THERE’S SMOKE ON TOBACCO ROAD : N.C. State Tries to Cool Valvano Controversy

RALEIGH, N.C. —  It was a regularly scheduled Board of Governors’ meeting in a nondescript state building in nearby Chapel Hill.

It was Item 9 on the agenda, noted only as, “President’s Report.”

It was the reason that an otherwise barren meeting room was jammed with reporters and the proceedings were being covered live statewide on radio and television.

It was the release of an internal report detailing results of a six-month investigation into alleged corruption in the North Carolina State basketball program. And it was a bombshell.

The report was delivered last Friday by C. D. Spangler, the president of the Board of Governors of the 16-school University of North Carolina system. Spangler found widespread academic abuse in the basketball program, saying, “The rules have been manipulated in order to serve one overriding purpose: Keep the players eligible.”

Spangler was sharply critical of both the system that fostered the abuse, and the coaches and administrators who engineered it. As a result of the report, Wolfpack Coach Jim Valvano must quit as athletic director by Dec. 31. The dual role was judged to be a conflict of interest.

Spangler also suggested reforms in an academic oversight system that appeared ripe for abuse and manipulation. He suggested a mandatory drug-testing program to replace the school’s voluntary, non-punitive program, in which few athletes had participated.

He noted that some players had sold complimentary tickets and traded their basketball shoes for goods at local stores. Players received a discount at a local restaurant and were given special payment terms at a Raleigh jewelry store.

It was clear from the report that Chancellor Bruce Poulton, who had resigned earlier in the week, had been a willing enabler of Valvano and others in athletics who sought to wrest control of the players’ academic standing. The report, which stopped short of fixing blame on any one individual, nevertheless showed a basketball program that held the academic performances of its athletes in low regard.

Samuel H. Poole, who headed the investigating commission, complained during the probe that Valvano and some of his players were not fully cooperating. In return, the chancellor complained that the commission was improperly conducting “a criminal investigation.”

Spangler and others were clearly concerned that the scandal had stained the integrity of the entire North Carolina University system.

“Historically, it has been, it is, and will continue to be a constant struggle to maintain athletic integrity,” Spangler said. “Athletics and academics are in tension by the nature of their time demands, but athletics and academics cannot be allowed to be in conflict in a great university.”

The Book That Loosed a Thousand Lips

Peter Golenbock has written nine books, most about professional baseball. His collaboration with relief pitcher Sparky Lyle resulted in “The Bronx Zoo,” a best-selling book about the New York Yankees’ 1978 championship season.

His new book, “Personal Fouls,” has been the source of more than a year’s worth of speculation and controversy. The book’s subtitle promises information about the broken promises and broken dreams at North Carolina State. But months before the book was published, some of its allegations were widely known.

Golenbock says he doesn’t know how an advance copy of the book’s dust jacket--promoting allegations in the book--was released to some bookstores in North Carolina months before the book was to have been published by Simon and Schuster. Those dust-cover proofs began a controversy that still rages. Not only was a book being judged by its cover, but Valvano and the entire university as well.

In the resulting hubbub, Simon and Schuster canceled its plans to publish the book. Not until “Personal Fouls” was actually published, six months later and by another publisher, were the specific allegations made public.

Yet, based on that proposed dust jacket alone, the University system launched its internal investigation--using State Bureau of Investigation officers. Results of the National Collegiate Athletic Assn.’s investigation are expected by November.

Among other things alleged in the book:

--A player dumped the Florida game in the 1987 NCAA tournament because he wished to avoid drug testing that winning teams were subject to.

--Players were given masking drugs to ensure that they would pass mandatory NCAA tests.

--At least one star player had a habit of playing while under the influence of cocaine.

--Star players received lavish gifts of jewelry and even automobiles.

--Coaches steered players into classes where sympathetic professors would take care of them.

--Valvano and his coaching staff cared only for keeping players eligible, not educating, or graduating, them.

--There was racial dissension among the players and discipline was nonexistent.

Few of the more serious allegations made in the book were found credible by the university’s investigation.

Before that, though, and after a lengthy odyssey for the manuscript, Carroll & Graf Publishers, Inc., finally brought out the book. Carroll & Graf is a small New York publishing firm that annually prints 100 new titles. It is known as a reprint house for out-of-print books and, besides mysteries and science fiction, has published such titles as “Erotic Reader” and “Maid’s Night In.”

Yet, this small house has taken on a controversial book and allocated a $150,000 promotional budget and a 16-city book tour.

No city in the state of North Carolina is included on the tour.

The Inside Flap

Golenbock writes in the book: “Writing about college basketball is a lot like what I always imagined writing about the Mafia would be like.”

He said in a recent interview that almost all of the people he interviewed were afraid, mostly of retribution professionally and of being blackballed in basketball. The book alleges that one former player, who was known to be a source for Golenbock, had his shoulder dislocated by an assistant coach. Golenbock said that the player’s girlfriend was also threatened.

Golenbock said that when he traveled to Raleigh, he used an assumed name and arranged spy-novel meetings with some sources, in one instance meeting at a phone booth at night. Golenbock said he taped his interviews and has the tapes in a safe-deposit box.

Golenbock’s previous books have been criticized by some for inaccuracy, which has become a major theme in the criticism of “Personal Fouls.”

In the minds of some, the integrity of Golenbock’s entire book has been undermined by numerous errors--from misspelled words and names to incorrect dates and places. The publisher said “as many as humanly possible” of the mistakes have been corrected in the book’s second printing.

Golenbock’s book tour has been spiked with tough questions and some outright criticism of both the book and Golenbock’s reporting methods. Golenbock said he interviewed 12 people for “Personal Fouls”--a number about equal to those interviewed for some newspaper articles.

Golenbock admits that he misrepresented himself to those he interviewed--he told some players he was a magazine writer interested in athletes who transfer; he told others he was writing in general about the Atlantic Coast Conference.

Golenbock also admits to having paid at least two players about $200 each for their interviews.

“They wouldn’t talk to me if I hadn’t,” Golenbock said. “This is the lesson they learn, to get paid for everything.”

It is also the rationale Golenbock uses to defend a book that relies almost entirely upon anonymous sources. No one, he said, would speak to him on the record.

Asked how he could independently verify the truth and accuracy of what each source said--in many instances reconstructing entire conversations--Golenbock said, “You have to look them in the eye and judge for yourself if they were truthful.”

In addition, Golenbock never interviewed Valvano for the book, indeed, he has never even met the coach. Each time Valvano is quoted in the book it is qualified by, “Valvano reportedly said . . . “

Golenbock said he tried “three times on two occasions” to reach Valvano for an interview.

Valvano, who has not otherwise acknowledged the book, cracked that if he did happen to meet Golenbock, he would “tell him that for someone who purports to be concerned about education, I’m surprised he doesn’t spell better.”

Litigation 101

Perhaps it started with the attorney general of North Carolina. His involvement might have been the first in the lawsuit-threat chain.

A letter from the attorney general, acting on behalf of the state-run school, was sent to Simon and Schuster, claiming in part to have found, “an adequate nucleus of facts to establish a libel claim.”

The school also was in the midst of a fund-raising drive, whose goal was $150 million over four years. The athletic department is also seeking money to build a $50-million, 25,000-seat sports arena. The school threatened to hold Carroll & Graf responsible for any shortfall in the fund-raising effort.

“Of all the letters we received, that was the oddest,” Herman Graf said.

Simon and Schuster’s Pocket Books division had Golenbock under contract to write the book, but dropped publication weeks before the February due date. The publisher said only that the manuscript had not met its publishing standards, but it was an uncommon and expensive move so late in the process.

Golenbock, who was paid anyway by Pocket Books, said he was never told why the book was dropped.

As the manuscript was being shopped around to other publishers, Valvano’s agent and attorney, Art Kaminsky, sent letters to publishers, warning of the book’s potential for a libel suit. Graf said that had it not been for Kaminsky’s letter, he might never have considered publishing the book.

“There seemed to be an unusual effort to suppress publication,” Graf said. “That aroused suspicion and interest in the book at the same time.”

Graf said that the manuscript was essentially the same as what Pocket Books turned down, with additional detail. He said an attorney who specialized in First Amendment issues reviewed the book.

Graf also said that his company has received several threats.

“We’ve gotten a few phone calls from people with strange accents, threatening to burn us down,” he said.

To date, no lawsuits have been filed but it is a sure thing that the controversy has helped sales.

Meanwhile, “Personal Fouls” has become the company’s first best seller, and will move to No. 5 on the New York Times’ best-seller list next week. The first printing of 200,000 is sold out, as is half the second printing of 40,000. Graf said that in North Carolina, eager customers were pulling the books out of cartons.

Golenbock has reportedly made $550,000 from the first printing alone, although he refuses to confirm the figures.

Graf said: “This could be one of the most important sports books in recent years.”

All of this, before the book’s “official” publication date of Sept. 5.

Fair-Haired Winner

Valvano came to North Carolina State in 1980, led the Wolfpack to the national title in 1983 and took the athletic director’s job in 1986. Although the university received 63 applications for that job, Valvano was the only candidate interviewed by Poulton.

“He set it up this way,” Golenbock said. “He bullied his other coaches to make him AD. They knew he’d take care of them.”

Valvano, who is not paid extra as athletic director, is credited with boosting the morale of the athletic department. His energy and enthusiasm have been felt in all areas, it is acknowledged, not just revenue-producing sports.

“When I accepted the postion three years ago, I did so in the spirit of service to the department,” Valvano said. “In that same spirit, I will step down.”

While not admitting that in his case a conflict of interest existed, Valvano did acknowledge that the situation had potential for abuse.

“Certainly, if you have your druthers, you couldn’t have it that way,” he said. “Whether it’s true or not, there can be an appearance of conflict. In today’s athletic world you have to remove that.

“In the three years I was there, I did not abuse that. I am proud of the accomplishments I made. I don’t think there is a program in the country that has had the kind of scrutiny we’ve had.”

It is difficult to determine just when or how things veered so wildly out of control in the basketball program. Some faculty members, though, had complained for years of academic abuse among athletes. Other professors apparently were either so cowed by the athletic department or enamored of its success that they did nothing.

For example, the school’s athletic council, an oversight group for the athletic department, refused to pass a resolution saying that athletes who did not attend class would not be allowed to play.

For another example, the Poole Commission’s investigation had been closed for three weeks before it was pressured into interviewing members of the school’s Faculty Senate Select Committee on Academic Integrity.

However, some professors and staff members have come forward, at great risk to their popularity. And their stories have chilled educators around the nation.

A former head of the school’s physical education department told the Raleigh News & Observer that three failing grades for Chris Washburn in 1985 were changed to passing grades. Washburn had been admitted to school with an SAT test score of 470. A student who signs his name to the test is automatically given 400 points.

Richard A. Lauffer, who is now retired, said that he met with Poulton to discuss the matter. Lauffer said Poulton told him not to pursue it.

Lauffer also said that it was routine for assistant coaches to pester instructors about the grades of players.

Lauffer told the News & Observer: “The thing that really disturbed me was the fact that (Poulton) told me that Valvano was a very popular personality, and he was good for the university, and (Valvano) could buy and sell me, so there was no need to get into a hassle.”

Poulton denied meeting with Lauffer.

It was also revealed that Poulton readmitted an athlete to the university using an unusual contract, in which the player pledged to attend classes.

Equally disturbing was information revealed by Hugh Fuller, head of N.C. State’s tutoring program.

Fuller released to the Raleigh News & Observer seven years’ worth of memos sent by faculty members to school administrators, detailing complaints about poor academic performance among athletes. Fuller is responsible for arranging for classroom tutoring and academic assistance for all university students.

The memos chronicle a pattern of abuse both shocking in its brashness and clever in its use of the system:

--Academic tutors hired by the athletic department did course work for basketball players. One player, for instance, would customarily bring to a writing class essays written by tutors, then spend the class time--when the actual writing was to have been done--copying the tutor’s work.

--Athletes abused policies that allow students to withdraw from classes for academic or psychological reasons. If a player was failing a class, an assistant coach would pull the athlete out.

“You have people whose parents and grandparents died several times while in college,” Fuller said. “You know, they’d say, ‘My grandmother died,’ again.”

--In a memo dated Dec. 15, 1986, Fuller wrote to Associate Provost Lawrence M. Clark that one star Wolfpack player was “essentially caught . . . cheating” in an English course but still passed the course.

--Fuller said one player was kicked out of study hall after bringing a television set to a session. He said instructors were given orders to reinstate the player.

Valvano told the Faculty Senate that the basketball program has a graduation rate of 86%. The Faculty Senate is the main voice for the 1,445 faculty members and serves as an adviser to the chancellor. The Poole Commission report showed the true graduation rate to be 24% from N.C. State and 32% including players who transferred to other schools.

In February, the Faculty Senate reported the findings of its own investigation. Its report showed a sorry picture of the team’s academic health, finding that 10 of 12 current players are not in good academic standing and that seven of those 10 are under the most severe form of warning--meaning their grade-point average had fallen below either 1.25 or 1.95, depending on the number of courses the student had completed.

Some of the information was shocking. Of the 43 players recruited by Valvano since 1980, 29 were either on academic warning or had been when they left school. Twenty-one of the 43 transferred or left North Carolina State before earning degrees. Only two of the 21 had left the school in good academic standing.

That report included some harsh language directed toward Valvano and his program.

One passage read: “Any subverting of existing policies and procedures to cynically foster a marginal academic performance predicated on lengthening their academic eligibility is clearly immoral and unacceptable.”

It is not a new problem. In the 1982-83 season, the year Valvano’s team won the national championship, the Wolfpack’s cumulative grade-point average was 1.67, a D-plus. One player had a semester GPA of 0.23. One player had attended school eight regular semesters and five summer school semesters. He had played basketball for four seasons. Yet he had passed only 76 semester hours and had a GPA of 1.12.

Poulton has an interesting philosophy regarding these problems and whose responsibility they are.

“Jim Valvano was hired by North Carolina State University to coach basketball,” Poulton said. “His record as a basketball coach is a tremendously successful one. The faculty at N.C. State is charged with the academic oversight of students. The athletic department does not have the responsibility of students being students. Who gives the grades? The faculty gives the grades.”

The Incredible Teflon Coach

Poulton has resigned and Valvano will have to eventually step down as athletic director. But why was Valvano not fired as basketball coach? Certainly university officials appear sincere when they say they have no intention of removing Valvano.

“I don’t think there is any doubt about his remaining coach,” said John Gregg, of the school’s Board of Trustees. “I hope he does.”

There is also the matter of Valvano’s contract and its structure.

That contract is automatically renewed for five years each Aug. 1. Valvano’s annual salary is $100,035.

The contract also contains two significant clauses:

--That if Valvano leaves North Carolina State for another NCAA Division I school or NBA coaching job, the school will be compensated $500,000.

--That the school or team that hires Valvano must pay administrative, recruiting and resettlement costs for finding a successor, in addition to “potentially increased compensation costs and loss of ticket revenues.”

This last is thought to have been a stumbling block in Valvano’s negotiations with UCLA in 1988.

Another clause may be a factor in Valvano’s current situation. The contract says that if Valvano is fired for any reason other than a major NCAA infraction or a felony, the school must compensate him $500,000.

Given these considerations, it is understandable that North Carolina State officials may be hesitant to fire Valvano.

Besides, it would be difficult to imagine Valvano doing better for himself financially in the pros or elsewhere. His business interests are lucrative and varied.

Valvano has curtailed, at Poulton’s request, appearing in local TV commercials. However, he has begun serving as host on ESPN’s “Lighter Side of Sports,” and through his private company, JTV Enterprises, Valvano oversees various real estate holdings.

According to the News & Observer, JTV Enterprises is a sub-chapter S corporation not subject to federal income tax. Valvano is the company’s director and sole shareholder.

Valvano, like many other big-time basketball coaches, has a lucrative deal with a shoe company. His four-year deal with Nike is reportedly worth $160,000, and the company provides Valvano and the Wolfpack with shoes and apparel.

Valvano is also a sought-after motivational speaker and his contract with the Washington Speakers Bureau reportedly guarantees him a minimum of 25 speaking engagements a year, at $8,500 a speech. If that guarantee holds up, Valvano has the potential to earn $212,500 a year just from speaking.

Like many coaches, Valvano conducts a summer basketball camp and has a weekly television and radio show, his with Capitol Broadcasting. Valvano’s automobile is provided by South Square Motors, a Durham, N.C., car dealership.

Valvano is also part-owner in a company that designs sports sculpture and other artwork.

“I’m not a man without options,” Valvano said.

He has had offers from both the National Basketball Assn. and other Division I schools in the last few years.

“I’m here because I want to be part of the solution.”

‘Be True to Your School’

On the day Spangler’s report was delivered, a banner was raised by students on the N.C. State campus. it read: “We’re with you, Coach V.”

Students here don’t appear to blame Valvano for any of the mess. In fact, the media are more commonly blamed. Particularly singled out is the Raleigh News & Observer, which has been aggressively covering the story on its front pages.

Poulton said last week that he had resigned “to spare my family and the university the daily outpouring of hate from the News & Observer.”

For many here, it’s someone else’s fault, but certainly not Valvano’s.

Brooks T. Raiford, president of the Student Senate, said the vast majority of students support the coach.

“He’s done a fine job as coach,” he said. “He’s got a great personality and great charisma.”

Brian Nixon, student body president, thinks the school is being picked on.

“This sort of thing happens at schools all over the country,” he said. “We are taking steps to see it doesn’t happen again.”

If lessons have been learned and officials properly chastised, it’s difficult to determine. Poulton, for one, remains defiant, saying once again, “There is no scandal at North Carolina State.”

And there is a move among the Board of Regents to reinstate Poulton, who may himself be maneuvering to regain his job.

But there is also this to consider:

A sign outside the Four Square Baptist Church advises: “Confessing your sins is no substitute for forsaking them.”