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StumblePublished Monday, June 22, 2009 | 5 a.m.
Updated Friday, June 19, 2009 | 3:38 p.m.
I’ve been asked if I feel the NCAA has changed much since I was coaching at UNLV, and I’m not so sure if it has. I’m going to wait and see.
I saw what happened to Alabama football last week. They got three years’ probation. But, basically, there are no sanctions. They didn’t lose any scholarships and they’re still on TV. They still get to play in bowl games.
To me, that’s such a farce. They say they’re going to bury the big guys, but they lose no scholarships. And they’re still on TV. That’s what would hurt you in recruiting, if you’re not on TV or can’t go to a bowl.
Abilene Christian in Texas and Eastern Washington got buried hard, but they didn’t bury Alabama. And they won’t bury USC. They might get a three-year probation, but there won’t be any sanctions.
That’s all b.s.
Every organization needs a governing body. I agree with that. The NCAA needs an enforcement staff, you only hope they treat everyone the same. If they make a rule, you hope they enforce the rule and it’s the same for everyone … which it never has been.
I got a kick out of that Alabama news. It was all over TV. But they don’t lose a scholarship and they still get to go to the bowl games. So where is the penalty?
The penalty is they’ll come and monitor you for three years. Well, they can do that anyways, but it looks good in the paper. Oh yeah, they say, we got Alabama.
Yeah, they really cleaned up college football when they came down hard on Abilene Christian and Eastern Washington.
It bothers me the most when they don’t apply the same rules to everybody.
Someone told me how some writer made a smart-(aleck) remark about me last week, how when he was asked about who might follow Tim Floyd at USC he said they won’t be calling me.
But that kind of stuff doesn’t affect me. The thing is, we’ve been dragged through everything. When it was all over, they never had a major violation, not one major violation, against us.
We never had a situation where we were accused of giving someone money or anything major. Now you read about certain guys getting $300,000 or $400,000. We had no allegations of any kind like that.
There are big schools that have hundreds of major violations … but I can’t get into that.
It bothered the hell outta me when I’d see what’s going on around the country.
Someone asked me about UNLV basketball returning to the top of the game, what it’ll take and how long it will be before the Rebels are back among the elite teams in the country.
Not just getting into the NCAA tournament but making long runs.
I’ll tell you what, they’re not that far away. Lon Kruger has taken them to the tournament and they’ve won three games there, the first time they’ve won games in consecutive NCAAs since I was there.
That is not too bad. I think they’ll be really good again next season. But returning to the top of the basketball world? That’s hard for anybody to do.
You have to be really talented and you have to be really lucky. You have to have a great ball club. Things have got to go the right way and you have to get the calls.
You can have a great team and lose, anytime, if you get a bunch of calls against you. Your best player can foul out. There are a lot of factors. The big thing is you want to be competitive every year.
That’s more realistic than talking about winning it. And if you get to the big dance, going against North Carolina or UCLA, even Kentucky again, you’re going to have to be better than those teams.
You won’t get the calls or any of the breaks, so you have to be better and hope the ball bounces right.
Next time, I’ll write about my incredible trip to Armenia.
I think people tend to forget that the NCAA is a PRIVATE organization that exists via a contract between its members, and not a government agency.
That means that, like the parties to any other contract or agreement, the NCAA is bound by a covenant and duty of good faith and fair dealing to enforce its rules equitably, equally and fairly among all member institutions.
Coach Tark cites a few examples of the NCAA's breach of this contract duty, and there are many, many other more egregious examples that could be cited.
The problem is that the burden is upon the NCAA member institutions to DEMAND their contractual rights by suing the NCAA whenever the organization unfairly penalizes one member institution while letting another one slide for the same or more serious rules violations.
Coach Tark as an individual won a settlement against the NCAA for its harassment of him personally.
But until a member institution like UNLV or Abilene or E. Wash takes on the NCAA in court and wins, the NCAA will never change its selective enforcement practices.
The NCAA can kiss it.
The NCAA should be disbanded. It's gone beyond disgraceful into a whole new category. The NCAA is so corrupt it makes boxing's WBC, IBF and WBA look legit.
New York Rebel is correct. However, the Board of the NCAA also has an additional barrier of protection from law suits. It's called the Business Judgment Rule. This pretty much says that to prove a breach of duty took place concerning an offical action the plaintiff must prove there was actual malice. This is a very high standard to prove in court. It sucks but that's the way it goes.
I wanted to ask Coach Tark if there is anything in the mix for the 20th Anniversary team? or is he sworn to secrecy. I have been going to games since the age of 3 (1982) and I think it would be a huge disservice to Tark and the team if there was not a season long commemoration. Maybe showing highlights from that coinciding dates games during halftime to show the road to the champioship. OR how about throwback uniform night with the old Rebels unis...including John Stockton-esque short shorts, Black Nike Force's, and hugs before and after freethrows, and I can't forget the t-shirts with safety belts across the front.
reagan, we don't really want to see those Stocktonesque shorts ever again, do we? :-) I do know that plans have been discussed for a while. I'll check with Tark and some others and we'll do a whole column on that one soon, within the next week or two. thanks
Great legal discourse here, too, newyork and reagan. We oughta get a Legal Chat goin' here sometime, maybe a Battle of the Barristers? The Heavy Hitter vs. ... uh, no, scratch that!
thanks again for the input
They should start showing every game the Rebels played in the '90 tournament live on the jumbotron before each game. That should get people in early.
When they reach the final game vs duke, the full 1990 roster should be introduced to the T&M faithful.
Preferably this happens before the BYU game, just to remind them who the big dog of the conference really is.
Just to clarify, one game from the '90 tournament in it's entirety played before each home game. Going in order until the 6th and final game.
I know I'd definitely be down early to watch those games on the big screen. Just like they did when we made the final four.
Reagan - Great idea. I would love to see the throwback jerseys. I would also love to see them come out for sale to the public....maybe they already have them, but I have no idea where to find them.
Coach - With all due respect, I agree with your assessment that it will take good calls and lucky breaks to make deep runs into the tournament, but this year was a complete disappointment and those losses that kept us out of the tournament this year wasn't due to bad luck. I hope that you are right about us not being far away, but if we don't improve, then I think the coach has to be responsible. Thanks again for taking time to give us your perspective on things.
S711
box, not a bad idea at all ... I'll run it by a few folks. Sinatra, again, awesome tag line! Ocean's 11, the original, is a must for anyone who wants to see the city's early-1960s landscape. Stunning. I'll run those couple toe-stubbers (TCU, Colorado State) by Tark. thanks
I also wonder if Tark thinks this UNLV program uses its past players enough for recruiting or teaching its presetn players. In 2004 I ran into George Ackles at the NV Business Licensing Office of all places...this was still under Carol Harter rule. He told me that he had never been approached to have any interaction with the program. I think Krueger has done a much better job with his incorporation of past players, but is he using them enough? I don't know because I don't go to the practices. I know of 15 plyers who could be grat mentors to our present team who live right here in Las Vegas. Warren Rosegreen is partner with two of my best friends and I know he would love to teach these young players how the game should be played.
Final question. I have always wondered who came up with the fireworkd pregame show? We were the first and there is nothing like it. I'll shut up now...until I think of some new questions.
what's in the box re watching the game on the jumbotron....
I was in 5th grade when we won the championship and my Dad is militaristic when it comes to education. However, he pulled me out of school at about 10 o'clock in the morning. I thought someone had died. Nope. We were going to watch the Nat'l championship game live on the big screens inside the T&M. We got there at about 11 o'clock and waied for 5 hours to ge in. We got great seats on the floor. It is one of the greatest moments of my life. If I couldn't be in Denver, there was no better place to watch it. I actually think it was better because we were with 12,000 screaming Rebel fans and not all those Corporate types who get all the tickets. Afterwards, my Dad drove down the strip honking the car horn and then he honked all the way home. We then went to a cousins house to light off fireworks...in April. The next day I went to school with my face painted half red and half gray.
In fact, I still own the shirt and UNLV starter jacket I wore to that game...and I still wear it to this day. Here is is a link to my dress during the Rebels 2007 1st round game against Georgia Tech. I was in San Diego at the time in law school. Enjoy. Go rebels.
http://jtayloroblad.blogspot.com/2009/06...
Yeah Coach, I'm glad it doesn't bother you. It bothers me because your legacy is our (the city of LV's)legacy. And measuring by the memories told in this comment section (which I share), it means a great deal to us.
The smart aleck got some choice emails, and I'm also glad he didn't get off scott free.
Yo Reagan, I was also a 5th grader in '90...still remember it all...makes me grin ear-to-ear baby!
reagan, keep the inquiries coming. Tark relishes interacting with all of his fans in this arena and he never tires of answering questions or putting the blogs together. This is all about him and his fans, so never worry about asking too much or rambling ... Tark enjoys every word he receives and reads. thanks
Reagan, I remember that day. It was an awesome, never forget it kind of a day. (I was gonna say once in a lifetime but let's all hope we get back to that stage soon!)
No better place in the world to watch unless you were in Denver and even then the atmosphere at the T&M was better!
Showing that magical run before the games is an awesome idea. I can imagine the clock winding down on the jumbotron showing the rebels winning in 1990, then the fireworks erupting. Followed by every one of those national champion Rebels being announced separately.
I think we should build a statue of Tark chomping on the towel, put it up top of the stairs as you're walking into the T&M. It should be the last thing you see as you enter the building. Remind everybody who built the joint (including opposition fans).
Agreed Lenny. I was hoping for a statute instead of his name on the floor. Tark is a legend and he deserves the respect to be treated as one. What we should have is a statute of Tark standing on top the letters NCAA which are squishing Maxon and Colin Cowherd.
Colin Coward, I can't stand that clown. Can't believe she's still on the air.
A statue of Tark is a must. However, I bet it doesn't happen until he's passed on.....which would be sad.
I remember watching the Championship game in my living room. I was a Junior in High School. Our high school basketball coach was very close with Tark. As a matter of fact, his son who went to our school, was on the UNLV team, so we have all followed UNLV since freshmen year in HS. We celebrated the victory at our school in CA with a rally the next day. That memory was one of the major factors for me coming to UNLV.
S711