The Register-Herald, Beckley, West Virginia

College Sports

March 20, 2013

Is WVU’s turmoil the worst ever?

By Mickey Furfari For The Register-Herald

MORGANTOWN — Anyone who reads daily newspapers or listens to the evening news should be well aware of the fact that there is — and has been — considerable turmoil athletically at West Virginia University.

In my opinion, it is the worst mess in my 67 years of reporting on the Mountaineer sports beat. And the stakes obviously are tremendously higher than ever before financially.

About six months ago I telephoned Drew Payne, chairman of the WVU Board of Governors then, as now. I asked why his members weren’t concerned that it seemed the Department of Intercollegiate Athletics was spending money like it was going out of style.

Payne’s reply was that the Board of Governors agreed that WVU President James Clements and Athletic Director Oliver Luck should be free to spend whatever they determine would be best for the university.

He readily admitted that he feels, as a growing number of people do, that spending in college athletics nationwide has become too greatly costly.

But my question is: Does that make it right? I don’t know for sure. I’m just asking.

However, when college presidents first began paying football and basketball head coaches million-dollar salaries, the cost of a game would eventually get down to long-time loyal season-ticket buyers.

And, indeed, it has hit them hard. Hundreds of my friends have told me they no longer can afford to buy tickets and each was a loyal Mountaineer fan of long, long standing.

Many folks now tell me they already have quit as season-ticket purchasers (football ticket orders now are being accepted for next fall’s home games). So my thought is that game attendance will be somewhat lower for both football and basketball home games in 2013-14.

Efforts by the media to get comments from WVU officials about various athletic matters have become more difficult lately. Their general response is they cannot comment while these matters are still being discussed.

You rarely see direct quotes from Luck, much less Dr. Clements, who has spoken, if at all, through associates on these athletic matters.

The university’s athletic department waited until last month to tell us that it finished the fiscal 2011-12 ending last June 30 with a record-setting $13 million deficit for that 12-month period. And, reportedly, that does not include pending payments on three internal loans. It is undoubtedly the biggest batch of red ink in the athletic department’s history.

You may recall that it cost WVU $20 million just to get out of the Big East Conference to join the Big 12 Conference by July 1, 2012.

Some people think that was a mistake. Do you? Travel has been greater in distances — and more expensive — for both of the two major sports this year. And coaches and players have mentioned the wear and tear as a factor in road game performance.

So much so, the Big 12 commissioner reportedly will be asked to schedule WVU basketball games — men and women’s — on the road on a double-up weekend basis. Saturday at one school and Monday at another. That would save money and also be better for the teams.

Why wasn’t that an arrangement made for their 2012-13 academic-athletic school year?

Growing up, I always learned, at a very early age, that integrity is a very important tool to possess.

Yet we’ve read about allegations of improper bidding procedures and even possible conflicts of interest in the turmoil at WVU.

It’s terribly disheartening, but I’m wishing my alma mater well.

Text Only
College Sports
  • 051913 KWarriors.jpg King’s Warriors take down Chaos 3-1

    Southern West Virginia King’s Warriors head coach Scott Reitnour had a busy day Saturday.

    May 19, 2013 1 Photo

  • McCartney says he’s returning to Mountaineers

    The Twitter world was full of West Virginia University sports news Saturday, beginning with the revelation that Ivan McCartney will likely be returning to the Mountaineer football team.

    May 19, 2013

  • Harrick was greatest 2-sport coach at WVU

    The late Steve Harrick was the longest serving, most successful two-sport head coach in West Virginia University’s athletic history.

    May 18, 2013

  • Concord wastes 2-run lead in 9th, eliminated from regional

    Concord University lost a two-run lead in the ninth inning and was eliminated from the NCAA Division II Atlantic Region baseball playoffs by the Winston-Salem State Rams, 7-5 on Friday afternoon at Gene Hooks Field.

    May 18, 2013

  • Musgrave named Pitcher of the Year Finalist

    May 16, 2013

  • Concord drops NCAA Tournament opener to Millersville 5-4 in Winston-Salem

    May 16, 2013

  • Crutchfield talks about his system, recruiting, focus

    Jim Crutchfield, whose basketball program at West Liberty University is the nation’s best in NCAA Division II, insists that there’s really no secret to his team’s soaring success.
    The Hilltoppers not only lead the collegiate basketball world in scoring with an incredible 103-point average but also are No. 1 in marginal victory at 25-plus.
    “I try to stay as local as I can in recruiting,” the 57-year-old Clarksburg native said. Most of his players come from West Virginia, Pennsylvania, and Ohio.

    May 16, 2013

  • 051613 wvu marshall ‘It’s been great for the state’

    West Virginia and Marshall are going to continue to meet on the baseball diamond. After a nearly 15-year break in the series, all involved agreed that rekindling the rivalry between the state’s two biggest schools — a series that culminated with a 6-5 Marshall victory Tuesday at Linda K. Epling Stadium — was a solid idea.

    May 15, 2013 1 Photo

  • WVU closes season against OSU

    The West Virginia University baseball team will close out the regular season this weekend against Big 12 foe Oklahoma State at Allie P. Reynolds Stadium in Stillwater, Okla., and there will be a great deal on the line.

    May 15, 2013

  • Brett Morris will walk on at WVU

    The West Virginia University basketball team will be filled with southern West Virginia flavor next season after Brett Morris announced this week that he’ll be joining head coach Bob Huggins’ program as a preferred walk-on. Morris, the Class AA all-state captain, will join Shady Spring’s Chase Connor, who will also be walking on for the Mountaineers, and Greenbrier East’s Richard Romeo, who is already a walk-on in the program.

    May 15, 2013