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In recent weeks the college basketball ranks have been rattled by news of inappropriate actions taken by some of its head coaches. The discoveries have lead to suspensions, fines and even a firing.
Oddly enough, two coaches in the spotlight over these scandals, Jim Harrick of the University of Georgia and Jan van Breda Kolff of St. Bonaventure, are former head coaches of the Pepperdine men’s basketball team.
Harrick, who coached Pepperdine from 1980-1988 and led the Waves to a 167-97 record and four NCAA tournament berths, is under fire for actions relating to former Bulldog player Tony Cole.
Harrick’s son, Jim Harrick Jr., has already been fired from the university after investigations found evidence he provided Cole with $300 to pay his phone bill, and allegedly allowed two other student-athletes to commit academic fraud in a class he taught.
Right now, investigators are trying to establish a link between the infractions and Harrick Sr., who at the moment is under suspension with pay.
While at the helm at Pepperdine, Harrick was a popular university figure. He was named West Coast Conference Coach of the year four times. Now he is on the brink of being laid off, and his team is facing serious NCAA sanctions.
Two weeks ago, University of Georgia administration cancelled the remaining games of the Bulldog season, infuriating fans and players.
At St. Bonaventure, a small Catholic school in Buffalo, NY, a very different infraction is playing out, but it too has ended the season of a basketball squad prematurely.
The Bonnies had to forfeit its six Atlantic-10 conference victories when it was discovered that junior center Jamil Terrell was playing, despite being ineligible since the start of the season. Terrell was declared ineligible for failing to meet NCAA junior college transfer guidelines.
In a bizarre chain of events, the St. Bonaventure players decided to forfeit their final two A-10 games of the season because of their unhappiness over the NCAA’s decision. Now, the A-10 is contemplating whether the Bonnies might be dropped from the conference altogether for refusing to finish its season.
According to Pepperdine Head Volleyball Coach Marv Dunphy, who knew van Breda Kolff during his three-year stay in Malibu, the former Pepperdine headman is an unlikely candidate for a college basketball scandal.
“He was squeaky clean,” Dunphy said. “He was almost paranoid about doing something wrong.”
In his two-year stint at Pepperdine, van Breda Kolff guided the Waves to back-to-back 20-win seasons and consecutive postseason appearances. In 2000, the Waves went 25-9, tied the school record for victories, and went on to upset Indiana in the first round of the NCAA tournament.
The volleyball coach said the incident is more likely an oversight than any kind of scandal.
“I’m sure it was curve ball for him. He would not play a player that didn’t have the right credits to get a degree,” Dunphy said.
Pepperdine Athletic Director Dr. John Watson agreed with the assessment of the former Wave.
“I was very surprised when I heard what happened,” Watson said. “In his working relationship with us he was a man very consumed with basketball, but also by doing it the right way … I think Jan is an honorable man.”
Watson pointed out that van Breda Kolff often relied on his assistants, listening to their advice and allowing them to help him do the job right.
Next season, van Breda Kolff will return as the head coach of the Bonnies, but their late season decision to give up has placed a black cloud over the university’s athletics program.
“I don’t know everything involved, but I think the institution and (van Breda Kolff) made the wrong call,” Dunphy said.
With weeks of investigations still to come, the college basketball world is trying to put the focus on its celebrated annual March Madness tournament. But scandals like the one going on in Georgia will continue to affect the college sports world far into the off-season.
Watson said that as long as people in sports are pressured to succeed, they’ll continue to push the rules of the game and how they are defined.
“I think what you’ll find is that whether it be in the business world, the academic world, or the sports world people who seek to excel in their particular profession want do it ethically and responsibly, but also to the best of their ability,” Watson said. “It causes them to drop to that line between right and wrong, and unfortunately some make mistakes, and some go over that line to the other side.”
At Pepperdine, Dunphy said, staying on the right side of that line is part of the university’s tradition.
“You never want to say you’re better than anybody else, but I like what Pepperdine University stands for, and that permeates throughout the entire institution,” he said. “It starts with the heritage and the leadership, and when President Dr. Andy Benton ever speaks to coaches, he says that is what he believes in and most of the coaches would tell you they feel the same way.”
Submitted March 20, 2003
MALIBU, CA
