The gamecock. (Columbia, S.C.) 1908-2006, January 15, 1990, Page 2, Image 2
By JEFF WILSON
I News Editor
For USC, the 1980s could be referred to as a
remake of the old western movie The Good,
The Ugly. WT
The 1984 football season
with all its "Black
Magic" was good, the
shocking death of Coach
Joe Morrison and alleged !"v aWSF
steroid use by some members
of the athletic prog- V
ram was bad, and the dor- if
mitory visitation policy
changes that divided the
campus were ugly. J3m?s Holdsrmsn
The '80s brought USC such memorable figures as
Pope John Paul II and presidents Ronald Reagan and
George Bush.
The campus felt the fire of Sparky, while Mike Fair
emerged as the man students "loved to hate."
In the '80s, the Caribbean came to Carolina. Technology
was given the name Swearingen, and art was
v called Koger.
"(In the '80s) USC has become more of a research
institution. It has become more of a graduate institution.
We've got extraordinary new facilities for the
arts and extraordinary new facilites in engineering,"
USC President James Holderman said.
"We have a more competitive list from which to
choose for admissions," he said. "We've got eight
other campuses that are flourishing. The system is
emerging as a tremendous influence in South Carolina
higher education."
The 1980s began with USC's George Rogers receiving
college football's most coveted individual
1 *t- - TT-! T?
nonor, me ncisuiau nupuy.
'The main thing on my mind all season was winning
(games)," Rogers fi
said: "I wasn't thinking
about the Heisman Trophy.
I just tried to play as
hard as I could." jam *?ss; yB
After becoming the v ,|B
1 draft pick in the NPl,
Rogers went to play for HNB the
New Orleans Saints V jgMflfl
and later for the Washington
Redskins.
But cocaine use made
the superstar a fallen star, Ronald Reagan
and his football career was over before the decadt
ended.
Even with achievements, USC's athletic departmen
sustained several blows during the decade.
USC Athletic Director Jim Carlen, who was alsc
head football coach, was fired in 1981 by the USC
Board of Trustees after a five-year career with the
university.
Neither the board nor Holderman would say whj
. Carlen was fired but insiders said it was a combina
tion of Carlen's 6-6 football finish in 1981, his proud
aggressive attitude and moral problems related to hi
private life.
Carlen was the first of four head football coache
the university would have during the 1980s.
During the. reign of Pam Parsons as USC women'
basketball coach, there was more than just basketbal
involved, a 1982 edition of Sports Illustrated said.
Not only did Parsons turn off players with tyranni
cal and ambitious motives^ but also with rumors c
!, lesbianism, the attempted set-up of one player in
drug incident, the tampering of academic and transfe
! records and money provided for players.
Later in 1985, Parsons and former player Tina Buc
were sentenced to five years in prison, suspended t
four months service and five years probation, for pei
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In 1982, head football coach Richard Bell, who
placed Carlen, was fired by Athletic Director B
Marcum when he refused to fire four assists
coaches. The Gamecocks under Bell posted a losi
4-7 record.
"I advised Coach Bell of the need to make cert
?taff rhanap.c as wp.11 as nnn-nersnnnel chane
Coach Bell declined to make the changes that I
quested involving the coaching staff," Marcum said
the time.
USC students' reactions to the firing of Bell w
overwhelmingly negative.
Typical was Jennifer Woodlaw's reaction.
"I don't really think it's
fair. He really didn't have r
a chance. You have to *
have room to improve," J
the 1982 journalism so- I jjjKk JKf
After loosing a f^JR|
$50,000-a-year salary, H
< Bell received $178,000 in
university.
) Three years later, ba- ^oe Morrison
' sketball coach Bill Foster resigned under pressure.
5 settled for a payment of $241,660 to pay off the
maining two years of his contract.
f Along with disappointments and scandals ca
- praise.
, In the summer of 1984, USC hosted a three-<
s conference of the Caribbean heads of government.
Back in 1984, President Holderman said the conl
s ence would have an effect on the university "
decades."
s President Reagan met with the Caribbean leaden
[1 Russell House, USC's student union.
The conference concentrated mainly on the Cai
_ bean Basin Initiative, a measure designed to g
c Hntv-frfvr arn?.? tr? Parihtwin p.xnorts.
a The three-day event also focused on the ecomc
;r problems and political security in an area with limi
resources.
k Reagan said the U.S. has a moral responsibility
o support countries who aspire to live in a true der
_ cracy, free from communist interference.
5 "If the democratic people do not stand together,
certainly will be unable to stand alone. What we
together, as a family of free men and women, will
termine what the future will be like for our childre
Reagan said.
' While he was meeting with Caribbean leaders in
Russell House, Reagan couldn't hear the chants
protestors gathered at the corner of Greene and Si
ter streets to oppose the U.S. foreign policy t
USC's role in the conference.
The Caribbean conference, hailed as a monumei
achievement for USC, was only one of the ma
events to take place in 1984. The 1984 football sea;
still remains unforgettable.
It started in late September with a victory agai
Georgia. Some students camped out all night to
tickets to the spectacle, and others found tickets gi
barely more than a day after distribution began.
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re- On Saturday night, Sept. 24, 1984, the Gamecocks
ob gave fans thrill number one, a seven-point win over
int the Bulldogs, the first win over the rivals from Athens
ing in five years.
Wire services and other raters picked the USC team
ain as one of the nation's 20 best With defeats of lesser
es. opponents ? including Pittsburgh ? higher rankings
re- came.
[ at The Florida State game was a fitting end to a glorious
home season. Some say it was the biggest game
ere in Carolina's history. A possible undefeated season, a
New Year's bowl bid on the line, a record William^
Brice Stadium attendance
r ^ an(* a nationa* television
? ljk audience were all fitting
s together like a jigsaw
\iym% #?% rl The Gamecocks beat
Florida State 38-36.
<w~<- f With a 9-0 winning
- ^ streak, USC climbed to
V second place in the AssoAt
ciated Press football poll.
Mm People were beginning
Sparky Woods to wonder if it could reHe
allv be done ? an undefeated season and even a na
re- tional championship.
Then on Nov. 17, the balloon burst in Annapolis,
me Md. Navy defeated the Gamecocks, 38-21. Gamecock
fans still talk about what might have been,
lay Cameras flashed, and students cheered. People sat
on each other's shoulders and ran across the The
fer- Horseshoe just to get glimpses of him.
for "John Paul II, we love you," chanted almost 13,00C
USC students, faculty and staff on a steamy, hot Fri:
in day in September, 1987.
"It is true. John Paul II, he loves you," the pontifi
tib- replied in front of the President's house,
ive One spectator said, "Whether it was the Holy Spirit
or papal spirit or human spirit, I don't know; but ii
nic was very moving. It was very exciting."
ted A small monument now stands on The Horsesho<
commemorating the papal visit.
r to The future of USC and the accomplishments ol
no- John Swcaringen were recognized by business and po
litical leaders as they spoke during the dedication ol
we USC's $20.1 million John E. Swearingen Center ir
do October, 1987.
de- The center is "probably the most high-tech teaching
in," and research facilities in the Southeast," said Ler
McNair of McNair Johnson Associates of Columbia
the the architectural firm that designed the center,
of
im- The center required an investment of more than $3(
ind million split between federal and private funds.
At the dedication ceremony, Sen. Strom Thurmom
ital (R-SC) said, "This center with its 210,110 square fee
ijor of laboratories and additional 165,000 square feet wit!
son the renovation of the old SCE&G building, will helj
this state and the entire nation."
inst The Swearingen Center did not turn out to be th<
get only building to make the state and nation stand uj
one and take notice.
When January 1989 rolled around, USC's Ira ant
ental Musicians .. si
>lumbia College Wind Ensemble AT/'lT/t
Woodwind, Percussion Players 1\ VJ n
Welcome
Travel Meet People
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2127 Dev
mam
Nancy Koger Center for the Arts was ready for the
grand gala opening.
The $15 million arts center opened with a performance
by the London Philharmonic Orchestra on Jan.
14, 1989.
Since then, the Koger Center has turned out to be
one of the premiere facilities in the Southeast.
Students, faculty and staff wore "Black Magic"
sweatshirts, while others
put Gamecock flags on
their cars in honor of the
late USC head football
I coach Joe Morrison.
'jgm _i- - jflRjH On Feb. 5, 1989 MorriI
son collapsed in a shower
in William-Brice Stadium.
In j ^ ?LmM jje 0f a heart attack.
HL He had been playing
racquetball for about half
an hour with his friend
Pope John Paul II and attorney Ed "Punky"
Holler and defensive coordinator Joe Lee Dunn before
the collapse. Morrison, who was alive but uncon:
scious, was taken to Providence Hospital.
He never woke up.
Morrison came to USC in 1983 and was the third
football coach since 1980.
"It was a tragedy he died. It always is when a vital
person dies, but I'm very pleased with Sparky," President
Holderman said. "I think Sparky's doing a fantastic
job, and I think Joe Morrison would be pleased
with Sparky Woods."
When the USC Board of Trustees passed an Ecology
Committee proposal that would phase-out overnight,
opposite sex visitation, the campus was divided
and battle lines were drawn.
When the smoke cleared, Douglas and Burney residence
halls found themselves without opposite-sex
visitation.
The board received petitions and more than 400 letters
opposing Rep. Mike Fair's proposed >isitation
policy.
"My opinion is pretty strong and deep, and the petition
does not change my mind," Fair said.
Eventually traditional, limited opposite-sex visitation
was given to the dorms with space made available
for students desiring no opposite-sex visitation.
But the issue of visitation is far from over.
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Chaikin told Sporte Illustrated of his own four-year
battle with steroids and alleged widespread drug use
by other Gamecock football players, shock waves
went through the athletic department.
Three USC assistant football coaches were fired
and indicted in federal court for allegedly setting up a
program to provide illegal steroids to Gamecock players
from 1984 to 1986.
. Former. athletic director Bob Marcum would find
himself without a job and in court seeking back pay
from USC.
Marcum ended up with a $234,425 jury award
along with $8,720 in incidental costs.
When Hurricane Hugo
hit the coast of South Carolina
in September 1989,
: the USC community
' responded.
BRjf 'v* <0*, Evacuees who poured
> off 1-26 from Charleston
- ^^^ 1 found the Carolina Coli^
seum and the Roost a ha^
ven during the eye of the
L storm.
t HBA __4fc HH After the
Mike Fair passed and the state was
5 licking its wounds, volunteers from USC's College of
Social Work went to Charleston to help. Clothes and
' other provisions were boxed up in the Elephant Room
of the coliseum and sent to the ravaged areas of the
^ state.
1 S.C. Governor Carroll Campbell called Hugo "the
worst storm, the worst disaster I've ever seen
' anywhere.
1 In an interview about the '80s, Holderman said, "re?
search has increased tremendously. In 1980 we probably
did $12 million in research a year. Now we're up
to $40 million a year. We've still got a long way to
) go. Our endowment 10 years ago was $3 million.
Now it's $50 million.
1 "I think what happened in the '80s was a setting of
t our sights for perhaps the first time in a long, long
i time. Our goals are very hign, out tney are
) achievable."
Holderman said he did not know what hasn't
? changed about USC, "except its charm."
) "We've been through a lot of bumps together. You
get attached to a place by going down a bumpy road
1 together," Holderman said.
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