unknown high school talents. They certainly aren't unknowns anymore.

Think about former Florida State defensive end Andre Wadsworth, considered perhaps the school's best at the position. A first-round NFL draft pick, Wadsworth was a walk-on coming out of high school in Miami.

Today, Florida will sign Eric Rutledge, a fullback/linebacker from Gainesville P.K. Yonge, a "lab" school for UF's College of Education. A PKY player never will be assigned "five-star" status. Yet PKY grads Willie Jackson, Terry Jackson, Robert Baker and Chris Doering all made their way to the NFL.

UCF recruited an unknown lineman out of Tarpon Springs named Mike Gruttadauria who caught the attention of then-coach Gene McDowell. If he keeps growing, McDowell said at the time, he has a chance to play on Sundays. He kept growing, and now has a Super Bowl ring.

The bottom line? If a recruiting analyst or a newspaper reporter misses on a player -- "Ron Powlus will be an NFL star. Book it." -- it doesn't really matter. But it's different for coaches. Their job is to find athletes who fit their program's needs. If the coaches fail, they're looking for new places of employment.

And that's fact, not opinion.

Sports writer Mike Huguenin contributed to this report. Bill Buchalter can be reached at bbuchalter@orlandosentinel.com.

Orlando Sentinel story link

Salesmanship comes naturally to longtime Seminoles booster

By Josh Robbins | Sentinel Staff Writer
Posted February 4, 2004

TALLAHASSEE -- The stereotype often affixed to major-college athletic boosters, of alumni consumed with winning football games at the expense of academics, does not fit George Langford.

Described by one Florida State professor as "courtly" and "genteel," Langford would rather watch CNN over ESPN, one of his sons said. He and his wife, Marian, also have donated a million dollars to FSU's classics department, another million to the law school and more money to the school's World War II institute. He feels more comfortable behind the wheel of his motor home than in a chartered jet. Langford, 80, never even attended the school that has received significant sums of his money and benefited from countless hours of his time since the late 1960s.

Although Langford enjoys watching Florida State athletic teams win games and championships, he has taken more pride through the years seeing the school develop and grow before his eyes.

"Athletics is the salesman for any university," Langford said. "This was the song that I was singing: 'We are a nice little school without athletics, but if we got athletics, then athletics would be the salesman. And if we get a good program going and can get monies into the boosters, then you get people interested. Then they will give to scholarships as well as to education, outside of participating in athletics.'

"And that's the way it has fallen in place. The salesman has made the sale of the university."

Except for football Coach Bobby Bowden, perhaps no single person has done more to build Florida State sports than Langford. The Tallahassee businessman became involved in Seminoles athletics at a time when the FSU athletic department was struggling financially. Aside from donating some of his own money, Langford helped the department get out of debt by raising money for Seminole Boosters Inc., and helped turn the booster club into a modern nonprofit organization.

"I think any solid foundation begins with a cornerstone, and certainly George Langford epitomizes that," said Dave Hart, FSU's athletic director. "When it was time to turn a very steep corner, George provided the leadership and vision to get that corner turned. Were it not for that and not for his participation in that effort, who knows where Florida State might be today athletically."

Today, Hart presides over an athletic program that maintains a $40 million annual budget and competes in one of the nation's most visible conferences.

But not too long ago, the late 1960s, Florida State occupied a small place in the national -- and even Southern -- sports landscapes. Though the school itself was founded before the Civil War, it eventually became a women's college. It did not return to coeducational status until 1947 and, therefore, had a relatively young athletic program. No wonder, then, that the school rarely, if ever, received significant donations for its sports teams.

"We had a tremendous climb in front of us," said Andy Miller, president of Seminole Boosters Inc. since 1975.

In 1969, new FSU President Stan Marshall quickly recognized the depth of the athletic department's problems.

"I thought there were active businesspeople, successful businesspeople, in the Tallahassee area that would support the program more generously than they had if the need were made clear to them," Marshall said. "And George Langford emerged as one who was very much interested."

Unusual match

On the surface, it seems unusual that Langford ever took up the cause of Florida State sports. Born in Thomasville, Ga., some 35 miles northeast of Tallahassee, and raised during the Great Depression, Langford attended the University of Virginia -- not FSU -- after his World War II tour in Europe as a U.S. Army combat engineer ended. After he received his law degree from Virginia in 1949, he decided to settle in Tallahassee because he could not find a well-paying job in Thomasville.

Shortly after arriving in Tallahassee, Langford met Jim Messer, Tallahassee's city attorney. By luck, Messer said that he needed to codify Tallahassee's laws and publish an updated code of laws.

"I can do that," Langford remembers saying. He charged $6,000.

Unbeknownst to him, Langford had started to earn his fortune. After he generated more business, he founded Municipal Code Corporation in 1951. Today, the company employs some 200 people, Langford said, and serves cities from all over the country.

By the 1960s, he had become a prominent Tallahassee businessman. Marshall's call to help FSU had struck a nerve.

"Well, I'm a citizen of Tallahassee and somebody asked me to help," Langford said. "Stan Marshall invited me to come and participate in a fund-raiser, which I did. The thing just evolved. If you're going to be a member of the community, you've got to support it."

Golden Chiefs

Langford developed one of his key fund-raising ideas -- the "Golden Chiefs" concept -- in the 1960s, while attending one of the first Florida-Florida State football games ever played in Tallahassee. In those days, a railroad track ran next to the FSU football stadium. Once, some Florida fans took a railroad car to the game.

"The best parking you could want!" Langford remembers. "They just poured out of that [car], walked right in and they were all around having parties and doing wonderful things. That just really galled me. So, after that game, I said, 'You know, what we need to do is we need to use that railroad track.' "

So he called one of his classmates at Virginia, a president of a railroad company, and received a club car to go on that track. FSU fans could pay $5,000 to gather there on game days. They would be called Golden Chiefs.

Though the school's first booster organization -- then called the "Seminole Club" -- held its first official meeting in January 1952, according to the Seminole Boosters Web site, individual contributions very rarely reached the $1,000 plateau during the early 1960s. Therefore, Langford's Golden Chiefs concept made a significant impact.

"He was very much an inspirational leader," Miller said. "The first thing we had to do was rally Tallahassee behind the program. The man spent day and night working as a volunteer to help us rally those people, and he helped us create donor levels.

"Up until that time the most anybody ever gave to Florida State was $1,000, and he was the first one ever to write a check for $5,000. And then he got his buddies to write $5,000 checks. Then we went from there to $50,000." Of course, the organization has grown substantially ever since. In the fiscal year ending Jan. 31, 2003, Seminole Boosters generated $19.5 million in revenue, according to its 2002 tax return.

Among FSU's longtime boosters are three members of the school's board of trustees: noted Central Florida restaurateur Manny Garcia of Winter Springs, June Duda of Oviedo and attorney Andy Haggard of Coral Gables. A list of prominent FSU boosters also includes banker and developer Jim Hewitt of Orlando (one of the founders of the Orlando Magic), Tallahassee developer DeVoe Moore and businessman Gordon Sprague of Pensacola Beach.

What influence the Seminole Boosters will exert in hiring Bowden's replacement -- whenever that might be -- remains unclear. Florida State President T.K. Wetherell probably will play the central role in that process. In 2002, Hart did all the legwork when FSU hired Leonard Hamilton as its men's basketball coach. Not even Miller knew of Hart's list of candidates during the coaching search.

Setting an example

Langford was heavily involved when FSU hired Bowden in the mid-1970s. By now, the gifts Langford has given FSU, which extend beyond athletics and to the university's classics department and law school, kind of meld together. He said he does not know the total amount he has given to FSU over the years, but he donated $1 million to turn the area adjacent to the south end of Doak Campbell Stadium into a promenade and erect a statue there. The area is now called Langford Green.

"If you're going to ask people to give money, you've got to give money yourself," he said.

Langford's importance has been undeniable.

"I just admire him so greatly," Haggard said of Langford. "No one -- no one -- has done so much for Florida State University in so many different categories, in so many different areas."

Langford has served as chairman of Seminole Boosters three times, headed the FSU Foundation and chaired two FSU capital campaigns.

"He seems to join organizations at a time when they need a person of action," said one of his two sons, Lawton Langford. "He's got a knack for raising money, but he's also got a knack for making decisions."

One day showed just how important George Langford has been for FSU sports.

On Nov. 21, 1998 -- minutes before one of Florida State's biggest football games of the season, against archrival Florida -- school officials honored Langford. If that meant slightly altering the time-honored practice of Chief Osceola and his horse, Renegade, galloping to midfield of Doak Campbell Stadium and throwing a flaming spear into the ground, so be it.

Instead, Chief Osceola descended from his horse at midfield and handed the spear to Langford, who, in turn, hurled the spear into the turf himself. Langford keeps a photograph of that moment on wall of his Municipal Code office.

"The greatest day of my life at Florida State is that top picture, when Osceola rode out on the field," Langford said, pointing to the picture of himself in mid-throw. "I thought the stadium was going to blow up, it was so loud."


FSU Booster Profile

• Name: George Langford
  
  
• Age: 80
  
  
• How he got his money: Langford, a 1949 graduate of the University of Virginia School of Law, founded Municipal Code Corporation in 1951. The company codifies and publishes laws of cities across the country.
  
  
• Biggest donation: Langford does not know exactly how much he has donated to Seminole Boosters over the years. But, according to Seminole Boosters' Web site, Langford and his wife, Marian, donated $1 million to turn the area next to the south end of Doak Campbell Stadium into a promenade. Langford Green features a statue -- called "Unconquered" -- of a spear-brandishing Seminole atop a rearing horse.
  
  
• Why does he help? "Well, I'm a citizen of Tallahassee and somebody asked me to help. [Around 1970, Former FSU President] Stan Marshall invited me to come and participate in a fund-raiser, which I did. The thing just evolved. If you're going to be a member of the community, you've got to support it."

A great day (photo)

Saint Bobby (photo)

Orlando Sentinel story link

I just found this Edmonton Journal article about Keith Shologan (it's only about two weeks old). It's a pretty good read.

U.S. scholarship may open doors on both sides of the border

Vicki Hall
The Edmonton Journal

Thursday, January 22, 2004

EDMONTON - Quebec may be the gridiron hot spot in Canada, but the nation's top high school football prospect lives right here in northern Alberta.

Parkland Predators defensive tackle Keith Shologan is ranked No. 1 on the website www.nflcflfutures.com.

Schools around the continent obviously share that opinion of the six-foot-two, 280-pound defensive lineman who is deceptively fast for his size.

After fielding calls from all over the U.S. and Canada, Shologan, 18, has accepted a full scholarship to the University of Central Florida in Orlando. The UCF Golden Knights play in the NCAA Division I Mid-American Conference.

Shologan hopes to parlay his seemingly endless potential into a pro football career on either side of the border.

At UCF, he will develop under the tutelage of head coach George O'Leary, former defensive co-ordinator for the NFL's Minnesota Vikings.

"Playing professionally in either the NFL or CFL would be sweet," said Shologan, who for the past two years has been dealing with the death of two younger sisters in a car crash. "Of course, I'm going to shoot for the NFL, but my life won't end if I don't make it. I'd love to play in the CFL, too.

"Whatever happens, happens. I'll take it one step at a time."

The soft-spoken Grade 12 Spruce Grove high school student will take the next step today by flying down to Houston for the Global National Football Championships during Super Bowl Week.

Shologan will patrol the defensive line for Team Canada. He also played in last year's overtime loss to Team USA in the final.

Edmonton Eskimos offensive co-ordinator Danny Maciocia will serve as head coach for the team in which Quebecers make up 22 of the 35 players.

Eskimos defensive assistant Dan Kepley will coach the linebackers.

Maciocia sees heaps of potential in Shologan, who pulled double duty last season as defensive tackle and fullback. He scored nine touchdowns for the Predators in addition to playing nearly every snap on defence.

"He is such a good kid," Maciocia said. "Keith is a very dominating interior lineman. He plays the run really well. He plays the pass really well. He uses his hands well. He's just a talent. And he's got a lot of football ahead of him."

Edmonton Wildcats guard Derek Dowdell is also going to Houston.

"There is a very, very strong possibility he is going to start for us," Maciocia said of Dowdell. "That's saying a lot for a kid in his first year of junior football. He is a good offensive lineman. And you can tell he's been well coached."

Pat Shologan said he plans to keep tabs on Keith's football career via the computer on the family farm in Rochester, about an hour north of Edmonton.

Keith's success in football has brought great joy to the Shologan family in a time of overwhelming grief.

"It's going to be a change for us," said his father. "We're not going to know what to do with ourselves."

Dana Shologan, 9, and Laura, 7, died in a car wreck on Sept. 29, 2001.

Keith channelled his pain into football and wrestling.

"I'm doing a lot better than I was last year," he said. "I still think about it. It's really hard. I still think about my little sisters all the time.

"But I won't let it run my life. Football is a great release from all of it. And it's good for my dad, too. It gives him something else to think about."

It's impossible to miss the closeness between Keith and his father after everything they've endured, Maciocia said.

"Seeing the relationship between Keith and his dad, that to me is very, very special," said Maciocia, whose wife just gave birth to their second daughter.

"I just hope I can have that kind of relationship with my kids when they're all grown up."

vhall@thejournal.canwest.com

Edmonton Journal story link

Defensive tackle Keith Shologan is the top-rated high school football prospect in the country. (photo)

Michelle Barone's jaw drops as she walks into the sparkling glass and brick recreation center at the University of Central Florida in Orlando.

The 84,000-square-foot building opened in January 2002, a $13-million palace of recreation. Among the perks: treadmills equipped with cable television, an indoor jogging track surrounding 22,500 square feet of athletic courts, 18,000 pounds of free weights, scores of cardiovascular machines, a fruit smoothie bar and a 41-foot-high climbing wall.

Outside, students play tennis on one of six courts (the university is adding a "championship court" with grandstand). Swaths of intramural fields spread out in the distance.

"This is just ... I'm blown away," said Barone, a 19-year-old from Poughkeepsie, N.Y., who has come to town for a campus tour.

She listens slack-jawed as a guide talks about the center's yoga, spin and kickboxing classes. When he mentions the on-site personal trainers and masseurs, she turns and smiles at her 41-year-old brother, Carmine Barone.

He said he went to UCF two decades ago and barely recognizes the place. "This is just crazy," he said.

The recreation center is the last stop, the highlight, of UCF's campus tour. But by the time prospective students reach it, they already have toured the $28-million student union, with its mall-like food court, CD and computer stores, ophthalmologist's office and glass-roofed atrium.

They have walked past the campus Barnes & Nobles bookstore, with its Starbucks coffee shop, past the campus hair salon, the SunTrust Bank ("official bank of the university"), the office supply store, the T-Mobile vendor and the "academic village" residence halls with weekly cleaning service.

UCF's multimillion-dollar efforts to add amenities have helped fuel the school's unrelenting enrollment boom. With about 42,000 students, UCF has become the state's second-largest university.

"Students expect this," said Suzi Halpin, director of UCF's student union. "You have to design buildings with what students want. They want everything in one spot. Students have a lot more choices these days. They can be demanding customers." (Dennis, St. Petersburg Times)

I'm sure it doesn't hurt to have these great looking facilities when the recruits come on their official visits :). And, more are on the way.


.   .   .   .   .   .   .   .


C-USA approves office move to Dallas

UF donor enjoys role as college booster

By George Diaz | Sentinel Staff Writer
Posted February 3, 2004

DAYTONA BEACH -- The rows of cookie-cutter houses dead-end into an expansive property framed by a 22,000-square-foot home. Gale Lemerand gives a visitor a quick tour, mindful that one is stepping into Gator Country.

A wood carving of an alligator -- with Seminole feathers dangling from his teeth -- is custom-built over the fireplace. There are Gators flags on a putting green (with two sand traps) outside the garage. A 131/2-foot stuffed Gator imported from Gainesville watches over a pool accented by three cascading waterfalls.

"I enjoy everything about the University of Florida," Lemerand said, as if further documentation is necessary.

Lemerand's infatuation with all things Orange and Blue has spawned a marriage with an improbable twist:

Lemerand never went to the University of Florida. His only "college"' experience was night school at a community college under the GI Bill way back when. "I did it for money, $90 a month," Lemerand said.

This is the man who is arguably the most generous supporter of Gators athletics over the past decade.

Lemerand joins a select group of "distinguished directors" whose contributions have stretched to at least $1 million in cash or gifts to the university. There are only 16 distinguished directors in the Gator Boosters family, including three from Central Florida (Wayne Carse, Jerry Chicone Jr. and Stumpy Harris). The giving hierarchy expands with 600 "Bull Gators" (annual contributions in excess of $12,000).

It adds up to a booster base of 13,000 members and contributions that spiked to $25 million annually in 2003.

Lemerand's impact on the Gators is documented by touring the UF campus, home to the L. Gale Lemerand Center that houses a volleyball training facility, baseball offices and a track and field complex. The offices of the football coaches got a makeover thanks to Lemerand's generosity. And North-South Drive, which runs parallel to the football stadium, has been renamed L. Gale Lemerand Drive.

A ceremony during the Florida-Florida State football game last fall honored Lemerand, who -- despite a preference for loud orange and blue on game days -- prefers to keep a low profile.

"I don't do those things for the recognition," he said. "I don't like that kind of publicity, because everybody and their brother asks for money. I told people, 'Don't tell them I did that.' I've had people call and wanted to know if I'd buy shoes for the barbershop quartet."

Lemerand became involved with Florida athletics in 1995, when Bill Lloyd, former president of Gator Boosters, tweaked his interest in the university by giving him the "grand tour" of the campus.

"That started it all," he said.

It mushroomed after meeting folks such as former Florida football coach Steve Spurrier, basketball Coach Billy Donovan, Athletic Director Jeremy Foley, and John James, executive director of Gator Boosters.

"I enjoy being around the younger people," Lemerand said. "It makes you feel younger. I like to feel their energy. I really regret I didn't have the university experience. The more I hang around there, the more I realize what I missed."

Now a multimillionaire, Lemerand did not feed off hand-me-downs of another generation. His money was earned despite impoverished early years growing up in Escanaba, Mich.

After graduating from high school, Lemerand went to work for his uncle as a deckhand on iron ore boats, then enlisted in the Air Force for four years during the Korean conflict. Unable to get flying status, Lemerand became a chief clerk in the orderly room, allowing him to draw some experience toward a business career.

He worked for a wholesale building materials distributor, then for a manufacturer of insulation and roofing. Finally, at 40 years old, Lemerand started his first business (insulation). He'll turn 70 on May 5.

"I didn't have the formal education, but I surrounded myself with good people all the way down the line," he said.

That philosophy prompted the framework for his book, "Bet on the Jockey," which tells of his inspirational rise and is only available through the graciousness of Lemerand. It is not sold in bookstores. He simply gives them out to friends, business associates and folks he comes across.

Now with the money and means to set his own agenda, Lemerand spent New Year's at the Bellagio in Las Vegas and recently completed his third quickie trip to the Bahamas this month on his yacht. He will spend the weekend of Feb. 14 in the Bull Gators golf outing.

Those leisure moments often lead to official business for James and any of the other 12 salaried officials inside the Gator Boosters, who step in with their networking skills. Dinner parties, a round of golf. A wedding or a funeral for a booster who has become a close friend. Any time or place a permanent relationship can be sealed or strengthened.

"We are in the relationship business," said Doug Brown, director of the Bull Gator program.

And they have become familiar faces in the Gators family photo album. James, who played for more than a decade in the NFL as a punter, is in his 18th year with Gator Boosters. Brown has been around 11 years. And Phil Pharr, a former Florida offensive lineman, has been with the program 23 years. He is the senior director of development.

"That's the neat part about my job," James said. "I go in-state and in some cases out of state and develop relationships and share dreams with people from every different walk of life."

Orlando's Carse made his successful run in the gasoline/convenience-store business statewide. George Steinbrenner is the cantankerous owner of the New York Yankees. The Ben Hill Griffin family, whose contributions approach $20 million and include funding for the football stadium, training center and athletic visitors center, made its fortune in the citrus and cattle business.

Carse's generosity built the Wayne and Jimmie Carse Swimming and Diving Complex, and, he said, "I can't even swim."

"It's just a general feeling about trying to give back something to the community," Carse said. "For me, basically it's sports."

Carse, who went to a small Methodist College in Iowa, became involved in the late '80s at the urging of a friend with Florida connections, coinciding with the significant increase in the scope of UF booster interest.

Building from a modest number of 30 Bull Gators in 1986, university officials enjoyed a spike in popularity. This, despite an NCAA probationary period in 1990, when the Gators received a one-year bowl ban.

The violations occurred under the watch of former football coach Galen Hall, who was accused of giving Gators defensive back Jarvis Williams $360 for an overdue child-support bill.

Florida's diligence regarding compliance issues over the past decade -- seminars for boosters, sending out literature on the NCAA's do's and don'ts -- has much to do with its ability to avoid controversial issues that other Southeastern Conference schools have faced regarding inappropriate booster intrusion.

Lemerand considered giving his book to a few of his friends in the Gators family -- including some basketball players -- but asked Donovan first whether that was allowable. Donovan checked and found out it was an inappropriate gift under NCAA by-laws.

"We want to be proactive," Foley said recently. "You can never take the attitude, 'That can't happen here.' "

Florida's fiscal blessings had much to do with the hiring of Spurrier in 1990 and -- to a lesser extent but significant nevertheless -- of Donovan in 1996.

With football fans embracing the return of their prodigal son/football coach, and basketball folks welcoming the upbeat tempo of "Billy Ball," the Gators family became quite generous.

Beginning in 2001, Florida Field underwent a $55 million renovation, increasing seating by more than 5,000 to 88,548 -- making the stadium one of the 10 largest in the country. The expansion included 2,800 luxury seats and new sky boxes.

With Florida's re-emergence as a football power nationally, Bull Gators enjoyed the privileges of eight season tickets, two reserved parking spaces for every home game and exclusive party invites. Boosters who contribute $33,000 or more yearly get sky-box perks.

Endowment options for scholarships-- with a threshold capped at $50,000 -- are donor options as well. An out-of-state yearly scholarship at Florida is estimated at $14,000, or $11,000 for in-state students.

"People feel good about giving to the long-term well-being of the university, regardless of what controversial issues come up [from] time to time," James said.

Some of the controversy got stirred up during the second year of Ron Zook's reign, when "The Zooker" got the 2003 Gators off to the program's worst six-game start since 1986. Despite the activity on fireronzook.com, Lemerand was one of the boosters who stayed loyal to a man he predicts will lead the Gators to a national championship game in two years.

Lemerand is welcome on the sidelines of all Gators games, where he is considered a bit of a good-luck charm. Lemerand was on the sidelines at Alltel Stadium in Jacksonville after Florida defeated Georgia in early November.

Fists pumping in the air, screaming at anyone in sight ("What do you think of Zooker now!?"), he looked like a nearly 70-year-old little kid celebrating the greatest day of his life.

"It keeps life interesting," Lemerand said, "for an old guy."


UF Booster Profile

• Name: Gale Lemerand
  
  
• Age: 69
  
  
• How he got his money: Insulation business. Lemerand is also the co-founder and a financial partner in Stonewood Tavern & Grill in Gainesville and other Florida locations.
  
  
• Biggest donation: Lemerand does not get into specifics on the cost, but the building of the L. Gale Lemerand Center -- housing a volleyball training facility, baseball offices and a track and field complex -- is his biggest one-time gift to the university. As one of only 16 "distinguished directors," Lemerand has donated at least $1 million in cash or gifts to the university.
  
  
• Why does he help? "I had never had the university experience myself, so I wanted to help other people get an education. I wanted to especially be supportive of student-athletes, because I was neither an athlete nor a student."

George Diaz can be reached at gdiaz@orlandosentinel.com.

Booster's buddy (photo)

Orlando Sentinel story link

Kyle Israel committed to UCF this afternoon. While on his way back from his official visit at FSU, Israel called George O'Leary to inform him that he's a Knight …

… UCF also picked up a commitment from OL L.J. Anderson of SC. (Stanford, KnightsNews.com)

This is great news. Welcome aboard Kyle and L.J.

Kyle was was a first team Class 6A all-state selection and the Sentinel's 2003 Orange County Offensive Player of the Year.

Here is a recruiting update on L.J. from TigerNet.

UPDATE (10 P.M.): Atlanta (Ga.) Douglass DE Russell Phillips also committed to the Knights after his visit this past weekend. He has excellent lateral movement (4.47 20-yard shuttle), quickness and explosion (28.1" vertical). As a senior, Phillips had 82 tackles, 18 tackles for loss and seven sacks. He also took an official visit to South Carolina on January 9th.

UCF Commitments (18):

Jared Spivey, FB, 6-3, 210, 4.6, Savannah (GA) Benedictine Military School (already enrolled)

Augustus Ashley, CB, 5-11, 185, 4.49, Jacksonville First Coast
Dominic Ignelzi, OT, 6-5, 315, 5.2, Port St. Lucie West Centennial
Keith Shologan, DT, 6-2, 275, 4.9, Edmonton (AB) Spruce Grove Composite
Michael Lavoie, OG, 6-4, 290, 5.3, Sanford Seminole
Ryan Karhut, OL, 6-5, 295, 5.25, Edmonton (AB) Parkland / Edmonton Huskies
Leger Douzable, DT, 6-5, 275, Tampa Alonso
Keith Williams, DB, 5-11, 190, 4.5, Austell (GA) South Cobb
Frank Reina, OT, 6-6, 270, 5.0, Miami Palmetto
Johnell Neal, CB, 5-11, 170, 4.4, Baton Rouge (LA) Redemptorist
Curtis Francis, RB, 5-11, 180, 4.4, Green Cove Springs Clay
Josh Sitton, DT, 6-4, 295, 5.0, Pensacola Catholic
Sha'Reff Rashad, DB, 6-1, 190, 4.5, Jacksonville Episcopal
Emeka Okammor, DT, 6-1, 295, 4.8, Baton Rouge (LA) Southern Lab
Jason Venson, CB, 5-11, 190, 4.4, Marietta (GA)
Kyle Israel, QB, 6-3, 235, 4.8, Orlando University
L.J. Anderson, OG, 6-4, 300, 5.0, Sumter (SC)
Russell Phillips, DE, 6-2, 240, 4.9, Atlanta (GA) Douglass

UCF has three scholarships left to give.


The competition

Meanwhile, Countryside wide receiver Jermaine Filer, the Times' fifth-ranked prospect in the bay area, and running back Isaiah Gwyn neared decisions.

"I have some more thinking to do about it, but if I sign on Wednesday, it will probably be Marshall," Filer told rivals100.com. Filer, whose academic status is undetermined, told the Web site his other choice, Kansas State, asked him to attend prep school first.

"Marshall has a program they can get me in right now," he said. "Right now, I'd rather do that." (Pastor, St. Petersburg Times)

This is the kind of thing we will be up against as long as we're in a conference with Marshall. Can you believe this shit? Kansas State is even asking him to go to prep school … yes, Kansas State. I knew the heightened academic requirements would put UCF at a competitive disadvantage in recruiting, particularly against C-USA East, but this is on another level. I don't blame Marshall though. They admit non-athletes (usually limited to West Virginia residents) with average to poor grades, so it doesn't surprise me that they would use this program to benefit athletics.

MU offers admission to a limited number of students who do not meet the 2.0 cumulative GPA and the 19 ACT composite. These students are admitted to the University College and must complete all developmental work within 3 semesters. The need for developmental work is determined by minimum requirements of an 18 ACT in English (450 on the verbal portion of the SAT) score and a 19 ACT in Math (460 on the math portion of the SAT) score. (Marshall University Admissions)

It's only unethical when you admit students who have a slim chance of graduating. And, based on their general admission requirements, they feel he (and others) can graduate. That's not saying too much about the quality of their school, but it's ethical.

UPDATE (02/04/04):

Don't expect to see Countryside receiver Jermaine Filer, the Times' fifth-best bay area prospect, on a Division I field this fall.

"He does not have the test score right now," Countryside coach John Davis said.

Filer, a special-education student, doesn't have a high enough SAT score to qualify, so he can't be offered a scholarship under NCAA rules. As a nonqualifier, he can't practice or play his freshman year and will have three seasons of eligibility remaining.

But that doesn't mean he's out of options.

Among Filer's college choices, Marshall and South Florida have taken nonqualifers in the past and appear willing to do so again.

"(USF) coach (Jim) Leavitt told me last week they would definitely sign him, period," Davis said. (Pastor, St. Petersburg Times)

And, to think some UWCF fans tried to claim they didn't sign nonqualifiers. He signed with Marshall anyway.

Jefferson cornerback Robert Baham will commit to Cincinnati today, he said. The Times' All-Hillsborough first-team pick said he felt "comfortable" after visiting over the weekend.

Cincinnati offers Baham's choice of major, criminal justice. The Bearcats' planned move to the Big East in 2005 also elevated them over Ball State, Florida A&M and Central Florida. (Pastor, St. Petersburg Times)

You can only choose "over" a school when you have a scholarship offer from that school. Maybe the old staff was interested in him, but O'Leary wasn't. UCF has all the DBs they need for this class.

UPDATE (02/05/04):

The only signing day surprise occurred at Jefferson. While tight end Antonio Graham signed a scholarship with Tennessee State, defensive back Robert Baham did not sign with the University of Cincinnati or Florida A&M because each withdrew its offer. (Tampa Tribune staff report)

So much for choosing "over" UCF. I told you he never had an offer.

Coach: Dorm life may boost athletes' GPAs

Students living on campus will need to make room for a few new neighbors next fall, as the entire football team will be moving in.

The move to on-campus housing is part of Coach George O'Leary's plan to improve UCF's football program both on and off the field next season. He is already requiring more players to attend study hall and work with tutors.

"Coach O'Leary has made it real clear that he is as concerned about character as he is about winning," said Karl Mooney, the director of Academic Services for Student-Athletes.

Officials don't know how many students will be affected, but Tom Huddleston, vice president of Student Development and Enrollment Services, doesn't think there will be a problem.

"The amount of people moving in is small enough that it shouldn't even impact student-housing issues," he said. "It's certainly not the end of the world."

Huddleston didn't know offhand how many football players currently live on campus, but having all of the nearly 115 football players living on campus will undoubtedly squeeze some students out.

One hall is scheduled to be closed during the 2005 spring term, and UCF's housing system is already operating at 103 percent capacity.

Players would be able to choose which hall they'd like to live in, and they would have to be distributed among the different halls because NCAA rules prohibit "athletic dormitories." This means fewer than 50 percent of any dormitory floor, wing and building can house athletes.

Read more …

From beer to the ACC

By Sarah Talalay | Miami Bureau
Posted February 2, 2004

MIAMI -- It started with a green Cadillac Fleetwood with a white top.

For more than 30 years, Ed Williamson's family has been linked with the University of Miami. His father, George, started Williamson Cadillac in Miami in 1967. When a controversy erupted at UM over the president's leasing of a Cadillac, the provost approached the Williamsons.

"They had serious budgetary constraints," said the younger Williamson, who now runs the car dealership. "They didn't have the money for raises for faculty, but they had money to keep the president in a Cadillac."

That's when the Williamsons sent over the Fleetwood.

The relationship has grown since then, with Williamson serving on numerous advisory committees and boards, including UM's Board of Trustees, and becoming one of the most respected names among a heady group of athletic boosters that includes attorney Dean Colson; Betty Amos, who owns Abkey Companies, which does business as Fuddruckers Restaurants; Wometco Enterprises CEO Arthur Hertz; and investment firm Cobb Partners Ltd. owner Chuck Cobb.

Texas Rangers shortstop Alex Rodriguez, who was raised in Miami, was chosen to the board of trustees last month, and in 2002, he donated $3.9 million to renovate the school's baseball stadium and endow a UM scholarship for a member of the Boys & Girls Club of Miami. The stadium will be renamed Mark Light Field at Alex Rodriguez Park.

"Somebody will tell you they're a fan; that probably means they buy tickets," Williamson said. "If they say they're a booster, they're making a contribution above and beyond."

Former UM quarterback Bernie Kosar, for example, serves on the board of trustees and made a donation in 2002 to a new business-school, faculty-office building named for Kosar and businessman David Epstein, who was appointed to the board of trustees last month. Kosar and Epstein are partners in the Florida Panthers hockey club ownership group. A scholarship fund and a conference room in the Hecht Athletic Center also are named for Kosar.

A team meeting room in the Hecht Athletic Center is named for former Hurricanes and current Indianapolis Colts running back Edgerrin James.

The role of boosters varies from school to school, UM Athletic Director Paul Dee said, but the relationship starts with money.

"The booster organization is the heart of your annual giving, that part of your fund-raising to continue your program at a high level," Dee said.

At UM, boosters belong to the Hurricane Club, where a basic membership starts at $150; those on the high end donate $15,000 annually. The more you give, the more access you have to university honchos and prime seats at football games.

UM, a small private school with a tiny alumni base compared with large state schools such as Ohio State or the University of Florida, has slightly more than 5,000 sports boosters who raise about $4.5 million, Dee said. Some large state schools pull in five times that, he said. Not only is the donor base smaller, but contributions to private schools are not matched by the state the way they are at Florida's public institutions.

From beer to the ACC

Boosters do more than raise money. They are consulted on university decisions and topics such as the policy for selling beer at the Orange Bowl and Miami's invitation to join the Atlantic Coast Conference.

As important as those relationships are, the university has worked hard to ensure boosters remain welcome but not meddlesome. Exhaustive memos and rules for compliance are sent to boosters and posted on the UM Web site so that well-meaning supporters don't break any rules.

Having been sanctioned by the NCAA for athletic violations, UM is cognizant of the care that must be taken. A booster inadvertently was involved when he offered a yacht for a Biscayne Bay trip with baseball recruits several years ago, Dee said. The booster was not involved in recruiting, but Dee said the university has become much more diligent in complying with NCAA regulations.

"Our motto is: Ask before you act," Dee said. "Rule 1 is don't break the rule . . . I think every booster intuitively understands."

Boosters are aware that SMU in Dallas had its football program suspended in 1987 and was placed under the NCAA's "death penalty" after boosters were discovered giving money to players.

Cobb, who serves on the executive board of the board of trustees and has supported UM for more than 30 years, said the structure of large public universities, with a board of regents and a foundation board, doesn't provide enough opportunity for people to support their schools as a whole. As a result, people often became supporters of those schools through athletics and push for a larger role.

"I contrast that with private universities like the University of Miami, USC, Duke, Stanford and other schools that play big-time athletics," said Cobb, who served as ambassador to Iceland in the first President Bush's administration. "The most loyal and committed alums focus on the board of trustees of the university and focus on the whole university because there is a vehicle to do that."

UM's soccer and track field, along with a lecture series, are named for Cobb. He and his wife, Sue, also established the Family Fellowship for Icelandic Graduate Students.

UM's board of trustees is packed with alumni, former athletes, attorneys, developers and business people who love UM sports but also love the university.

Cobb said the size and youth of the university have kept boosters from running astray.

Orientation for boosters

Boosters go through a compliance orientation, and their behavior is scrutinized. Many said Dee and UM President Donna Shalala have set a tone to avoid any problems.

"All of them are trying to do the right thing. I don't perceive this as unhealthy," Shalala said. "I just say no. The risk is too great."

But it's also important to keep boosters happy. After all, they raise money for athletics as well as other parts of the university. Shalala is counting on athletic boosters to endow the school's athletic scholarships.

Williamson, like many boosters, is not an alumnus. He attended Auburn and played in the marching band, but he's passionate about UM, its football and its mission. You'll find him at as many Hurricanes games as he can manage in his busy schedule, and his datebook is crammed with university meetings. He can't say for sure how much he has donated to the school over the years, writing checks for athletics, the college of engineering, the Ring Theatre and the president's unrestricted budget, or supplying cars to assistant coaches. He is a member of the Golden Canes, UM's largest supporters.

"That gives me my Golden Cane status," Williamson said of the cars, which are part of the Hurricane Wheels program. "It would be a whole lot cheaper if I wrote them a check.

"It's a way I can do something that costs me less than what it costs them."

He has Shalala's ear but, he said, "I don't call her about doing something frivolous.

"If there's an issue she needs to know about or something I want to talk with her about, I get on the phone, but it's not to go have lunch."

But Williamson's pull is evident. He served on the campaign committee raising large donations from $50,000 to $250,000 for the Convocation Center, UM's on-campus arena. He was briefed regularly on the school's invitation to join the ACC, and he was consulted on the hiring of football coach Larry Coker in 2001 and men's basketball coach Perry Clark in 2000.

"I'm certain, if I'd had a real problem with either one of them, it might not have happened," Williamson said.

Williamson said Dee sets the tone for the university-booster relationship.

"I don't sell every car, but I control the climate," Williamson said. "So the AD controls the climate, and if he lets the climate go bad, then you can get the kind of climate you get with SMU."

Williamson said he's passionate about UM.

"As I started to get involved, if I wasn't enjoying it, if I didn't feel I was getting some level of gratification back, I wouldn't do it," Williamson said.


UM Booster Profile

• Name: Ed Williamson
  
  
• Age: 58
  
  
• How he got his money: President, Williamson Cadillac, Miami.
  
  
• Biggest donation: He said he cannot answer this precisely, but he estimated his contributions during the past 25 years have been probably more than $40,000 in cash and in-kind (they send over Cadillacs and Saturns for coaches, etc . . .) contributions a year.
  
  
• Why does he help? "What better charity is there than one that makes a multibillion impact on your community every year?"

Sarah Talalay writes for the South Florida Sun-Sentinel, a Tribune Publishing newspaper.

Orlando Sentinel story link

By Alan Schmadtke | Sentinel Staff Writer
Posted February 1, 2004

COACH: Jay Bergman (827-474 in 21 seasons at UCF; 1,043-587-3 in 27 seasons overall).


LAST YEAR: 31-25, 9th in the Atlantic Sun.


TOP RETURNEES: RHP Kyle Bono, Soph. (4-3, 0.83 ERA, 2 saves); LF Dee Brown, Jr. (.289, 9 2Bs, 34 RBIs); C Drew Butera, Soph. (.305, 1 HR, 30 RBIs); RHP Taylor Cobb, Jr. (4-3, 4.56 ERA, 41 Ks); OF David Mann, Sr. (.321, 2 2Bs, 17 SBs); OF Clay Timpner, Jr. (.347, 1 HR, 35 RBIs, 22 SBs).


TOP NEWCOMERS: RHP Tim Bascom, Fr. (Oviedo); RHP Brett Bordwin, Fr. (Eau Gallie); RF Bridger Hunt, Fr. (Oviedo); 2B Kevin Richmond, Jr. (transfer, FSU), OF Drake Wade, Jr. (Polk CC).


STRENGTHS: Speed, depth, pitching, hunger, chemistry. "We have much better team speed, which make us more the kind of team we want to be," Bergman said. Matt Fox moves out of the bullpen and into the rotation. Bono, the closer, could become a starter, too. Last year's losing record in the A-Sun (14-16) hasn't sat well, charging up players used to making the NCAA Tournament. "Last year's team didn't seem to have that much fun, but this year we all like playing together," Fox said.


CONCERNS: The Knights aren't known for their power, and they won't be again. Last year they rarely got timely hits, a trend that must end. Bergman has 19 new players and will ask most to contribute immediately. They'll have to learn on the fly against the likes of LSU, Clemson, Notre Dame, Florida Atlantic and Stetson.


THE BUZZ: After consecutive league titles, the Golden Knights missed the conference tournament for the first time last season. Bergman shuffled his coaching staff and sent the message to shape up. This is one program at UCF that stands to benefit greatly from a 2006 move to Conference USA, and the building toward that starts with this season. FAU is considered the team to beat in the A-Sun, followed by Stetson. "I don't care that we're not ranked," Bergman said. "We just have to get back to playing baseball."


SCHEDULE

FEBRUARY: 7, at Florida International, 1 p.m.; 8, at Florida International, 1 p.m.; 13, vs. LSU, 6 p.m.; 14, vs. LSU, 1 p.m.; 15, vs. LSU, 1 p.m.; 17, at Bethune-Cookman, 6 p.m.; 20, vs. Utah, 6 p.m.; 21, vs. Utah, 1 p.m.; 22, vs. Utah, 1 p.m.; 27 vs. Monmouth, 6 p.m.; 28, vs. Monmouth, 1 p.m.; 29, vs. Monmouth, 1 p.m.


MARCH: 5, at Lipscomb, 3 p.m.; 6, at Lipscomb (DH), 1 p.m.; 12, vs. Gardner-Webb, 6 p.m.; 13, vs. Gardner-Webb (DH), 1 p.m.; 15, vs. Wagner, 6 p.m.; 16, vs. Wagner, 6 p.m.; 17, vs. Wagner, 6 p.m.; 19, at Campbell, 6 p.m.; 20, at Campbell (DH), 1 p.m.; 23, at Bethune-Cookman, 6 p.m.; 26, vs. Stetson, 6 p.m.; 27, vs. Stetson (DH), 12 p.m.; 30, vs. Bethune-Cookman, 6 p.m.


APRIL: 3, at Jacksonville (DH), 1 p.m.; 4, at Jacksonville, 1 p.m.; 6, vs. Bethune-Cookman, 6 p.m.; 9, at Florida Atlantic, 7 p.m.; 10, at Florida Atlantic, 1 p.m.; 13, at USF, 7 p.m.; 16, vs. Belmont, 6 p.m.; 17, vs. Belmont (DH), 1 p.m.; 20, vs. USF, 7 p.m.


MAY: 1, vs. Troy State (DH), 4 p.m.; 2, vs. Troy State, 1 p.m.; 4, vs. USF, 7 p.m.; 7, at Clemson, 7 p.m.; 8, at Clemson, 7 p.m.; 9, at Clemson, 2 p.m.; 14, vs. Mercer, 6 p.m.; 15, vs. Mercer (DH), 1 p.m.; 18, at Notre Dame, 6 p.m.; 19, at Notre Dame, 6 p.m.; 21, at Georgia State, 6 p.m.; 22, at Georgia State (DH), 1 p.m.

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Who would have guessed that a seventh-round draft pick in his second NFL season would be the New England Patriots' leading receiver in the playoffs?

Who could have known that a sixth-round pick three years ago would become the team's franchise quarterback, leading the Patriots to two Super Bowls during that time?

And how do you explain a rookie cornerback who comes up with three interceptions in the game that got the Carolina Panthers to the Super Bowl?

Youth - and talent - have a way of shining through in the NFL, which partially accounts for the surprising success of the Patriots' David Givens and Tom Brady, and the Panthers' Ricky Manning Jr.

Shrewd drafting helped get the Patriots and Panthers to Houston for today's championship showdown. Here are three key draft picks for each team who have made significant contributions this season …

… Cornerback Asante Samuel

Draft data: Fourth round in 2003, 120th player overall.

What he offered: Samuel played at Central Florida and didn't have ideal size (only 5 feet 10 and 185 pounds) or blazing fast. But he had good instincts and excellent awareness.

"He was an instinctive player and he could see the field and had good reactionary speed, which is completely different from pure speed," Pioli said. "He could see the field, see the quarterback, see the receivers and be able to react to the football."

Bottom line: Playing mostly nickel back as a rookie, Samuel had two interceptions and nine passes defensed, while making 35 tackles. He has played well in the postseason … (Murray, Baltimore Sun)

I was shocked when he wasn't selected on the first day. A lot of teams are kicking themselves right now.

Experts and fans bubble with excitement when determining which college football teams signed the best high school players, but history teaches those rankings can be far off the mark.

No sooner had the ink dried on the final letters-of-intent when talk surfaced about how Michigan's 1998 recruiting class could rival some of the best in history.

Following their first national title in 49 years, the Wolverines had scored with four of the nation's top 11 prospects -- running back Justin Fargas, quarterback Drew Henson and wideouts David Terrell and Marquise Walker.

Three years later, half of that quartet had left without distinction, illustrating the vagaries of dealing in pigskin futures.

Fargas, oft-injured and frustrated, went home and transferred to Southern California. Weeks later, Henson's tug-of-war between football and baseball was settled by George Steinbrenner's wallet.

Except for a road game at UCLA, the class never sniffed the Rose Bowl.

''It's a crapshoot,'' ESPN analyst Lee Corso said. ``No one knows how guys are going to develop over a period of time. But it sells newspapers. It sells Internet websites.''

And how. Come Wednesday -- national signing day -- chat rooms and sports-talk radio will crackle with who got the best infusion of fresh arms and legs.

Recruiting experts will crown a champion. And folks talk about a mythical national championship?

A review of the top signing classes during the past decade show just eight of 20 classes that ranked as the consensus No. 1 or 2 ever played for the real trophy. Two of those -- Ohio State in 2002 and Louisiana State this past season -- did so as true freshmen, with nominal impact.

Furthermore, just 14 percent (31 of 222) of the consensus All-Americans since 1995 were ranked among the top 50 prospects of their signing classes, as compiled by The Sporting News from various analysts.

More walk-ons, in fact -- three -- made the All-American list than consensus No. 1 prospects (Tim Couch).

Read more …

Two years after he helped put the Florida Gators in everybody's top 10 national recruiting classes of 1998, sprinter John Capel ran himself out of Ben Hill Griffin Stadium.

In 23 football games, Capel carried the ball nine times for 67 yards and caught nine passes for 84 yards. The Olympics were coming. He was about to become a father. Coach Steve Spurrier was telling him new recruit Taylor Jacobs might be a little faster.

"I was highly recruited, but I think I was a bust in college," Capel said. "I left school a little too soon."

Capel withdrew from UF in the summer of 2000 to concentrate on track. He won the Olympic Trials 200-meter championship with a personal-best 19.85 seconds after stars Michael Johnson and Maurice Greene sustained injuries.

It was a moment of triumph he shared with his family by draping his gold medal around the neck of his father, John Sr., a Brooksville pastor. When word got around that his family could not afford to travel to Australia to watch him compete, the community raised $29,000 to send them.

A shaky start in the finals at the Sydney Olympics landed him in eighth place. Today, he lives in Gainesville with his wife, Sandy, and daughter, Jayna, and is preparing for another shot at gold in Athens.

Florida has been good to him, he said, and he would recommend the school to others. At the same time, watching what happened with his football recruiting class was eye-opening in its own way.

"It's not the NFL, but it's a business all the same," Capel said.

Read more …

This is the first in a five-part series on boosters by the Orlando Sentinel. I'll definitely archive all five.

Easy Money
Boosters are all too willing to give financially, but it's the schools that could be paying in the end.

By Alan Schmadtke | Sentinel Staff Writer
Posted February 1, 2004

In two months, the magnitude of National Signing Day in the South will play out in a courtroom in Memphis, Tenn.

That's where Logan Young, son of a former friend of legendary Alabama football coach Paul "Bear" Bryant, will defend himself against federal racketeering and bribery charges related to the Crimson Tide's football recruiting.

Prosecutors say Young paid $150,000 to a then-high school coach in Memphis as a guarantee the coach's standout defensive lineman would sign with Alabama.

That was in 2000.

Young denied the NCAA's allegations, which included a characterization of him as a "rogue booster," but Alabama was hit with a five-year probation. He pleaded not guilty to criminal charges.

His trial is set for April. Regardless of the outcome, the whole sordid tale illustrates the thin line on which college athletic departments constantly walk. A school must worry about its best friend becoming the enemy within.

"They're considered high-access representatives," said Chris King, Alabama's assistant athletic director for compliance. "That's just the way it is. If you look at schools that have gone on probation, there is almost always a high-access booster involved. They may get you a secondary violation, but more than likely, it's a major violation because the NCAA says you're supposed to have control of those individuals."

On one hand, schools must monitor their most valued athletic donors as if they're tracking a stock portfolio. On the other, they wine and dine them, recruiting them to drop thousands or millions for new stadiums, arenas and scholarships.

Every school has its deep pockets.

Gale Lemerand's name is synonymous with the Florida Gators. George Langford is Florida State's well-heeled and longtime supporter. Miami has Ed Williamson. UCF's programs might not exist without Wayne Densch, and its future might be much darker without Harry deAntonio.

"The aggregate contributed dollars are absolutely critical, just on an annual basis," SMU Athletic Director Jim Copeland said of the necessity of boosters. "Then you add into that the capital needs schools have, it's even more critical."

In November, longtime Marshall University booster Joan C. Edwards gave $2 million to cover the Thundering Herd's exit from the Mid-American Conference and entrance to Conference USA -- and became the first woman to have a Division I-A stadium named after her.

About the same time, Harry deAntonio delivered the down payment on a $1 million pledge for UCF, the biggest donation ever by one of the school's former athletes.

Last summer, Tennessee booster Charles Swan hosted a golf tournament at Orange Lake Country Club in Kissimmee as part of football coach Phillip Fulmer's annual tour. When Vols fans showed up, they hit practice shots on a driving range painted in part like a football field, complete with two mock, orange-and-white checkerboard end zones.

Upon such passion are programs built -- and paid for.

"Boosters are very, very important to an athletic department," former NCAA investigator Chuck Smrt said. "They help pay the bills.

"But I can tell you that boosters are still a significant issue for universities, because they're more and more difficult to monitor. Now there are fewer boosters involved, but the nature of their significance could be great if they're involved in significant violations. You still have boosters making contact with people they're not supposed to be making contact with."

The example long-used as the banner of what not to have happen is SMU. In 1987, the NCAA hit the Mustangs with its so-called "death penalty" -- eliminating a program because of repeated violations -- after investigators determined boosters, with the knowledge of key officials at the school, had a $400,000 annual trust fund to funnel money to football players.

Devastation at SMU spread so wide that it shocked even the NCAA, which has all but vowed never to levy another such penalty. (In 1990, when Florida was eligible for the death penalty under the repeat-violator clause, the Gators were handed a one-year bowl ban.)

Today, SMU's sanctions are long gone. Reaction is here to stay.

"You think we probably do some booster education here?" Copeland asked rhetorically. "We do. Every institution does now. You can't afford not to."

Although the microscope on boosters was given greater magnification 25 years ago, and problems are much less widespread than they used to be, recent events remind us of the thin line between helpful fan and hurtful fanatic:

• Arkansas was put on three years' probation last year after the NCAA found, among other things, a Razorbacks booster had overpaid football and basketball players for their jobs at his trucking company.
  
  The school dissociated itself for seven years from booster Ted Harrod, who had donated nearly $300,000 and had pledged $300,000 more. The Razorbacks forfeited his pledge, said Derrick Gragg, Arkansas senior associate athletic director.
  
  
• Michigan was placed on five years' probation and banned from the NCAA Tournament for a yearafter the Committee on Infractions deemed that booster Ed Martin gave more than $600,000 to at least four members of the school's famed Fab Five over several years.
  
  Martin doled out cash, clothes, jewelry and other inducements over an 11-year period, using money gained from an illegal gambling operation he ran at work. Martin, who died last year, admitted to the violations while under federal indictment.
  
  
• Auburn's Bobby Lowder had a hand in pushing out former Tigers football coach Terry Bowden in 1997, and his role in a similar but unsuccessful push two months ago is well-known. Lowder was part of a four-man trip to Louisville to lure Cardinals Coach Bobby Petrino to Auburn -- even though Auburn's coach, Tommy Tuberville, remain employed.

Critics asked Alabama Gov. Bob Riley to investigate. Tuberville, who signed a contract extension last month, watched as Auburn President William F. Walker recently resigned under pressure for participating in the trip.

Lowder, CEO of Colonial BancCorp., is different from most big-money men who dabble in college athletics in that he is a member of Auburn's board of trustees.

In the eyes of the NCAA, he's still considered a booster -- a "representative of athletics interest."

Raising money

The history of giving in the name of sports is marked by a trail of what universities once called "dedications."

Joan C. Edwards Stadium at Marshall. Ben Hill Griffin Stadium at UF. Donald W. Reynolds Razorback Stadium at Arkansas.

All of these athletic facilities carry the names of deep-pocketed boosters, fans who put their money where their heart was, or their foundation's. Schools can't thank them enough.

In 2000, SMU christened 32,000-seat Gerald J. Ford Stadium and its companion weight-training facility, centerpieces of what many in Dallas hope is the start of a football resurgence for the Mustangs.

Over the previous five seasons, SMU never won more than six games. Yet when the call went out, donors answered. Ford -- not to be confused with the former president -- contributed $25 million.

"We raised $60 million in 18 months," Copeland said. "That would never have been done without private contributions. The president was very involved. He raised $33 million in one day from four families."

More often than not, booster clubs are called upon to produce those contributions. Club directors, with the help of presidents, athletic directors and sometimes coaches, lean on the idea of "Giving Back to Old State U."

• Gator Boosters Inc. raised $23.7 million to benefit Florida athletes in 2003, according to the group's financial statements.
  
  
• Tax records show Seminole Boosters Inc. generated $19.5 million in fiscal year 2003 for Florida State.
  
  
• South Carolina's Gamecock Club raised $10.8 million and had another $5 million in the bank.
  
  
• Clemson's booster club, known as IPTAY, raised $10.6 million in 2002, according to tax records.

Copeland, who worked in athletic development at the University of Virginia before becoming the Cavaliers' athletic director, said his job there was similar to what it is now at SMU.

"Primarily now an athletic director's job is to raise money to run his programs," he said. "I would say 25 to 30 percent of my time is spent raising money in some form, either cultivating people to give or making them ask. That's one reason I was hired as AD. That's my background."

None of this is magic. As booster groups grow, they implement priority-seating plans. Those that give the most money get the most and best seats.

As clubs and schools get older and stadiums need improving, schools add luxury boxes. Donors buy them for a specified period. They pay a price higher than the boosters/schools' cost to build.

The IRS, which monitors nonprofit agencies such as booster clubs and university foundations, allows boosters to take deductions on contributions (though not always 100 percent).

In the off-season, coaches and athletic directors speak to the masses about the need for giving, then huddle with the upper crust about real donations. The idea is to cultivate more roots, from which will spring the next generation of big donors.

"Booster clubs started because people with the same kind of enthusiastic support wanted to be around other people just like them -- and these things are good to stimulate spirit for the masses," Georgia AD Vince Dooley said. "People go to those summer outings to have a good time and so their school will benefit. But for those who have the ability to contribute larger dollars, we'll have a special get-together for them."

Rules have changed

UCF Athletic Director Steve Orsini has a national championship ring from his senior season at Notre Dame. Yet Orsini, a fullback and a captain of the Fighting Irish's special teams in 1977, never would have gone to Notre Dame had it not been for an eye doctor near his hometown in Pennsylvania.

The doctor was a member of Notre Dame's famed subway alumni.

"He literally championed my recruitment by Notre Dame," Orsini said. "He walked me through the process. . . . I absolutely would not be where I am today or who I am today without him."

For the most part, such actions rarely raised eyebrows. They happened often.

"There was always a group within a particular booster club that would work out ways to write letters or bring the high school for a visit," said Dooley, who coached Georgia from 1964-88. "A member would pick up [prospect] films, go see the coach, take the coach out to dinner -- all the various things you do to build up good relations."

Those days were different.

"Boosters were going into houses with coaches and talking to prospects," said Smrt, the former NCAA investigator who now runs The Compliance Group that consults with schools. "That was permitted."

By today's NCAA rules, such actions are forbidden. Boosters -- even pedestrian season-ticket holders -- aren't permitted to be part of any recruiting process once it has started.

One of the fastest ways for a school to go on probation is for a booster to have contact with a potential recruit, or with current athletes.

However, rules can be complex. For instance, a booster is allowed to have an athlete over to his house for an "occasional" meal, according to the NCAA, but he is not allowed to buy the athlete a meal at a restaurant. The NCAA does not define "occasional."

"That's why people who do what I do always say education is so key," said Gragg, who worked at Michigan during the Martin investigation and now heads up Arkansas' compliance efforts. "There are a lot of things to know."

That said, problems with boosters aren't as vast as they used to be or as vast as you may think. Since 1987, the NCAA has put 17 schools on probation for major rules violations, some of which included improper booster involvement.

Getting access

One fact of life in college athletics: Money buys access. Some boosters pay for the right to have their phone calls returned by athletic directors and presidents.

"Boosters that donate a large amount of money, it's almost like they own the department themselves, like they feel as if they have privilege, a sense of power or prerogative," Gragg said. "And they do to a certain extent."

Not that that's bad. When he went looking for a football coach last year, new Ball State Athletic Director Bubba Cunningham said he kept several high-level donors in the loop of what was going on. Many of them were contacted before the search was started.

It was from those meetings and from ones with on-campus leaders that Cunningham developed coaching criteria specific to Ball State's needs.

Once his search got going, he redialed boosters, among others. Like the coach, those donors are crucial to the long-term success of the Cardinals' overall program. Keeping them out of the loop risks losing their support, their money.

"You do walk a line, but you walk the line by your core values," Cunningham said. "You say, 'Here's what we're doing; here's the direction we're headed.' I don't think you can let them make demands on how you want to go, but certainly you can and probably should consider what their concerns out. But you have to make your own decisions."

That goes for when times get tough, too. Presidents and athletic directors rarely receive as many phone calls and e-mails as when the school's most visible athletic program loses.

Few schools go through the Auburn experience, in which a trustee/booster (Lowder) not only has power to shape a coaching search but also to elect a governor.

"My experience has been the ones who are the most generous aren't the ones that want to run your program," Copeland said. "Generally the people who are giving you the most money have served on boards of companies and have a good understanding of how things work. They know you don't pick up a phone and demand and automatically get a coach fired.

"There are some obvious exceptions."

Seminole Boosters has 15,000 contributors who give up to $5,500 a year, but they don't flood the club with demands, associate director Jerry Kutz said.

"They want seats and parking, and they want the team to win, but they don't want much more beyond that," he said. "Now, when you start raising the money we raised in the Dynasty Campaign [$76 million], they want other issues solved. They want [hotel] rooms for a game. You get calls, 'I need six tickets for the bowl game."I need help with relocation. I'm moving to Tallahassee.' Or, 'My kid's at FSU, and he's sick. Do you know a good doctor?' "

Definition of a booster

Among the guidelines, details and descriptions in the voluminous NCAA manual is the definition of a booster.

A "representative of athletics interests" isn't merely a member of the local booster club. It's someone who buys season tickets. Someone who volunteers to help with recruiting (say, a campus tour guide). Someone who, in some way, helps a school's athletes or its families (for example, gives them summer jobs). Or someone who promotes the school's athletics.

And once a booster, always a booster.

Rarely have schools been caught between a rogue booster and the NCAA like Notre Dame was in 2000. The fact was that the Fighting Irish landed on probation because of someone they believe never should have been classified as a booster.

Kim Dunbar was convicted of embezzling $1.4 million from her employer. Some of that money made its way to Notre Dame athletes, for Dunbar lavished many of them with gifts.

The NCAA ruled she was an Irish booster, because five years earlier, she paid $25 for a one-year membership in a Notre Dame quarterback club.

Her involvement with Fighting Irish athletes went from 1993-98, and at one point, an assistant basketball coach failed to report a potential violation (a basketball player's trip to Las Vegas) because she had become romantic with the player.

In large part because of Dunbar, Notre Dame got hit with a major violation for the first time in its history.

"Essentially, Notre Dame got in trouble because one woman gave $25 one year, and it was determined she was a booster," said Ball State's Cunningham, who was an assistant athletic director at Notre Dame at the time. "Was that fair? I don't know."

Smrt, who remembers the days of boosters run amok, said a loose definition of a booster is better. That's because anybody who gives even the bare minimum to a program can be identified and, if necessary, tracked.

"As a school, you know about them," Smrt said. "In the end, you're liable for them."

With the NCAA putting the onus on schools to identify potential booster-related problems and deal with them -- with the risk of probation hanging overhead -- too much supervision is better than not enough.

"The last thing you ever want is an investigation," Gragg said, noting the Michigan investigation lasted about six years. "Along the way, you're having stories about you being written, and they're not positive stories. You're damaged in recruiting; you're damaged in public relations. The whole institution is damaged.

"Believe me, you want to do anything you can to prevent any of that from happening."

Alan Schmadtke can be reached at aschmadtke@orlandosentinel.com.

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