Baylor Basketball Coach Dave Bliss Quits

WACO, Texas - Baylor basketball coach Dave Bliss resigned Friday over major violations in his program uncovered following the disappearance and death of a player and charges he was killed by a former teammate.

"I'm the head coach and I'm accountable for everything that goes on in my program," Bliss said in a hastily arranged campus news conference. "I accept that responsibility. I intend to cooperate fully as the inquiry continues. I'll do whatever I can to make things right."

After Bliss' brief resignation announcement, Baylor president Robert Sloan said the school's investigation committee already has discovered major violations regarding players getting paid and improper drug testing.

He put the program on probation for up to two years, saying it will not participate in any postseason tournaments next season, including the Big 12 tournament. He also offered to allow any player to transfer.

"Additional sanctions may be imposed as the investigation continues," Sloan said.

Sloan also said athletic director Tom Stanton, who hired Bliss, was resigning, even though he "had no direct knowledge of any of the infractions."

Since 6-foot-10 junior forward Patrick Dennehy was reported missing in mid-June, Bliss has been scrutinized for everything from who he recruited to how closely he oversaw the team.

Sloan said two players — he didn't provide names — had their scholarships paid for by a third party. A school statement said, "the head men's basketball coach has admitted involvement in these infractions."

Sloan also said there were "instances in which staff members had knowledge of student-athletes' use of substances on the list of banned drugs and failed to follow institutional procedures." He said all future drug screening will be done by nurses at Baylor Health Center.

Bliss has been guarded since Dennehy disappeared. He read prepared statements several times and limited his media exposure. Through it all, he steadfastly denied any wrongdoing.

"We have followed the rules, however difficult they may be, for 30 years," Bliss said on July 28.

He also said that, as far as he knew, his players had no more to do with drugs "than the man in the moon."

Dennehy's family complained that coaches didn't take seriously threats he had reported receiving.

Dennehy's body was found last month in Waco near a rock quarry. Carlton Dotson, 21, Dennehy's roommate and former teammate, was arrested and charged with his murder July 21, after reportedly telling authorities he shot Dennehy when Dennehy tried to shoot him.

Sloan and Bliss were among nearly a dozen Baylor officials who attended a memorial service for Dennehy in San Jose, Calif., on Thursday. Baylor, the world's largest Baptist university with 14,000 students, will hold its own memorial Aug. 28 on campus.

Bliss, 59, has been a Division I coach for 28 seasons, working previously at Oklahoma, SMU and New Mexico. He arrived at Baylor in 1999 and in four years began turning around a program that had been placed on NCAA probation twice since the mid-1980s.

Baylor was 14-14 last season, but just 5-11 in the Big 12. The Bears were 61-57 in his tenure.

Dennehy, a transfer from New Mexico transfer who sat out last season because of NCAA transfer rules, was reported missing by his family on June 19, about a week after he was last seen on campus.

Baylor announced that Dennehy had disappeared and asked the public to help find him after his Chevy Tahoe was found June 25 in Virginia Beach, Va.

Dotson remains jailed without bond in his home state of Maryland and awaits extradition to Texas, which could take as long as three months.

After his arrest, Dotson told The Associated Press that he "didn't confess to anything."

Bliss said Friday he resigned after being "made aware of some situations within our program."

"These were rules that over the years I've had great respect for. Despite things that have been said, we've tried to work real hard for 28 years to have a chance to work with young people," Bliss said.

Bliss left the room and did not answer questions following his brief resignation announcement. Stanton joined Sloan at a news conference following Bliss' announcement but did not speak.

Stanton, who was in his sixth year as AD at his alma mater, will remain on the job until his successor is named. Sloan said the school hadn't even thought yet about how it will replace Bliss.

None of the schools where Bliss has coached have been cited for NCAA infractions while he was there. However, the Fort Worth Star-Telegram reported last week that Bliss left SMU months after an NCAA investigation uncovered evidence of what would typically be considered major rules violations, including booster payments to a player.

Baylor began its probe after allegations surfaced that a coach told Dennehy his education and living expenses would be paid if he gave up his scholarship for a year. The committee also examined whether Dennehy received $1,200 to $1,800 from an assistant coach toward a car loan for his sport utility vehicle, and if players passed urine tests despite smoking marijuana.

The NCAA put Baylor on five-year probation in 1994 after an investigation found that coaches were illegally doing correspondence work for players. An FBI inquiry resulted in mail and wire fraud convictions against three assistant coaches. Former head coach Darrel Johnson was fired.

In 1986, the Baylor basketball team was slapped with a two-year probation after the NCAA said it provided cash, transportation and other illegal benefits to players. A player secretly recorded a conversation in which former head coach Jim Haller agreed to give him $172 for a car payment.

Baylor coach, AD resign; school admits violations Basketball program put on probation
08/09/2003
By JEFF MILLER / The Dallas Morning News
A summer of tragedy and turmoil at Baylor University took a dramatic turn Friday when school president Robert B. Sloan Jr. accepted the resignations of men's basketball coach Dave Bliss and athletic director Tom Stanton.
Dr. Sloan said the internal committee investigating allegations of NCAA rule violations, which were made after the disappearance and slaying of basketball player Patrick Dennehy, discovered major infractions. The violations involved extra benefits to players, including tuition payments to two players made through a third party.
Dr. Sloan said the committee also determined that athletic department officials failed to respond properly after being informed that players were using substances on the school's list of banned drugs.
Dr. Sloan said he also immediately placed the basketball program on probation for at least two years, which would include missing next year's Big 12 Conference tournament.
He said players who wish to leave for other Division I programs could do so without sitting out the required transfer year.
Dr. Sloan said he might impose more sanctions if the panel discovers other significant violations.
"This has been a very difficult time for us," said Dr. Sloan, who Thursday headed the Baylor contingent attending the memorial service for Mr. Dennehy in California. "But we have an obligation to pursue an aggressive and thorough investigation."

AP
Former Baylor Universtiy athletic director Tom Stanton (right) walks with university President Robert B. Sloan following the news conference.
Mr. Bliss stood before a hastily called news conference in stark contrast to a similar appearance he made 11 days earlier. On July 28, he defended his program's off-the-court record, not only in his four seasons at Baylor, but also in his 28 years as a Division I head coach.
He said Friday that he was recently made aware of the major violations discovered by the investigating committee, appointed by the school last week.
"These are rules that over the years I've had great respect for and, despite things that have been said, tried to work real hard for 28 years to have a chance to work with young people," Mr. Bliss said, his voice occasionally shaking. "I am the head coach, and I am accountable for everything that goes on with my program.
"I intend to cooperate fully as the inquiry continues, do what I can to make things right. I came to Baylor to do things right. We've made mistakes, but we own up to them from this point forth."
Unaware of violations
Dr. Sloan said Mr. Stanton, who didn't attend the news conference and could not be reached for comment, was unaware of the major rule violations. Mr. Stanton was in his sixth year as athletic director at his alma mater, where he lettered in basketball and baseball.
"As the man of character he is, he accepts responsibility for maintaining the integrity of Baylor's athletic department," Dr. Sloan said.
He said Mr. Stanton would continue as interim athletic director until a full-time replacement is found. No interim coach has been named, and the status of assistant coaches Doug Ash and Rodney Belcher has not been determined, according to athletic department spokesman Scott Stricklin.
Bill Underwood, a member of a university committee appointed to look into allegations of NCAA violations, said he met with Mr. Bliss on Friday before the resignations were announced.
"I spent several hours with Coach Bliss – someone who showed me more integrity today than most coaches would show in their entire careers," said Mr. Underwood, a law professor.
Mr. Underwood said he had no comment on the announcements.
"I just don't feel like talking about it," he said.
Friday's announcement continued an unsettling chain of events on the Baylor campus that began when Mr. Dennehy was reported missing in mid-June. Within two weeks, former Baylor player Carlton Dotson was identified as a "person of interest" in the search and a police informant said he admitted fatally shooting Mr. Dennehy.
On July 21, Mr. Dotson was arrested in his home state of Maryland and charged with murder. Four days later, Mr. Dennehy's body was found southeast of Waco in an area that Mr. Dotson had described to authorities. Mr. Dotson remains in a Maryland jail awaiting extradition to Texas.
Questions regarding unauthorized payments to players, including tuition assistance, and drug use were first raised by The News during the last two weeks.
Mr. Dennehy's father, Patrick Dennehy Sr., said his son told him that assistant coach Rodney Belcher said he would "take care" of him after he transferred to Baylor from the University of New Mexico last year. Mr. Dennehy said his son gave up his athletic scholarship for the past school year at the request of the basketball office.
When Mr. Dennehy expressed concern that his son wasn't able to pay for the two major areas covered by the scholarship, tuition and housing, Mr. Dennehy was told by his son, "I don't know [how those will be paid], but he [Mr. Belcher] said they're going to take care of me."
Melissa Kethley, Mr. Dotson's estranged wife, said that members of the basketball team regularly smoked marijuana at the couple's apartment and said she had witnessed players faking drug tests.
The mother of former Baylor player Robert Hart said last week she warned an athletic department official about drug and alcohol use by the players last year but never heard back.
Mr. Bliss has been a fixture on the regional college basketball scene since the mid-1970s, coaching at Oklahoma, SMU, New Mexico and Baylor. He spent the last four seasons with the Bears, compiling a 61-57 record and with one post-season tournament appearance.
The resignations of Baylor's basketball coach and athletic director hit some regents hard on Friday.
"As a regent, as a member of the Baylor family, it's a sad day and a very tough day," said Carl W. Bell of Fort Worth, the majority owner of Fort Worth's Cats baseball team. "I'm sad for coach Bliss because he is a good coach and a good man. It would appear from every indication that mistakes have been made."
Mr. Bell, who served on the regents' athletic committee for three years, said Dr. Sloan informed all regents of the possible NCAA violations in a teleconference call right before Friday's news conference.
He praised Dr. Sloan for appointing an investigative committee and for the steps he announced Friday.
"We're going to fix the problems, and we're going to move forward," Mr. Bell said.
'A sad and tragic day'
John G. Wilkerson, a regent from Lubbock, said he had only one comment: "It's a sad and tragic day for Baylor that we find ourselves in this very unacceptable position."
Grant Teaff, the Baylor Hall of Fame football coach who led the Bears to their only two Southwest Conference titles, noted that Friday was a sad day for the school.
"It's sad for the people that are involved, coach Bliss and his family, Tom Stanton, his family and certainly for Baylor University and the people that support the university," Mr. Teaff said. "It's a sad day, but the university will investigate and do the right thing."
Staff writers Kent Fischer in Waco and Keith Whitmire and Linda K. Wertheimer in Dallas contributed to this report.
E-mail jmiller@dallasnews.com

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