DeVoe s Been Rehired At Tennessee. . .
But A Few Questions Still Remain
Don DeVoe's 10th season as the head coach of the Tennessee Volunteers is one he'll never forget. No coach in the country came under more scrutiny this season than the former Bob Knight assistant. The more the Vols struggled, the stronger the rumors flowed about DeVoe's tedious status as head coach. Both television and radio airwaves throughout the
Todd Hallum
Cats' Pause Columnist
state of Tennessee were filled with reports of DeVoe's anticipated dismissal. One unnamed source of a Tennessee writer described himself as "Deep Vol" and gave the scribe clues on who the next UT coach would be (he thought it would be Bobby Cremins of Georgia Tech). And a Knoxville television station went on the air and said that DeVoe had in fact been canned by the UT athletic staff.
Well, so much for predetermined judgements. DeVoe has weathered his greatest coaching battle when it was announced during the SEC tournament that DeVoe was granted a two-year extension to his contract instead of the long-awaited announcement that the veteran coach had coached his last game when the Vols lost to Florida in Baton Rouge.
IN THE SURPRISING ANNOUNCEMENT, UT athletic director Doug Dickey said DeVoe would be given an extension on his own recommendation to the athletics board.
"We have made the decision to extend coach DeVoe's contract for two more years," Dickey said, "which will carry through the 1990-91 season."
Of course, the news release from Baton Rouge put to rest all of the false scuttlebutt that said DeVoe would never coach again at Tennessee. In 10 years, the Vol coach certainly hasn't embarrassed the Tennessee program, as he has compiled a record of 185-125. His teams have appeared in five NCAA tournaments and three NITs.
"I am happy to accept this contract extension and I deeply appreciate the confidence the University of Tennessee has in me. our staff and our present basketball team." DeVoe
said. "The last two years have been difficult years, but the numbers seem to be improving now."
The numbers which he referred to are these: A 16-13 won-loss record this year, meaning UT has broker, a two-year slump of sub-.500 records. And though the Vols didn't make the NCAA field this season, they did put together some of their basketball at the end of the season, winning four out of their last six games, including a big upset of Kentucky. And had it not been for their best player (Dyron Nix) having a terrible shooting game against Florida, the Vols could have easily been the SEC tournament's Cinderella team just as Georgia was this year.
"THIS IS OBVIOUSLY A CONTROVERSIAL MATTER," Dickey said in Baton Rouge. "I am aware that many people have orally commented or written to us expressing their feelings about the coaching situation.
"I have confidence there is renewed strength in our program that will carry over into the 1988-89 season. Coach DeVoe's personal commitment to recruiting, the work his staff and the great basketball facility on our campus can give us a promising new future."
Now that DeVoe's immediate future in Knoxville is assured, several observations come to mind:
One, throughout this agonizing ordeal, DeVoe has handled himself with class. He never hid his feelings with the media and never lost his composure, no matter how bad the situation got. Maybe it was private conversations with his former boss, Knight, or just his fiery nature, but DeVoe certainly couldn't be faulted with the way he endured the brutal attacks against his program. DeVoe was always very open, and acted very professionally despite going through a difficult time for both himself and his family.
Two, what should be made of Dickey literally making a two-year observation of the entire Tennessee program? During his investigation, it was his job to critique DeVoe and how the program was run. At first, when it became known that Dickey would in fact closely follow all aspects of the UT basketball program, it appeared that this would the first sign that the school was taking steps to find a new coach. Was Dickey there to judge how the team was faring against SEC competition, or to see if DeVoe was running a "clean" program? Obviously, the latter has been a trademark of DeVoe's since he arrived in Knoxville. What was Dickey's true purpose of his reports on the program?
A third point was why did the UT athletic board let this DeVoe saga continue had it already made up its mind to fire him in the first place? Let's face it, had Tennessee not received an off-balance Greg Bell jumper at the buzzer to defeat Kentucky, and a late season three-game winning streak, DeVoe in all liklihood was gone anyway. It seemed DeVoe was
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College Sports Fear Drugs, Gambling
Yet They Continue To Help Promote Them
College sports' enemies Nos. 1 and 2 are gambling and drugs. While upfront we abhor their presence, denounce them and warn our athletes against them, back at the cash register we allow them to slide in with the advertising, and actually promote their activity.
Scoop Hudgins
Cats' Pause Columnist
Football, basketball and the Olympic Games, contested with spirit and skillfully presented to the public, create exciting evens for alcohol to hang its ads on and for gambling to increase its addiction.
Coach CM. Newton of the exciting Vanderbilt basketball team presented the conflict realistically. He said: "Here we are, testing our athletes for drugs, and at the same time we're promoting the sale of beerwhich is a form of drugs."
The bulge in betting is aided by newspapers listing the odds or "line" on the games and by radio and TV sports talk shows. New converts to gambling are acquired from spectators and TV watchers who feel that the team they support is underrated by the line, and they bet their opinion.
IF THEY LOSE, THEY'VE LEARNED SOMETHING. But if they win, they feel their opinion is better than that of the oddsmakers, so they bet again, and again. Soon the wins come through personal smartness, while the losses occur through tough breaks late in the contest or prejudice of the officials.
But no matter the reason, let's get on with the game: "I was right, and I'll prove it with this next bet. I'll simply double up to catch up."
He's contracted the fever. The excitement is exhilerating. He craves the feeling, will do anything for it. Another lost to gambling addiction.
The talk shows which feature gambling odds and are beer-sponsored are a double loss
"Here we are, testing our athletes for drugs, and at the same time were promoting the sale of beerwhich is a form of drugs."
Vanderbilt coach CM. Newton
for college sports, plus another harm even worse, unfair criticism of the coaches.
At times they are dominated by beer-drinkers motivated by a desire to hear their own opinions voiced over the air. They are strong on one team and insulting to the other. They know the strengths and weaknesses of both and the strategy that should by employed by their team's coach. Then, when their prediction misses, they criticize the coach and want to fire him.
In the recent SEC tournament at LSU, the beer commercials were rampant. Even on the public address system, the beer companies, with other beverages, local restaurants and auto dealers, were presented every few minutes as the official sponsors of the Southeastern Conference. To some, it was sickening.
This week I asked commissioner Harvey Schiller about the direction of advertising in the presentation of SEC special events.
He said: "We follow NCAA guidelines on beer commercials, and on any others we ap-py standards of good taste. Already, we are smokeless in our advertising. We desire clients compatible with the aims of our colleges."
He further explained: "The PA commercials at Baton Rouge were allowed to thank the people who contributed an exceptional amount of work-time and products to the accommodation of LSU's effort toward a successful tournament. I have since recommended to the ADs and the presidents that no commercials be permitted on the PA at Southeastern Conference championship events."
The public eventually decides the tenor of acceptable advertising by expressing opinion. In college sports the SEC is aware, and moving to the right.