Section A·Page 12
The University Daily Kansan
Wednesday, February 7, 2001
Football
Recruits subject to Internet scrutiny
The Associated Press
JACKSON, Miss. — Chris
Spencer is a wanted man.
The 306-pound 17-year-old supposedly was spotted in Tuscaloosa, Ala. Later, he was said to be headed to Baton Rouge, La, because he had family there. Both reports proved to be wrong.
For months,
strangers
phoned
Spencer's home
as many as five
time a day, seeking
information
about his next destination. He suspects he is being watched and his phones have been tapped.
Spencer isn't a fugitive. He is a senior at Madison Central High School in Mississippi and among the most coveted offensive linemen in the country.
Before Spencer announced he would sign a letter of intent with Mississippi today, the first day of the national signing period, he found out just how pervasive recruiting coverage has become in recent years.
"You can't make a move without people knowing what you're doing. If I go to a basketball game somewhere, it's on the Internet the next hour that I'm at this place or that place," he said.
Not long ago, college football fans had few sources of information on which players were being recruited by their favorite teams. Now, fans
can surf through a tidal wave of recruiting facts, stats and hearsay on the Internet.
"There is more awareness by everyone of what you're doing," said Ole Miss coach David Cutcliffe, who has been recruiting for 20 years. "It is much more of a spectator sport."
Scott McKinney, co-host of a syndicated talk-radio show that focuses on Southeastern Conference sports, said the dramatic increase in recruiting coverage was directly linked to the Internet boom.
"Fifteen years ago, fans gathered around universities on signing day waiting to find out who was out there. They had no clue," he said.
Now, thanks to the Internet, fans "know who's committed, who's leaning where, what their chances are of landing a certain player." McKinney said.
At McKinney's last count there were more than 100 Web sites dedicated to recruiting news. And then there are the fan pages and chat rooms, where speculation and rumors abound and even accurate information is distorted.
Inevitably, a recruiting rumor that begins on the Net makes its way to talk radio.
"It may start out as Joe Smith is leaning toward Mississippi State because he likes the school." McKinney said. "By the end of the day its gone through 300 or 400 hands and Joe Smith is committed to Mississippi State because his brother once played basketball
there and his first cousin is the vice chancellor of academic affairs."
A friend's mother told Spencer she read an Internet report he and teammate Mike Espy, a wide receiver also headed to Ole Miss, were spotted at Alabama and planning to become members of the Crimson Tide.
Neither ever went to Alabama. And Spencer has no relatives in Baton Rouge.
NCAA representative Wally Renfrofe said if players, coaches and parents were concerned with the growing scrutiny of young athletes, it hadn't been brought to the national panel's attention.
"The funny thing about it, most all these people with the recruiting service that call you, they are associated with the same people," Spencer said. "They just have different names. How many Rivals people do they have?"
That's Rivals.com, and the answer is quite a few. Rivals is a 3-year-old sports Web site that has links to all major sports, but recruiting has become its specialty.
Rivals links 10 regional recruiting sites and uses a network of stringers to stay in touch with players across the country.
Rivals recruiting coordinator Bobby Burton said the frequent calls were used to curtail Internet speculation, letting the athletes speak for themselves.
But Burton admits, "The rumor mill will never die. It's like trying to stamp out gossip in a small town."
LEXINGTON, Ky. — Kentucky football coach Hal Mumme resigned yesterday following months of investigation into possible NCAA violations.
Kentucky coach resigns amid violations
The Associated Press
Mumme was replaced by Guy Morriss,
an assistant coach
at Kentucky with
more than 15
years of NFL playing and coaching experience. Morriss was given a one-year contract, athletic director Larry Ivy said at a news conference.
"I met with coach Hal Mumme this afternoon and officially accepted his resignation as head football coach," Ivy said.
The move came the day before high school players are allowed to sign letters-of-intent with college programs.
Mumme was 20-26 in four seasons with the Wildcats. He has made no public comment since the school began an internal investigation in November regarding recruiting.
Former assistant coach and recruiting coordinator Claude Bassett in January admitted sending $1,400 in money orders to a Memphis, Tenn., high school football coach and improperly cashing a $500 check donated by a
booster to help fund Mumme's summer football camp.
ivy told the school's board of trustees last month the investigation had uncovered several violations, some of which would be deemed major by the NCAA. He said at the time there had been no evidence linking Mumme to any of the violations.
Since that announcement, several newspaper reports said Kentucky assistant coaches had asked boosters for money to help pay for recruits to attend Mumme's football camps, a violation of NCAA rules. The school could not provide proof nearly 20 recruits, including Kentucky Mr. Football Montrell Jones, paid the fee to attend Mumme's camp last summer.
Morris has spent the last four seasons at Kentucky after one year at Mississippi State. An All-Southwest Conference guard at Texas Christian, Morris played 15 seasons in the NFL — 11 in Philadelphia and four with New England.
The 48-year-old Mumme was a virtually unknown head coach at Division II Valdosta State when he was hired by former athletic director C.M. Newton in 1997 to
Morriss coached with New England and Arizona in the NFL and had stints at Valdosta State and with San Antonio of the Canadian Football League.
replace Bill Curry, who was fired after a 26-52 record in seven years at Kentucky
An offensive innovator, Mumme brought with him a wide-open passing attack that showcased the talents of quarterback Tim Couch. Under Mumme, Couch rewrote the Southeastern Conference record book and became the top pick in the 1999 NFL draft.
"Mummeball," as his aggressive style of play became known, ignited renewed fan interest in a linguishing program. Following a 5-6 record his first season, the Wildcats went 7-5 and 6-6 the next two years and played in back-to-back bowl games — a feat accomplished only twice previously in the 109-year history of the program.
After boasting his squad was ready to challenge perennial Southeastern Conference powers Florida and Tennessee entering the 2000 season, the Wildcats lost their final eight games, finishing 2-9.
Following the team's season-ending blowout loss at Tennessee, Mumme released four assistant coaches, including Bassett. Several recruits have said Mumme told them he definitely would be Kentucky's coach next season and he expected any possible NCAA sanctions to be minimal.
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