Cheap Seats

Formerly Richard Butler Community College

The unspeakable has become policy at Spartanburg (S.C.) Methodist College, where coaches are now required to consider race when recruiting.

Scott Rigot, the most successful basketball coach in school history, said he was fired because he refused to go along with the policy which “went against every moral fiber I stood for.”

College officials dispute the reasons for Rigot’s firing, but agree they wanted more white players.

“We played teams all last year that had white people playing,” said president George Fields. “And I could never understand why we had players of one race.”

Fields issued a memo denying the school had implemented quotas, though a draft of the policy from last December set goals based on a percentage - 60 percent white players, 40 percent minority.

Something tells us Pres. Fields wasn’t so upset about the racial makeup of the golf team.

I got ya tackle right here

Utah coach Ron McBride says Utah State players purposely tried to injure his players by grabbing their groins during last Saturday’s 20-17 loss to the Aggies.

McBride, acknowledging his complaints might be interpreted as sour grapes, said running back Chris FuamatuMa’afala was particularly targeted.

“Chris said it happened five times,” McBride said. “Juan Johnson said it happened to him a couple of times.”

USU coach John L. Smith insisted that “In teaching tackling, we teach them to rip, to wrap and to grab cloth. We don’t teach a guy to go into a pile to grab anything. Things happen. Juan Johnson whacked Spencer Waggoner in the back of the head. Juan wasn’t taught that.

“The official told me after the game, ‘We appreciate you having your guys under control.’ It’s unfortunate anything was brought up or that anything happened.”

At USU, leading the team in sacks now takes on new meaning.

Big head update

Looks like Kevin Ashcraft will get his football helmet - all size 8-3/8 of it.

After a flurry of publicity over the Raytown (Mo.) South lineman’s inability to get head protection, representatives of Riddell said they would remold a helmet or make a new one to accommodate Ashcraft.

“I’m worried about how the coaches and players will be because they’re not happy about all the attention,” Ashcraft said. “That’s the first time I’ve got that much attention on the first day of school.”

At 6-foot-4 and 335 pounds? Not likely.

We’ve located the problem

Jim Donnan’s coaching honeymoon at Georgia didn’t even last through a desultory 11-7 loss to Southern Mississippi last Saturday.

“They can boo me all they want,” said Donnan, who jumped to Georgia from Marshall. “Nobody is more disappointed about this than I am, but I’m not going to put my head between my legs.”

Georgia fans assume it’s already there.

The last word …

“He’ll be an icon in Chicago someday. He’ll be right up there with Ditka and Polish sausage.”

- Northwestern linebacker Pat Fitzgerald on coach Gary Barnett

, DataTimes ILLUSTRATION: Photo