Baylor coach resigns; president admits NCAA infractions
Kids, there's a time and a place for that- and it's called COLLEGE!
- Chef, "Southpark"
Hmm...let's see what we have here: murder, recruiting violations, threats, players getting paid under the table, improper drug testing, drug use by players- not bad for a Baptist university, eh??
WACO -- Baylor basketball coach Dave Bliss resigned today because of violations in his program that have turned up in the wake of the disappearance and death of a player and charges he was killed by a former teammate.
"I'm the head coach and I'm accountable for everything that goes on in my program," Bliss said in a hastily arranged campus news conference. "I accept that responsibility. I intend to cooperate fully as the inquiry continues. I'll do whatever I can to make things right."
Since 6-foot-10 junior forward Patrick Dennehy was reported missing in mid-June, Bliss has been scrutinized for everything from who he recruited to how closely he oversaw the team....
After Bliss' brief resignation announcement, Baylor president Robert Sloan announced that the school's investigation committee already has discovered major violations regarding players getting paid and improper drug testing.
He put the program on probation for up to two years, saying it will not participate in any postseason tournaments next season, including the conference tournament. He also offered to allow any player to transfer.
"Additional sanctions may be imposed as the investigation continues," Sloan said.
Sloan also said athletic director Tom Stanton, who hired Bliss, was resigning, even though he "had no direct knowledge of any of the infractions."
Sloan and Bliss were among nearly a dozen Baylor officials who attended a memorial service in San Jose for Dennehy on Thursday. Baylor, the world's largest Baptist university with 14,000 students, will hold its own memorial Aug. 28 in Waco.
Bliss, 59, has been a Division I coach for 28 seasons, working previously at Oklahoma, SMU and New Mexico. He arrived at Baylor in 1999 and in four years began turning around a program that had been placed on NCAA probation twice since the mid-1980s.
I'll go easy on Susan's alma mater here, but it is sad to see a truly excellent educational institution tarnished by corruption and venality. Given the amount of money and prestige at stake in Division I athletics, it's understandable how a program and the people involved with it can be corrupted. Baylor has a tougher road to travel than most. It's strict Baptist philosophy (understandably) scares off athletes, it's academic reputation scares off yet more, and then you have to consider that Baylor is located in Waco. Imagine spending four years in Mayberry, RFD. Yeah, I wouldn't want to do it, either.
Perhaps it's time for Baylor's administration to consider downgrade it's athletic program. While that may be heresy to some alumni (of which I am not one), it would seem an appropriate way for the school to refocus it's commitment to academic excellence. Besides, Baylor's football team SUCKS....
