Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: FRIDAY, March 23, 1990 TAG: 9003232841
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C2 EDITION: EVENING
SOURCE: Associated Press
DATELINE: RALEIGH, N. C. LENGTH: Medium
The News and Observer of Raleigh reported that the school's lawyer told trustees that they can use those points in claiming that its contract with Valvano is not valid.
The lawyer, Howard Manning, told trustees he thought Valvano might have violated his contract by not fulfilling his duty to "encourage academic progress, in conjunction with the faculty and the university, of student-athletes toward graduation."
In addition, according to the newspaper, Manning said he thought Valvano could be held accountable for violations of NCAA rules uncovered last year because the coach also was the athletic director at the time the rules were broken.
The school's trustees voted 9-3 in closed session Tuesday to begin negotiatons to terminate Valvano's contract, the Charlotte Observer reported Thursday.
The trustees who opposed the move say they think the university and interim chancellor Larry Monteith are treating Valvano unfairly.
"He wishes to stay at N.C. State University; he wishes to coach basketball here," Edward Schrum told the Charlotte paper. "I think we should allow him to be part of the solution."
Trustee Daniel Gunter said he thought the coach was "getting a raw deal" from the school he led to the NCAA championship in 1983.
The vote on Tuesday came after Monteith gave the board an account detailing poor academic performance by Valvano's players, the Raleigh paper said.
An unidentified source was quoted by the Raleigh paper as saying that the trustees hoped to use the information as leverage to get Valvano to agree to leave.
Valvano has been under pressure to resign following allegations of point-shaving by the N.C. State basketball team in the 1986-87 season as well as disclosures last month that Charles Shackleford accepted $60,000 in loans while still at N.C. State, a violation of NCAA rules. Shackleford now plays for the New Jersey Nets of the NBA.
ABC News reported Thursday night that the New Jersey Crime and Racketeering Commission is now heading the point-shaving probe, which reportedly is focusing on four unspecified games.
A source said in the Charlotte paper that trustees have directed Monteith to send Valvano's lawyer a letter, informing him the school will not automatically renew his contract.
"I think Jim Valvano is gone," said the source, who wasn't identified. "The negotiations will not be to honor the contract, but to focus on flaws in it."
If Valvano refuses to step down, he may be forced to go to court to seek compensation for the five years remaining on his contract.
The contract states there are always five years remaining on it unless either party notifies the other before Aug. 1 of an intention not to renew. The contract also states that the university can terminate it without cause at any time but must pay damages of $100,000 a year "for the five years that always shall be remaining under this contract."
When told of the reports, Valvano's agent, Art Kaminsky, said from New York: "Unlike the university, I'm not interested in really conducting these matters in public."
Kaminsky said the next step is up to the university, which could face a $500,000 penalty for terminating Valvano's contract unless the coach personally violates NCAA rules or commits a crime.
Asked whether he agreed with accounts that the situation would be resolved this week, Kaminsky said, "It may take a longer time than that."
Arthur Padilla, UNC's associate vice president for academic affairs and a key figure in the investigation of N.C. State, said Thursday that it was possible trustees were simply given details about information already made public by UNC system president C.D. Spangler last August.
"The president's report of August, which led to Valvano's resignation as athletic director . . . that report was very comprehensive and looked at the entire record," he said. "I know it's been reported, but I'm not sure it's been reported carefully. . . . It may be that when one views the detail, one is overwhelmed by it."
N.C. State has been dogged by scandals during Valvano's tenure.
The school is on NCAA probation because former players sold basketball shoes and complimentary tickets. And the State Bureau of Investigation is conducting its own investigation of the point-shaving allegations.
by CNB