National Collegiate Athletic Association
NCAA News Archive - 2000
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Opinions
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John Cooper, head football coach
Ohio State University
The Associated Press
Discussing the possibility of instant replay in assisting college football referees on the field:
"I don't think you'll see it happen. It wouldn't bother me, but financially I don't see that happening. Maybe the Big Ten, or the SEC, Big 12 or Pac-10 could afford it, but there are a lot of schools struggling just to have a football program."
David Parry, director of officiating
Big Ten Conference
Detroit Free Press
"It cost the NFL around $12 million last year just for instant replay -- and that's just for 31 teams. It's impossible to fathom what the cost would be for college football even if you just limited it to Division I-A, because you're still talking about more than 100 teams. You've got to include everyone, and not every school's game is televised."
Ron Turner, head football coach
University of Illinois, Champaign
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
"I would love to see it come in. And not because of what happened (controversial plays against Michigan). If you would have asked me that question (before the Michigan game), I would have said the same thing. I think it can happen. Most of the games in Division I are on TV of some kind. And if they're not, there are cameras there. And I think the NCAA has a lot of money, and they could help out. ...
"Unfortunately, a lot of coaches, especially at certain schools, will fight it, so you probably won't see it happen. But it has helped the pro game, and I think it can help our game. They use it in college basketball. If a kid shoots a three-point shot, and there's a question of whether his foot was on the line, they take points off the board or put them on. I'd love to see it happen."
College sports gambling
Lou Holtz, head football coach
University of South Carolina, Columbia
The Washington Times
"As a football coach, I have witnessed our football players be idolized, praised and cheered after a win. I also have witnessed their being ridiculed, demonized and ostracized after a win.
"The only difference was in one case we covered the point spread, in the other we did not. I think that we have to do everything we can to remove this temptation and to stop the pressure this betting places on our young people. ...
"We need restrictions because of the abuse that has resulted from legal betting on college sports -- college students and athletes are the victims. Harry Truman, one of my heroes, said, 'The freedom to swing your fist ends where the other guy's nose begins.' The freedom to bet on athletics events should stop when college contests start. The fact that many college students' lives have been altered for the worse because of gambling cannot be disputed. In the future, it must be prevented. College sports is too important to the fabric of our society to jeopardize it."
Frank DeFord, guest commentator
National Public Radio
"Big-time college sports are commercial, not educational. They're different from professional sports in name only. Many of the coaches who are moaning that Nevada debases their institution make millions of dollars a year and make a mockery of academia. Many of the college presidents have sold out as educators, accommodating themselves to the corruption of our big-time athletics system. They are the ones who have made college sports attractive to gamblers. You want to stop people from betting on college sports? Easy. Don't make gambling illegal. Take the points and make professional college sports illegal."