Friday, May 9, 2003 | 10:12 a.m.
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Tim Cass was among the first to offer comment.
The Texas A&M tennis coach had seen my Feb. 5 column on eligibility abuses in collegiate tennis and sent an immediate e-mail.
"You're right on target," the missive read.
Having promised a follow-up report on the subject, I knew this was someone we could count on to add his views to the debate. What I didn't know for a few days -- or until that initial column had a chance to circulate -- was the depth, passion and pure number of like-minded coaches and tennis aficionados.
College tennis may not be in disarray, but it has evolved into something it once was not: It has become not only a training ground for future pros, but an outlet for players who already have professional experience.
It is a sport unlike any other under the auspices of the National Collegiate Athletic Association. It is one rife with the potential for rules violations, if not massive rules violations themselves.
"I don't know if the NCAA isn't doing anything about it, but it's my feeling we have a problem in our sport," Cass said recently.
"The problem is, not everyone is on the same playing field. Some (schools) interpret the rules differently, and/or ignore the rules, or don't ask the right questions when recruiting, or don't want to know the answers."
The huge influx of foreign-born tennis players competing for U.S. universities is at the crux of the issue. Many of these players come with professional baggage and many more supplement their collegiate careers by playing in professional events.
Mere participation in a pro event isn't a violation, but accepting money beyond expenses is.
Tangent issues abound. Have U.S. teens lost interest in tennis? Is the foreign invasion simple opportunism? Has the situation sprawled beyond the NCAA's control?
But this one still grates on me: Why are the eligibility requirements and rules of collegiate tennis any different than, say, collegiate basketball?
"The NCAA cracked down hard on basketball and I think it's coming in tennis," said UNLV athletic director John Robinson. "I don't think it's being ignored, it's just that they haven't gotten around to scrutinizing tennis like they have some other sports.
"But I think within the next two years we'll see a real focus on that. I think they're going sport by sport and it's a manpower thing."
I'm not sure Robinson's tennis coach, Larry Easley, would agree, but I really have no way of knowing. Easley, an extremely likable man and one who is generally very outgoing, will not speak on or off the record on anything to do with the subject.
"It's good counsel not to wind up accusing people, unless you're prepared to substantiate your remarks," Robinson said, when apprised of Easley's reluctance to publicly or even privately offer his opinion.
But Cass, for instance, is a coach who is willing to come forward and he does so without being accusatory.
"I can tell you that the concerns you are addressing have been relayed to the NCAA," he said. "I think they're still trying to educate themselves. I think they're willing to get involved, but they're not real sure just exactly what is going on.
"I think they're still trying to clarify just what the rules are."
Those rules have been tinkered with, adjusted and refined in recent years. Yet confusion abounds.
Which has led to this basic premise: Coaches know colleagues who bend the rules, while they politely look the other way. There is, quite clearly in many of these cases, a "gentlemen's agreement" among the fraternity to keep a lid on the allegations.
"That's pretty accurate," said Cass, whose own team is ranked No. 10 in the nation. "The funny thing is, this is a sport that prides itself on tradition."
Placing a ceiling on foreign-born players seems impractical and perhaps a civil-rights violation, yet Cass is among those who would like to see a greater effort made to incorporate U.S. players into the U.S. collegiate system.
"At Texas A&M, we definitely want foreign students and athletes. But what I want as a coach is to make sure my 18- and 19-year-olds are playing against other 18- and 19-year-olds. Too often in college tennis we're seeing someone who's 21 or older playing someone who's 17 or 18."
Such as Valentino Pest.
At the risk of unfairly singling him out, Pest is a perfect example of what collegiate tennis seems to have become. Until mid-February, Pest was playing regularly for San Diego State.
The fact that he was 26 years old and had a pro background that could be traced to 1995 was irrelevant. Although he has since dropped off the SDSU team to play professionally on a full-time basis, Pest was roughing up Mountain West opponents as any polished athlete in his prime would do if matched against inexperienced opposition.
Pest, a German, was far from alone as a player who exploited the U.S. college system. Brigham Young, for instance, has a player on its roster, Carlos Lozano, who has Davis Cup experience, as do many other college players on the West Coast.
While the competitiveness of collegiate sports is at the base of the problem, Robinson is among those who believes Americans have brought this on themselves.
"It certainly seems that tennis is a sport that has lost ground in America," he said. "It's disappointing that we don't have more local recruits, but the result of that is that international players are filling that void."
And rounding out their resumes, if not filling their wallets as well.
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