Division I men's basketball coaches have frequently been making headlines over the last few months.
Unfortunately, it has been for all the wrong reasons.
Over the past six months, scandals in collegiate basketball programs have rocked schools such as Villanova, Iowa State, Georgia, Baylor and St. Bonaventure.
The National Association of Basketball Coaches has decided to do something about this lack of ethics and accountability. The organization has called for a mandatory summit of all Division I men's head basketball coaches, to be held at the Hyatt Regency O'Hare in Chicago on Oct. 15.
"We hope that this summit will provide a basis for our coaches and our association to proactively move forward toward greater integrity in our sport," Association President Kelvin Sampson, Oklahoma's head basketball coach, said in a press release.
Many coaches, however, feel that this conference is unnecessary.
"I don't like to be given this type of ultimatum," Penn basketball coach Fran Dunphy said. "Five percent of the people cause 95 percent of the problems. I'm not sure it's necessary."
Yale basketball coach James Jones shares Dunphy's sentiment.
"It's a small minority who have problems," he said. "But college basketball is under a microscope and these things get blown out of proportion."
Others, such as Saint Joseph's coach Phil Martelli, believe that the conference is a good idea because all coaches are ultimately responsible for one another.
"What we have to do is go there and talk about the greater good," Martelli told The Philadelphia Daily News. "Everybody just can't worry about what's good for them."
Harvard coach Frank Sullivan, La Salle coach Billy Hahn and Dartmouth coach Dave Faucher were unavailable for comment.
While some coaches are not directly involved in the scandals at their schools, both Dunphy and Jones agree that the head coach is ultimately responsible for more than just calling plays and running practices. He is in charge of all that goes on in his program.
"It's a heavy responsibility," Dunphy said. "But when you take the job, you sign on for the responsibility."
"It's a hard job controlling everything that goes on in your basketball program," Jones said. "I don't know if I could be a football coach. Sometimes I wonder how he even knows everyone's name."
While the coach cannot constantly watch over his players to make sure they are acting properly, coaches constantly stress responsibility to their players.
"We have one rule here at Yale," Jones said. "Don't do anything to embarrass yourself or the program."
Dunphy said that responsibility is one thing coaches look for when recruiting athletes.
"You want the best athletes who are also good kids and good students," he said.
Jones and Dunphy both agree that the meeting will not stop all coaches from misbehaving.
"It's like my grandmother used to tell me, 'When guns are outlawed, only outlaws will carry guns,'" Jones said. "The people who did it are going to continue to do it until they get caught."
While Jones feels that this conference might not be the best way to go about solving his sport's problems, he agrees that something must be done.
"College basketball is one of the greatest things in sports and we don't want to leave a bad taste in anyone's mouth," he said.
Dunphy said that he too is willing to participate, despite his disagreement with the summit.
"I don't agree with it," he said. "But if that's what the higher-ups in my organization feel is necessary, I'll go along with it."
The organization is requiring all 327 Division I head coaches to attend, and is threatening to withhold tickets to the 2004 Final Four in San Antonio from any coach who does not choose to go to Chicago.
"As the Association for Collegiate Basketball Coaches and guardians of the game," Jim Haney, NABC Executive Director said in a press release, "we have a responsibility to the game, the players, the fans and to ourselves to insure the utmost integrity of our sport."
