■Football playoff system discussed
By Tim Pearson
Staff Reporter
and Jeremy Fitzpatrick
Senior Editor
Nebraska Athletic Director Bill
Byrne has heard enough about pro
posals to institute a Division I-A foot
>all playoff.
“I wish we would quit talking about
this,” Byrne said. ‘The reason is ev
ery time we talk about it publicly, a
sponsor gets nervous, and thinks their
X)wl is not going to make as much
noney.”
The NCAA President’s Commis
sion last week heard a proposal from
slike and Creative Artists Agency —
>ascd in Hollywood — to expand the
:urrcnt football season to a seven
;amc playoff among eight teams. N ike
tnd Creative Artists said the proposal
vould raise S100 million and not af
ect the current bowl system.
A playoff would require the ap
woval of a majority of the 107 Divi
ion I-A schools at the annual NCAA
onvention in January. But the com
nission declined to put the question
m the January ballot.
Byrne said he was pleased with the
ommission’s decision.
“I’m glad the president’s comnns
ion did not bring it forward,” he said.
The reason is that I support the cur
ent bowl format.”
Byrne said he did not think the
jlayofr proposal was a serious issue.
“Only the media makes it one,” he
said. “I think the athletic directors
have pretty much come to the conclu
sion that we will only support this if
there is a wholc.bunch of new dollars
and it does not affect the bowls.
“The bowl system has worked pret
[ ly well for 70 years.”
NCAA
Continued from Page 8
lime the intercollegiate team was prac
| ticing.”
Papik said if a willful attempt was
. proven, UNL would have to take fur
ther steps.
“If there was, we need to self
report, and in all probability the vio
lation would be classified as second
ary and what we would need to do is
assure them we have a procedure in
place so that there would not be a
reoccurrence,” he said.
Papik said he hoped the investiga
tion would be completed in the near
future.
“1 assume this investigation and
report will take a couple weeks," he
said. “My hope will be that Rick
~44
Quite frankly, it is
just the financial
woes that are strip
ping football of its
Integrity. If they make
any more cuts, col
lege football will not
be the same.
—McCartney
Colorado coach
Sponsors of a playoff would have
to be willing to put money up front,
Byrne said, if he was to support their
proposals.
“We would consider that if the
money was guaranteed,” he said. “The
bowls do that.”
But Byrne said talk of a playoff
could destabilize the current arrange
ments Division I-A teams have with
bowls and their sponsors.
think it could conceivably be
harmful to the current bowl system,”
he said.
But not everyone in the Big Eight
Conference has heard enough talk
about a football playoff.
Colorado football coach Bill
McCartney said he had once opposed
a playoff for Division I-A football,
but had changed his mind this year
because of the financial consider
ations.
“I’ve shifted gears there and I’m
now in favor of a playoff,” he said.
“For the most pan I’ve beep on the
other side of the spectrum on this
thing, but now I support a playoff.”
If a playoff is not instituted,
McCartney said, col lege football can
(Walton) will cooperate with the in
vestigation.” j
Allen said the problem with prac
tices being held at the same lime
occurred because of communication
problems.
-M
People are going to
say that Nebraska Is
cheating and we aren’t
cheating. If that’s what
they think cheating is,
then It’s out of contra
—Allen
NU Men's Gymnastics Coach
-:—ft -
“(Walton) was 50 percent of the
problem because he never ran his
not remain in its present form.
“Qu ite frankly, it is just the finan
cial woes that are stripping footbal I of
its integrity,” he said. “If they make
any more cuts, college football will
not be the same.
“In light of that, I sec (a playoff) as
a viable solution.”
McCartney said he thought col
lege football had reached a point where
it was as lucrative as basketball. He
said he thought a football playoff
could generate as much attention as
the Final Four does for basketball
each year.
“Ultimately, what I would like to
see, is schools divided into North,
South, East and West regions,” he
said. “Each area would produce a
champion and there’s our final four.”
Until such a presentation could be
worked out, McCartney said he sup
ported the plan presented to the pres
ident’s commission for an eight-team
playoff formal.
Bill Snyder, football coach at Kan
sas State University, said he still had
not made up his mind on whether he
supported a playoff.
“I’m in favor of further study,” he
said. “Bowls obviously have money
guaranteed to us.
“We’d want to make sure the mon
ey is guaranteed.”
Snyder said he thought the presi
dents commission had declined to put
the playoff proposal on the NCAA’s
January ballot because of concern
about the bowl’s tradition as well as
their sponsor?.'(> '^ ' 1
“We’re slow to let go of (tradi
tion),’’ he said. “We don’t want to
scare sponsors away from the bowls.”
practices when they were supposed to
run,” Allen said. “It comes down to
there was a communications gap be
tween Rick, myself and the Nebraska
School of Gymnastics.”
Allen denied that he had pressured
anyone to have Walton fired.
“Thai’s just a flagrant lie,” he said.
“(Walton) has really been exaggerat
ing everything.
“I’d say anytime you turn in the
school you were with is a bad deal,”
he said. “What makes it worse is when
you stretch the truth like that. There is
just no foundation for what he says.”
Allen said he did not think the
allegations would hurt Nebraska’s
gymnastics program.
“It shouldn ’ t have any effect on it,”
he said. “I know it’s sure not going to
bring me down.
Clinton's mother to visit Ak-Sar-Ben
From Staff and Wire Reports
Nebraskans spending a day at
Ak-Sar-Ben July 31 will be plac
ing bets alon^ with Virginia Kelley.
President Clinton’s mother.
Linda Grasso. executive mar
keting director for Ak-Sar-Ben.
said she had been contacting Mrs.
Kelley since March in an attempt
to bring her to Omaha. Grasso said
part of her efforts in vol ved a trip to
Oak lawn, the track in Kelly’s home
of Hot Springs. Ark.
One attraction for Kelley,
Grasso said, was her friend Jack
VanBerg. Grasso described Van Berg
as one of Nebraska’s best known
owners.
“He trains throughout the United
States,” she said. “He encouraged Mrs.
Kelley to come as well.”
Kelley will present the Comhuskcr
Handicap Cup to the winner of the
$125,000 race. She will also have
dinner with friends of hers in the
racing induslty, Grasso said.
Grasso said she was not certain
were Kelley would sit when she visit
ed.
“I’ll leave that up to her,” she said.
“I don’t know where she will want to
sit.
“I assume it will be in the club
house.”
Ak-Sar-Ben will hold a home
run contest with prizes awarded
for the longcsrshots. Grasso said
all softball players in Omaha are
invited to participate. Lottery tick
ets will also be sold for a free
baseball weekend in Chicago.
Grasso said Ak-Sar-Ben offi
cials were looking forward to host
ing the president’s mother for the
Comhuskcr Handicap Cup.
“We’re thrilled she’s coming,”
she said. “It’s just a big cup.”
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