National Collegiate Athletic Association
NCAA News Archive - 2007
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Opinions
The NCAA News
Mike Wood, official
Atlantic Coast Conference
ESPN.com
“As an official, integrity is all that you have. If Mike Wood has integrity and is honest, that doesn’t mean he won’t miss a call. It’s part of the game. But I’m missing them honestly. Sometimes fans don’t understand that. Any controversial call will now be (as a result of gambling-related allegations against NBA referee Tim Donaghy), ‘OK, he’s betting on the game.’ ”
Tom Hansen, commissioner
Pacific-10 Conference
The Arizona Republic
“Every official who walks out in a football or basketball game this year is going to have that sitting on their shoulders. Every call is going to be looked at in a different light.”
John Clougherty, supervisor of officials
Atlantic Coast Conference
ESPN.com
“This will be a concern for every college commissioner and I’m sure we will see even more education on it from the NCAA in the fall. There will be a point to make sure that everyone knows this could happen (to the NCAA) so we have to keep hammering it. We have far, far more referees than the NBA does. I honestly hope that this is a one-time...situation.”
Jim Delany, commissioner
Big Ten Conference
Peoria Journal Star
“We get permission from the official to look at bank records, financial records, good debt and bad debt. If you see something bothersome, you ask more questions. If you’re continued to be bothered, you go another step with an investigation.
“We meet with the FBI periodically. We try to keep the lines of communication open. They come to us if they hear, see or feel something that’s unusual. If we had a serious issue where we needed to dig deeper, we have resources where we get security or a private investigator.”
Dan Beebe, interim commissioner
Big 12 Conference
USA Today
“If any of our officials have gambling issues, that’s a red flag right away. Any of them who are having financial problems, we need to take a look at and make sure they can explain why they’re in the condition they’re in (and) how they’re going to get out of it. If we run a check, and they’re in bankruptcy proceedings, we’re going to be very hard-pressed to use that person.”
John Swofford, commissioner
Atlantic Coast Conference
The Associated Press
“There wasn’t anything that we saw that concerned us, that stimulated our belief that we should take this route (the conference began conducting background checks on referees last year). But this whole issue of gambling is so prevalent in our society.... We just simply want to do everything we can...to have that kind of integrity in our officials as well as our student-athletes.”
Jim Haney, executive director
National Association of Basketball Coaches
USA Today
“I am comfortable with what we’re doing (to check referees’ backgrounds), but it’s like anything. If one person does it — regardless of the efforts...to make everyone aware of the importance of doing things right — it always makes you reassess. Is there more we could be doing? When an event like this happens, it makes everybody pause and reflect.”
Mike Slive, commissioner
Southeastern Conference
The Lexington Herald Leader
“Background checks are part of the answer. But the answer is honesty, trust and integrity. We all have a responsibility to one another and the game.”
Rick Chryst, commissioner
Mid-American Conference
The Buffalo News
“The NCAA is not going to be passive on it. It’s going to prompt all 11 (Football Bowl Subdivision) conferences to double back and analyze what we’re doing. It’s something that I’ll visit with our council presidents on, and it’s something we’ll talk about among our (athletics) directors. As a matter of business and now even more so as a matter of timing, we’re going to scrutinize what we’re doing in essence of can and should we be doing more.”
Dennis Farrell, commissioner
Big West Conference
Los Angeles Times
“It doesn’t matter what level the competition or how prestigious an event might be viewed to be by the public. If they’re posting a betting line, there is that potential something could happen.
“If two people want to get together and bet on a college tennis match, something could happen.”
Al Skinner, men’s basketball coach
Boston College
ESPN.com
“Everyone recognizes that if you really want to fix a game in basketball that the guy to get to is the official because of how much he can control. In all honesty, I’m surprised it hasn’t happened sooner. I’m happy it took this long to occur, and I hope that it doesn’t happen for another 50 years.”
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The NCAA News
Sports wagering and officiating
Mike Wood, official
Atlantic Coast Conference
ESPN.com
“As an official, integrity is all that you have. If Mike Wood has integrity and is honest, that doesn’t mean he won’t miss a call. It’s part of the game. But I’m missing them honestly. Sometimes fans don’t understand that. Any controversial call will now be (as a result of gambling-related allegations against NBA referee Tim Donaghy), ‘OK, he’s betting on the game.’ ”
Tom Hansen, commissioner
Pacific-10 Conference
The Arizona Republic
“Every official who walks out in a football or basketball game this year is going to have that sitting on their shoulders. Every call is going to be looked at in a different light.”
John Clougherty, supervisor of officials
Atlantic Coast Conference
ESPN.com
“This will be a concern for every college commissioner and I’m sure we will see even more education on it from the NCAA in the fall. There will be a point to make sure that everyone knows this could happen (to the NCAA) so we have to keep hammering it. We have far, far more referees than the NBA does. I honestly hope that this is a one-time...situation.”
Jim Delany, commissioner
Big Ten Conference
Peoria Journal Star
“We get permission from the official to look at bank records, financial records, good debt and bad debt. If you see something bothersome, you ask more questions. If you’re continued to be bothered, you go another step with an investigation.
“We meet with the FBI periodically. We try to keep the lines of communication open. They come to us if they hear, see or feel something that’s unusual. If we had a serious issue where we needed to dig deeper, we have resources where we get security or a private investigator.”
Dan Beebe, interim commissioner
Big 12 Conference
USA Today
“If any of our officials have gambling issues, that’s a red flag right away. Any of them who are having financial problems, we need to take a look at and make sure they can explain why they’re in the condition they’re in (and) how they’re going to get out of it. If we run a check, and they’re in bankruptcy proceedings, we’re going to be very hard-pressed to use that person.”
John Swofford, commissioner
Atlantic Coast Conference
The Associated Press
“There wasn’t anything that we saw that concerned us, that stimulated our belief that we should take this route (the conference began conducting background checks on referees last year). But this whole issue of gambling is so prevalent in our society.... We just simply want to do everything we can...to have that kind of integrity in our officials as well as our student-athletes.”
Jim Haney, executive director
National Association of Basketball Coaches
USA Today
“I am comfortable with what we’re doing (to check referees’ backgrounds), but it’s like anything. If one person does it — regardless of the efforts...to make everyone aware of the importance of doing things right — it always makes you reassess. Is there more we could be doing? When an event like this happens, it makes everybody pause and reflect.”
Mike Slive, commissioner
Southeastern Conference
The Lexington Herald Leader
“Background checks are part of the answer. But the answer is honesty, trust and integrity. We all have a responsibility to one another and the game.”
Rick Chryst, commissioner
Mid-American Conference
The Buffalo News
“The NCAA is not going to be passive on it. It’s going to prompt all 11 (Football Bowl Subdivision) conferences to double back and analyze what we’re doing. It’s something that I’ll visit with our council presidents on, and it’s something we’ll talk about among our (athletics) directors. As a matter of business and now even more so as a matter of timing, we’re going to scrutinize what we’re doing in essence of can and should we be doing more.”
Dennis Farrell, commissioner
Big West Conference
Los Angeles Times
“It doesn’t matter what level the competition or how prestigious an event might be viewed to be by the public. If they’re posting a betting line, there is that potential something could happen.
“If two people want to get together and bet on a college tennis match, something could happen.”
Al Skinner, men’s basketball coach
Boston College
ESPN.com
“Everyone recognizes that if you really want to fix a game in basketball that the guy to get to is the official because of how much he can control. In all honesty, I’m surprised it hasn’t happened sooner. I’m happy it took this long to occur, and I hope that it doesn’t happen for another 50 years.”
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