Harter backs agent reform

Steve Addy

Monday, April 16, 2001 | 9:57 a.m.

If the Rebels' basketball team gets in any more trouble with the NCAA, the program will be subject to the "death penalty."

That's the price you pay for going on probation twice in eight years, being a "repeat violator" in the eyes of NCAA.

But if UNLV boosters were to blame in a future case, as they were in the school's recent NCAA sanctions, school president Dr. Carol Harter wants them to be held financially liable for any losses the university suffers.

Harter is pushing for Nevada's state legislature to pass a bill giving UNLV just such recourse. The NCAA is trying to get all 50 states to adopt the Uniform Athletes Agents Act, which would impose criminal and civic penalties on agents who damage the eligibility of college student-athletes or cause financial loss to the university.

For instance, in the just-resolved case that put the Rebels on probation through 2004, UNLV paid a Kansas law firm nearly $220,000 to investigate NCAA allegations of wrongdoing which stemmed partly from the actions of two boosters: Dr. David Chapman and Steve Stein.

Also, because UNLV was banned from postseason play, knocking it out of the Mountain West tournament and any NCAA or NIT eligibility, the school lost out on potential revenue.

Though Chapman and Stein aren't agents, if Harter gets her way, boosters will be included in the legislation, allowing the school to sue them for damages.

"The people who brought these sanctions upon our heads cost us hundreds of thousands of dollars," Harter said. "The costs are incalculable in some ways. There have been deep financial and emotional costs. Many people had to sacrifice for the actions of a few.

"That's why we need this law so badly. We should have that (recourse) available to us."

Aside from time and resources devoted to the case by people within UNLV and the University System, the school bore the added cost of boosting coach Max Good's contract when he took over as head coach after Bill Bayno's dismissal Dec. 11, Harter said.

"All of those dollars have to be figured into the equation," she said.

"Long before UNLV was involved in the current sanctions, I felt we needed this kind of law with language that is uniform in every state."

The bill requires agents to register with the state, provide material for background checks and information on past clients. It also allows states to charge a registration fee, gives athletes 14 days to void a contract with agents, and requires both athlete and agent to notifty the university if a contract is signed.

Noncompliance would lead to harsh penalties. In Indiana, where the bill has passed both houses, a violation would be a felony carrying a maximum sentence of two years. Fines up to $25,000 per offense could also be imposed.

The proposal gives schools the right to sue players and agents for financial damages.

The bill has also passed both houses in Alabama and Idaho.

Neveda Board of Regents member Mark Alden supports the legislation.

"We have to get this law on the books, so we could go after the Chapmans and Steins when they do this to our program," Alden said. "Why should we pay the price for it? We should be able to take their homes, take their cars and put the boosters away."

In the sanctions handed down Dec. 11, the NCAA determined that Chapman provided Rebels recruit Lamar Odom with $5,600 in cash and benefits in 1997. Stein was cited for providing cash totaling $400 to Odom, ex-Rebel Desmond Herod and current player Chris Richardson in 1997 and 1998. Stein denied the allegations throughout the case.

The NCAA demanded that UNLV suspend Chapman as a booster for seven years and Stein for five. Harter said they have been permanently banned.

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