Arrest Counts At UI In Question

Ten football players at the University of Idaho have criminal records that range from DUIs to petty theft.

In a report filed this week with the State Board of Education, university officials said that “history demonstrates an average of one serious incident per year generally involving football and men’s basketball program participants.”

But an Idaho Statesman court check in Ada and Latah counties of the 74-man team showed that five were convicted in 1995 and two had repeat offenses.

Athletic Director Pete Liske said he considered all the charges against the football players serious. Liske said he was only aware of quarterback Brian Brennan’s arrest last winter on drunken driving charges. Brennan eventually pleaded guilty to minor consumption of alcohol.

“We’re going to go through all of the court records and find out what is there,” Liske said. “We need to get a handle on each case separately.”

None of the players has been suspended, although one football player’s scholarship was revoked last spring and two basketball players were suspended over the winter.

A court check of Boise State University football players earlier this week showed that 17 of the 95 on a preseason roster had been charged with crimes ranging from battery to alcohol-related offenses. BSU reported to the state that only seven athletes on all sports teams had been charged with crimes in the past year.

Liske said UI did not do any court checks for its six-page report to the state. The information was gathered through interviews with current and past athletic department officials.