Tuesday, July 27, 2004 | 9:14 a.m.
Dean Juipe's column appears Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday. His boxing notebook appears Thursday. Reach him at [email protected] or (702) 259-4084.
When representatives of the Mountain West Conference held their annual football media days last week at the plush Hyatt Regency Lake Las Vegas Resort, participants not only noticed but commented on the peaceful, serene setting.
The league may have its rivalries, yet there wasn't a trace of hostility in the air.
Nor were there outsiders, fans or passersby creating a furor or initiating a ruckus in the hallways or meeting rooms.
It was quiet. Coaches and the invited players spoke of the upcoming season and fielded a few questions from the reporters on hand.
There wasn't a hint of turmoil or jealousy and everyone interacted as if they were best friends.
Apparently it'll be a little different today (through Thursday) at the Wynfrey Hotel in Birmingham, Ala., where the Southeastern Conference is holding its football media days. In fact, police were prepared to escort at least one team's head coach and players through a labyrinth of spectators that may resemble what Lance Armstrong faced as he made his way through the rowdy -- and, reportedly, ofttimes drunken -- fans who lined the course day after day at the Tour de France.
Phillip Fulmer is not a popular man in Birmingham and immediately beyond, and both the SEC and the city's police department determined he needed protection, a situation of sufficient peril that Fulmer in turn determined that he didn't need to be in Birmingham this week.
The reason for all this was that Fulmer testified to NCAA investigators about alleged infractions at the University of Alabama.
"It's not something you particularly like, but you know it's there," Fulmer told The (Nashville) Tennessean, referring to the possibility of being verbally or physically accosted in Alabama. Fulmer would not elaborate or confirm specific threats, yet SEC commissioner Mike Slive was quoted in a USA Today story as saying "I wouldn't be surprised" if Fulmer had received threats of a physical nature.
Tennessee opens its season by hosting UNLV and the Volunteers will be significant favorites, although a betting line in Las Vegas has yet to be posted. Monday at the sports book at the MGM, Tennessee was 25-1 to win the national championship, while UNLV, for comparison's sake, was 500-1.
But the Volunteers have been in the news for their mishaps more than their achievements of late. Last week, top receiver James Banks Jr. was suspended for the first three games of the season as a penalty for underage drinking.
Now Fulmer was going to need police protection if he had decided to attend the SEC function at the Wynfrey, which adjoins a mall and is exposed to the public. Football being a big deal in that part of the country, the SEC media days have a broader appeal than what the Mountain West reps saw on the outskirts of Las Vegas.
The Wynfrey will be open to fans and a number of radio sports talk shows, which will set up shop in the hotel's lobby during the three-day affair. Among the topics of conversation will be Alabama's Oct. 23 game at Tennessee and how sweet a Tide victory would be for vengeance's sake, if nothing else.
Fulmer has drawn the wrath of Alabama fans for playing a role in the Crimson Tide receiving scholarship restrictions from the NCAA following an investigation that was launched four years ago. A summary of Fulmer's testimony to the NCAA was released in January, and, compounding matters, he figures to be called in a court case in which a former Alabama assistant coach is suing the NCAA. At the heart of that suit is the expressed belief that Fulmer traded information to the NCAA pertaining to Alabama recruiting violations in exchange for having similar violations at Tennessee overlooked.
The Wynfrey may have its comforts, but Fulmer -- even with a pseudonym -- didn't figure to get a good night's sleep.
He's no longer anonymous or just another visiting coach.
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