Three in Tigers athletic department on admissions task force

Friday, February 23, 2007

BY LARRY WILLIAMS


CLEMSON - Clemson president James Barker announced Thursday the formation of a task force to review the school's controversial admissions process for athletes.

The athletic department will have three representatives on the six-person committee: athletic director Terry Don Phillips, assistant football coach Dabo Swinney, and assistant basketball coach Ron Bradley.

The task force is charged with examining the workings of the Athletic Admissions Review Committee (AARC), which has been the target of substantial criticism after it recently blocked the signing of several prospective football players.

Clemson's athletic department is adamant that the admissions standards at Clemson not be more stringent than those of the competition. Barker addressed that issue in Thursday's release, saying the task force was convened to "ensure that Clemson's process has a level playing field with our competition while preserving academic integrity."

Phillips and provost Dori Helms will be co-chairs of the committee, which is also composed of Dr. Charles Gooding, president-elect of faculty senate, and dean of undergraduate studies Jan Murdoch.

Barker has given the committee a deadline of March 30 to complete the review.

The AARC has been in existence for five years, but this year it made a controversial change in protocol. Previously, it allowed athletes who were borderline academically to sign with Clemson before the appeals process began. This year, it began the process before signing day and barred "several" players from signing, according to faculty athletics representative Larry LaForge.

Swinney was designated by head football coach Tommy Bowden, according to the release. Bradley was designated by head basketball coach Oliver Purnell.

Barker also appointed a nine-member "Resource Group" to assist the task force by providing "background, data, benchmark information from other institutions, and significant professional insights about recruiting and admissions issues."

The group includes four members of the athletic department: Bowden, Purnell, baseball coach Jack Leggett, and senior women's administrator Barbara Kennedy-Dixon.

The diversity on the panels supports the notion that this issue isn't limited to football. Before the academics-vs.-athletics tension was exposed on Feb. 7, there had been growing unease across the entire athletic department about rising academic standards at Clemson, and how they affect the Tigers' ability to field big-time sports programs.

In an interview earlier this week, Phillips expressed steadfast support for the university administration. But he admitted he does have some qualms with the process.

"We need to see what other universities are doing," he said. "It's very important to understand what our chief competitors are doing. And that's part of the process."



Reach Larry Williams at lwilliams@postandcourier.com