The gamecock. (Columbia, S.C.) 1908-2006, October 12, 1988, Page 8, Image 8
Pep Tall
By Kevin Adams
Will Dixon
to troubled US
The USC Athletic Department has
been back on the front page again,
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belongs.
This past Monday, Dick Bestwick
stepped down from his post as USC
athletic director. King Dixon was
named to replace him. Dixon's official
title is interim athletic director,
but in all probability he will be named
full-time athletic director as soon
as the proper paperwork is
completed.
Bestwick was on the job for six
months, but health problems caused
by stress forced his leave of absence.
It has been said that Bestwick had
been working as many as 20 hours
per day in the Athletic Department.
According to a joint statement by
Bestwick and USC president James
Holderman, "Although Dick
Bestwick has performed his duties as
athletic director to the complete
satisfaction of the university, the
condition of his health has made it
impossible for him to continue in
that position."
According to Holderman, "Dick
Bestwick has performed his job in an
exemplary fashion. He has instituted
a responsible drug testing program
for our student athletes, greatly
strengthened the department's fiscal
operations, and made great progress
in planning for the future of the
university's athletic program, in particular
by developing solid, competitive
scheduling."
Bestwick had been rumored to
have differences with USC head foot
ball coach Joe Morrison, and it s
been said that Bestwick did not have
a strong personal relationship with
Morrison or head basketball coach
George Felton, unlike previous
Athletic Director Bob Marcum, who
hired both coaches.
But from all indications, it appears
that health reasons were the primary,
if not sole, reason for Bestwick's
departure and that there was no
cover-up or forced resignation.
That would be a change.
The USC Athletic Department has
had more than its share of problems
in the last 10 years or so. Sure, those
things are bound to happen in the big
business world of college athletics,
where, at most schools, winning is
everything and the student-athlete
suffers. That's not necessarily the
case at USC, but the school has had
many recent athletic events that make
you wonder.
Basketball has been the most affected.
Legendary head coach Frank
McGuire, who led USC to its finest
seasons ever, was forced out after the
1979 season. Bill Foster was brought
in from Duke to replace McGuire,
but was forced out after the 1985-86
season, because he did not bring the
success expected of him.
After Foster, now the head coach
at Northwestern, was let go, it was
discovered that basketball players
had sold tickets in violation of
NCAA rules. There were additional
minor violations and the USC men's
basketball program was placed on
probation for two years. Those sanctions
will finally be lifted this March.
Perhaps the biggest and most
unbelievable controversy of them all
involved head women's basketball
coach Pam Parsons in the early
1980s. Parsons was accused of having
lesbian affairs with several of her
players and was forced out in the
Pro tennis
The fifth annual Columbia Pro
Tennis Championships will be held
Thursday through Sunday at the Sam
Daniel Tennis Stadium on the USC
campus.
Th<?rp u/ill hp a r>rpcc r>r*nfprpnrp tn
day at noon at the Marriott to discuss
the tournament, which has a purse of
$30,0(X, with all proceeds going to
The Killingsworth Children's Home
in Columbia.
Lawson Duncan, ranked 50th in
the world, will replace Johan Kriek,
who withdrew. Duncan will be the
No. 1 seed in the tournament.
The finals are set for 2 p.m. Sunday
with an exhibition match set for
Sunday at noon.
Tickets are $5 and $7, and may be
purchased at the gate. Admission will
be free to USC students and faculty
with valid ID's.
USC's Steve Longley plays Mel
Purcell at 11:30 a.m. Thursday,
while USC's Stephane Surnian plays
fifth-seeded Jimmy Brown at 2:30
p.m. Thursday.
mg stability
C department?
midst of the 1981-82 season after an
article about the accusations appeared
in Sports Illustrated.
The basketball problems of the
past seemingly have been done away
with by the hiring of Felton and
women's coach Nancy Wilson, who
have both fashioned impeccable win- .
ning programs with total regard to
the student-athlete.
Football has not been left out,
either. Former head coach/Athletic
Director Jim Carlen was fired after
the 1981 season. Richard Bell, a
Carlen assistant, was hired to the
head post. A year later, Bell was gone
after a 4-7 record, supposedly
because he refused to fire his
assistants, as new Athletic Director
Marcum requested. It was widely
speculated that Marcum didn't like
Bell and that he wanted his own man
in charge of the football team. Enter
Joe Morrison, admittedly a good
choice.
Morrison had his own scandal, just
last summer. A woman claimed Morrison,
a married man, had been having
an affair with her for the past
several years, going back to the early
1980s when Morrison was at New
Mexico.
She filed suit against Morrison,
claiming he fathered her child and
was not adequately supporting the
woman and her daughter. Sources
say the Morrison affair was common
knowledge in the Athletic
Department.
Then early this year, former
Gamecock wide receiver Ryan Bethea
was arrested by Columbia police for
possession of cocaine and a USC
football recruit died after swallowing
crack on a Washington, D.C. street
to avoid arrest by approaching police
officers. An investigation into the.,!
drug-testing program at USC revealed
negligence in the testing of
athletes. Marcum was fired in the
wake and Bestwick took his place.
Meanwhile, USC's vaults have =
been depleted with settlements to
McGuire, Parsons, Bell, Foster, etc.
Marcum also has plans to file suit
against the university.
Is Dixon the man to finally bring
some much-needed integrity and
stability to the Roundhouse?
Time will tell. Personally, I'm impressed.
He has a strong handshake
and he looks you in the eye. He
doesn't evade questions and he's got
some good ideas of what he wants to
do with the USC program. Like
Bestwick, he believes in the studentathlete,
but he also gets along well
with others, which seemed to be
somewhat of a problem for Bestwick.
You have to have a strong relationship
with your staff to get things
done.
More than that, though, Dixon has
a love for this university that outsiders
like Bestwick or Marcum
didn't possess. And it wasn't their
fault. It's just that Bestwick and
Marcum never wore a Gamecock
uniform. Dixon did. He also attended
classes at USC and graduated Phi
Beta Kappa in 1959.
Dixon's intense feelings for USC
are apparent when he talks about his
plans and expectations for the future
of the Athletic Department. You
don't have to have that kind of love
for a university to be a successful
athletic director.
But it sure does help.
hits USC
First round pairings
No. 1 Lawson Duncan
Bye
Derek Tarr
Jay Lapiaus
Mel Purcell
Steve Longley (USC)
No. 4 Jimmy Arias
Bye
No. 3 Jim Courier
Bye
No. 5 Jimmy Brown
Stephane Surnian (USC)
Brett Garnett
Howard Herr
No. 2 Tim Wilkinson
Bye
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DANA PURSER/The Gamecock
Winning serve
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in a volleyball match earlier this season. USC was in Hattiesburg,
Miss., this weekend and swept the University of New Orleans and
Southern Mississippi. The Lady Gamecocks have won four consecutive
matches and are now 11-7. USC's next match is at 7 p.m. tonight at the
College of Charleston.
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Team's poi
By CHRIS SILVESTRI f
Assistant sports editor ^
Although USC's football team 1
didn't play up to its potential in last z
Saturday's 26-24 win>over Virginia v
Tech, it passed one test with flying i
colors: the test of character. \
The Gamecocks were down 21-10
at the half and had just had two in- t
terceptions returned for a touchdown t
coupled with a missed field goal.
"We could have had a group of in- 1
dividuals who hung their heads a lit- r
tle bit or had their tail between their
legs, and not come out in the second
nan ana piayea ine way we aia,
head coach Joe Morrison said Monday
at his weekly press conference.
"I told the team after the game
that I thought they showed a tremendous
amount of character in
themselves, and a lot of faith and
confidence in themselves and each
other."
There are many aspects of the
game that were not, to say the least,
in top form for USC. The team's
running game netted no yards on 27
carries, and quarterback Todd Ellis
threw five interceptions, two of
which were returned for touchdowns.
Apparently, there will be no major
changes in the Gamecock offense in
order to boost their running game.
"I guess it's that old story, we'il
just go back to work," Morrison
said. "It seems (after looking at the
films) that we're only a step away.
It's an area of concern but not
something we're going to get carried
away with."
Of course, some of the problem
with the running game is because of
the health of running back Harold
Green. Green, the Gamecocks
leading rusher, has been hampered
all season by a foot injury.
Injuries also hit USC last week as
Ellis and wide receiver/punt returner
Carl Piatt were both hurt. Ellis suf
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se shows
ered a mild concussion late in the
^ame and spent the night in the
lospital, but will play Saturday
tgainst Georgia Tech. Piatt undervent
surgery on his hand Sunday and
s expected to be out for about two
veeks.
Morrison said he is concerned with
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