Historical Newspapers of South Carolina

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Announ At Dism BY BOB ODOM Sports Writer (This is the first of two articles concerning the dismissal 9f Bob Fulton from doing the play-by-play broadcasts of USC basketball games by WIS-TV. Reporter Odom interviewed WIS and USC athletic officials and coaches, in addition to Fulton.) When Coach Frank McGuire and his Gamecocks open their 1973-74 basketball season against Toledo, there will be one person missing, or at least there will be someone missing for the many fans who are unable to get a ticket and find themselves sitting at home viewing the game on television. Bob Fulton, who is known across the Southeast as the "Voice of the Gamecocks" will not be doing the play-by-play as he has done for the past five years. Ken Yeager, general manager of WIS-TV has anhounced that sports director Jim Forrest, a new addition to WIS, will take Fulton's place. Fulton will, however, handle the play-by-play on radio with WCOS AM and WCOS-FM. WIS radio will not broadcast USC basketball this year. It's not that Fulton does not want to do the play-by-play on WIS-TV because he does. Instead, Fulton says that during the past year certain individuals have literally gotten together and pushed him out of a job that he thinks, and most of the people- of Columbia have in dicated, he deserves. Monday P U.S. Choice Sirloin Choice of Potato Salad Bar DOME TO THE BACKPACKER QOLUMBIA'S ONLY COMPLETE OUTFIT TER: ALPENLITE PRODUCTS THE NORTH FACE ALPINE DESIGNS IAN SPOR T UNIVERSAL. VASOUE FOOTGEAR DUNHAM FOOTGE AR 'CAMP 7 RICH-MOOR FREEZE DRY FOODS MOUNT AIN HOUSE FREEZE DRY FOODS TEA KETTLE FREEZE DRY FOODS EUREKA TENTS .WOOL RICH CLOT HES 952 HARDEN STREET MON.-F RI. 11 a.m.--S:30 p.m. SA T. 10-.6 --SLEEPING BAGS * TE cer Fultor issal By V Fulton has been broadcasting Carolina basketball since 1951 with the exception of two years when he announced Georgia Tech football games. Before coming to Carolina, Fulton served eight years as play by-play man for Arkansas football. Fulton's success as an an nouncer certainly speaks for itself. During his stay at Carolina he has had the honor of being named South Carolina Sportscaster-of-the Year on eight different occasions. In addition, Fulton is one of the few announcers in the Southeast who has proven he has the ability to work three major sports: basketball, football and baseball with the mastery that he demon strates. Fulton has done the play by-play for major league baseball games as well as announced many of college's top post-season bowl games. . Yeager, who is in charge of arranging the contract between WIS and the University, denies that anyone has pushed Fulton out of his job on television. Yeager said Fulton is not working on television because WIS feels they have the right to select their own announcers. "We made a choice on our an nouncers, met the demands of the University, and they agreed to the contract that we proposed. It was as simple as that," Yeager said. "We don't have a contract with Bob Fulton. He is not employed by us and we are certainly not obligated to use him on our broadcasts. We cannot allow the light Stude $3.50 741 SALUDA AVE. COLUMBIA, SOUTH WACE qualltg gear NTS e PACK~S & FRAMES CANOES FOOTGEA Angry (IS -TV people to be deprived of viewing Carolina basketball games because of one announcer." Yeaaer said that he could un derstand Fulton's side of the story. "Bob feels he should be able to do both the radio and television portion of the game," Yeager said. "He would like, as any other announcer, to have it all to himself, ifut we at WIS have to make certain decisions in the best interest of our station. I would think that Fulton would respect our views. If he doesn't he must have his signs mixed up." USC Athletic Director Paul Dietzel said the reason WIS was given the contract was because they offered Carolina the most money and the widest range of coverage. "It's not that we didn't want Bob to do the play-by-play because he does a super job," Dietzel said. "It's just that WIS met our demands and they have the right to choose their own an nouncers." Dietzel added, "When Fulton came to Carolina he came under the agreement that he would do play-by-play on radio only since the ACC held the television rights. Now that we have gone in dependent new adjustments have had to be made." Fulton disagreed with Yeager and Dietzel. He thinks the move to take him off television has been unjust and more because of per sonal conflicts than business. nt Special Reservations F%sw ieab FIVE POINTS ARC. 'NA 29205 NHY DRIVE IN CIRCLES? 20ME TO COLUMBIA'S NEWEST 3ACKPACKING, CAMPING AND HIKING iTORE TO COMPARE THE MAJOR BRANDS )F EOU1PMENT. OPTIMUS STOVES SVEA STOVES PRIMUS STOVES USGS MAPS COOKING KITS DOWN CI O THE S R AIN G(-A R PACKS & FRAMI S GOOSE DOWN BAGS DUCK DOWN BAGS FIBE RFILL ii BAGS TECHNICAL GE AR GENE RAL SUPLIES R * GENERAL GEAR it.. Bob Fulton "I have had more than one run-in with Yeager." Fulton said. "The most recent was when I was taken off the Sunday afternoon football show that features Carolina highlights. I was taken off without even being notified that I had been dismissed or an explanation telling me why." Fulton added, "About three days before the first telecast I called Yeage and asked him what time I was supposed to be at the station on Sunday to record the show." Yeager replied, 'Well, Bob, you are not on that show, you have never been on that show and you won't be on that show.' " Yeager said the reason Fulton did not appear on the show was because they had dropped the Quarterback show from the previous year and they only needed one host for the Carolina football show. "We saw no need of having two hosts on a show that only required one," Yeager said. "It would only have been a waste of money to have two." Yeager declined to make comment concerning the fact that he didn't notify Fulton of his dismissal. Fulton insists that since he concluded his last television show he has never been given an official release. "I have never been given notice that I was taken off the show and to this day no one has given me an explanation," he said. (On Thursday, Odom's article will center on Fulton's arguments that WIS tried last year to get him -ff the air but public support made them back down.) K LEEN 1320 Main Street DRY CLEANING SPECIAL 2 pc. men's or lady 's plair suits or dresses 4 day service $1.44 eaci MIX 'EM UP 'I".\ N TS-SII ilt T N skirts - SW E.A.iT E St 4 l)MV Servwe 3_FOR $19 1320 Main Street %rw"IGC p age V ACC Fights To Reinstate L.6 Standard Several major college athletic conferences plan to recommend that the NCAA return the provisions of the 1.6 rule for awarding athletic grants in aid and participation in athletics. The Atlantic Coast Conference Wednesday - voted to sponsor legislation for the 1.6 rule at the NCAA convention in January. The measure would be applicable to only Division I schools-the major college classification in the NCAA's new organization. The NCAA now has a 2.0 rule in which the minimum grade average for a participant in -athelticsis a C. A spokesman for the ACC said the conference's measure will have support from the Big Ten Con ference, Southeastern Conference and possibly other conferences and independents. "The ACC is committed to a position that there must be ac ceptable minimum academic standards on a national level for awarding of financial aid and participation in intercollegiate athletics. and will exert every effort to achieve this end," ACC President D. Allen Williams of the University of Virginia said. Many large schools have com plained that the 2.0 rule keeps many potential athletes out of school and athletic competition. Smaller schools overall are in favor of the 2.0 rule, and the larger schools feel that they should not be required to have the same stan dards as the small schools. The ACC is also expected to co sponsor legislation for Division I for a national letter-of-intent, the establishment of a minimum in tercollegiate sports program and minimum basketball and football programs. Biddies End 1973 Season At Georgia Carolina's junior varsity football team will close its season today when they meet the Georgia jayvees in Athens at 2 p.m. The Biddies' record is 3-3 and they were beaten 55-7 by Georgia Tech in their last game. The Biddies have beaten The Citadel, Florida State and Clemson and have lost to Mexico Tech and Virginia Tech, in addition to Georgia Tech. THURS. 7 & & SAT. 9:30 R.H. Theatre $1