The gamecock. (Columbia, S.C.) 1908-2006, January 14, 2000, Page B3, Image 11
_ ^Gamecock Sports _ _
Friendly competition or hard-nosed business?
ere is no point in denying the ob
ious. College athletics, football es
ecially, is nothing but a bunch of
businesses trying to outsell one another.
Whether it’s joining athletic confer
ences, signing ludicrous T. V. contracts, or
raising ticket prices while upgrading the
stadium to a capacity level larger then
most cities, football today is a well
oiled money-making machine.
These revelations are no secret to the
common fan. The advent of T.V. has
spumed a massive amount of exposure to
teams. With exposure comes a price, and
that price is advertising.
Here is a challenge: Go to the mall.
Resist the urge to buy a pretzel and try to
pay attention to the scenery. As you're
walking through, ignore adults and make
sure to look at every kid you pass. What
you’ll notice is that at least half of them
have some sort of college sports team
clothing on, such as hats, jerseys, shorts
and jackets. Why is this? Kids watch tele
vision, and they watch a lot of it.
Atmeucs aepanmenis Know tms very
well. It’s no secret that the more suc
cessful a team’s program is, the more items
are bought, thus bringing another kind of
exposure. So, the million dollar question
that a struggling or suocessful athletics
program has to ask itself is, “How do we
maintain or build a winning program that
will in turn give us multimedia exposure,
thus helping advertising, so we can raise
ticket prices while raising the seating ca
pacity of our 100,000 seat stadium?”
Only there is no Regis Philbin, no life
lines, and only one choice, not four. And
that choice is simple: recruit athletes.
Sounds easy enough, but recruiting
is the real ugly side to college athletics.
The NCAA imposes certain rules, le
gal and illegal, and colleges break them.
Sometimes they get caught, but more of
ten than not, they get away with cheat
ing.
This is the challenge that the USC
football team is currently wrestling with.
The university’s resume, unfortunately,
reads similar to a bad joke: 1999 record-0
11, Conference-Southeastern (arguably
the nation’s toughest), bowl record-1
8, winning seasons in the past decade
three. However, throw one of the most
successful coaches in history into the equa
tion, and all of a sudden USC has a shot.
The truth is, Carolina’s recruiting class
so far isn’t too bad. It’s quite good for a
team who is 1-21 the past two years. Most
players relish the shot of playing for a leg
end. So far, Coach Lou Holtz has garnered
21 out of 25 possible commitments.
“I chose South Carolina because I
think they’re about to turn their program
around,” said prize commitment Dondr
ial Pinkins, a quarterback from Camilla,
Ga. “I can make a name for myself there.”
Pinkins was slated to visit several
schools such as Auburn, N.C. State and
Central Florida in January, but he can
celled those.
“Coach Holtz was a major reason why.
I did not make my visit to Pittsburgh this
weekend,” said Gonzie Gray, one of Mary
land’s top defensive back prospects. “I’ll
visit South Carolina next weekend, and
that’ll be it.”
However, the harsh realities some
times set in. Case in point: Johnnie Morant.
The 6-foot-5, 225-pound wide-out
from Parsippany, N.J., chose Syracuse
over the Gamecocks Tuesday. He was rat
ed the No. 3 receiver in the nation.
“I liked my visit to South Carolina. I
love their stadium, campus and coaches,”
Morant said. “Holtz is the man.”
Pretty promising huh? Morant
changed his tune a few days ago when he
said “I just committed to Syracuse. It is
just a perfect fit for me. Syracuse is close
to home and I can play early there.”
Like the the boyfriend who gets
dumped and never saw it coming, Morant
leaves fans as well as Holtz wondering
“What did we do wrong?”
But we must remember, the guy is 18
years old. I remember when I had a
hard time choosing a college. I was get
ting letters every day from schools say
ing, “We want you,” and “You’ll love it
here.” _
I am now one of 26,000 players on
a team. But, when the team recruiting
you lias only 25 free openings, it can get
nasty.
Recruiting trips turn into the Sodom
and Gomorrahs of vacations. Alumni wear
ing suits give you hundred-doilar hand
shakes. Promises of new cars, apartments
and seaside resorts are made.
“Isn’t this illegal?” thinks the naive
18-year old that everybody wants. And
then the sinker, “You can be the next star.
You can lead us to the national champi
onship.”
There is no telling what Morant, Pink
ins, and Gray were told on their trips.
I’ll be a good fan and swear that I have
full trust that Coach Holtz is doing noth
ing illegal. As for Syracuse...
Rest easy, fans. It only takes four
years to turn a program around. Re
cruiting is indeed a business within abusi
ness, and as a good friend of mine asked
me the other day, “What would you do
without me?” I hastily replied, “I don’t
know.”
- I
Charlie
Wallace
Senior
Writer
I
Sidewalk Cafe
a# FI^B <SW* THEBATE6CA!t
^ -wrntmmm CoWtl gfljjH® -[ -' ' S^P*
> jt&mi ThePatto (Romt l~zzrr-11-***
The winners of University Dining Services’ Spring Meal Plan Sign-up Contest:
Christine Cook, winner of a color television, Daniel Dolamic, winner of a
Walkman, Nicholas DesRocher, winner of a sports bag filled with goodies.
Missing in action is Steve Cronin, winner of a meal plan and Danita Reese,
winner of a CD case. Also shown is Kenneth Williams of Dining Services.
MONDAY TUESDAY WEDNESDAY THURSDAY FRIDAY SATURDAY SUNDAY
700- Instructor's Instructor's
8:00 AM Choice Choice
7:30- Cardio Jam Cardio
8:30 AM Yoga Jam
Noon Step & Step & Step &
1:00 PM Sculpt Sculpt Sculpt
1:05- Faculty/Staff Faculty/Staff Faculty/Staff
2‘05 PM Aerobics Aerobics Aerobics
2:00- Step Body
3:00 PMSculpting
3:15_ Slide Lower Body slide Upper Body
3:45 PM Blast Blast
3:55- Ab Ab Ab Ab
4:15 PM Express Express Express Express
4:30- Cardio Kick Cardio Kick Cardio
5:30 PM Jam Boxing Jam Boxing Jam
5:30- Water Water Water Water
6:15 PM Aerobics Aerobics Aerobics Aerobics
5:45- Athletic Body Athletic Body Instructor's
6-45 PM Condition Sculpting Condition Sculpting Yoga Choice
7:00— Circuit Power Circuit Power
8*oo PM Training Interval Training Interval
8:15- Cardio Step Step
9’15 PM Tae Box Express Step Express
--- — -;
Pick up a new Spring Brochure !
Don't m^ithe new7:30am Cardtajam/Yoga Class
g* on Tuesdays!
♦Participants must pay a $10 Aerobic Fee for the
spring semester before taking aerobics classes.
Any persons needing special assistance for a disability, please call the
\ Office of Campus Recreation at least 48 hours prior to the event.
P USC is an AA/ADA/EOE
V Department of Student Life
Division of Student and Alumni Services
I he South Carolina Association ot Scholars
and
The National Association of Scholars
present
Professor Alan Charles Kors
speaking on
“The Betrayal
of Liberty
on
America’s Campuses”
An Examination of the Threats to Free Speech
In and out of the Classroom at
American Colleges and Universities
2:00 p.m. Friday,, January 21, 2000
The Russell House Theater
USC Columbia
Alan Charles Kors is
Professor of History at The University of Pennsylvania
Editor-In-Chief of The Oxford Encyclopedia of the Enlightment
Co-Author with Harvey A. Silvergate of
The Shadow University (HarperPerennial, 1998)
Classes are starting now!
Call today to reserve your seat.
DATE: January 20, 2000
TIME: 5:30 p.m.
LOCATION: The Kaplan Center
1717 Gervais Street
Columbia. SC 29201
KLlAlAJ leader
JOJest Preepr
1-800-KAP-TEST -
www.kaplan.com
*MCAT is a registered trademark of the Association of American Medical Colleges
ZJ/ie Qdniuersity of Sou/A Garofina’s Second /Annual
Martin Luther King, Jr.
Day of Service
January 17, 2000
Life’s persistent and most
urgent question is, what
are you doing for others?
-Martin Luther King, Jr. >
1
4
A new tradition began on January 18, 1999
when over 750 faculty, staff and students
gathered to commemorate the life of
Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. for one of the
nation’s largest Day of Service
celebrations. You are invited to continue
the commitment and kick off the new year
during the second annual Martin Luther
King, Jr. Day of Service.
9 a.m. Kick Off and Registration
Russell House University Union
For more information call 777-6688.
Sponsored by the Office of Community Service Programs, Department of Student Life, Divison of Student and Alumni Services