Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: THURSDAY, January 30, 1992 TAG: 9201300096
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C5 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: By SCOTT BLANCHARD SPORTSWRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
SHARING ON BIG EAST AGENDA LEAGUE SCHOOLS WANT A PIECE OF MIAMI'S FOOTBALL
The Big East Football Conference is expected to tackle a revenue-sharing conflict with the University of Miami when the league's winter meetings begin today in Miami.League sources have said athletic directors of Miami, Syracuse, Boston College, Pittsburgh, Virginia Tech, West Virginia, Temple and Rutgers will be presented with a formal revenue-sharing plan today.
The league also may address the prickly issue of when Miami will begin sharing its football revenue: in 1993, when full league play begins, or as late as 1995. Sources said when the eight schools devised the full league schedule that begins in 1993 - two years earlier than anticipated - all of them except Miami said they felt revenue sharing should begin in '93 instead of '95.
The issue hits home with schools such as Virginia Tech, where relatively low athletic budgets will benefit greatly from Big East revenue sharing. Miami has appeared on national network or cable telecasts at least six times per season since 1986 and has appeared in a New Year's Day bowl seven of the past eight years, making it by far the Big East's breadwinner.
If the Hurricanes don't share football money before 1995, the Hurricanes will keep their television money and the payoffs from what likely would be New Year's Day bowl appearances after the '92, '93 and '94 seasons. The bowl money alone could amount to more than $9 million.
Virginia Tech athletic director Dave Braine said he didn't want to comment on the issue. Big East assistant commissioner Tom McElroy said the league will not discuss financial matters. Miami athletic director Dave Maggard and president Edward T. Foote II could not be reached for comment Wednesday.
Former Miami athletic director Sam Jankovich, now chief executive officer of the NFL's New England Patriots, guided Miami's entry into the Big East. It was made official in October 1990.
"Miami would never have agreed if the discussion would have said you're going to start sharing [football] revenue substantially in '93," Jankovich said Wednesday.
Jankovich said Miami's share of the Big East's basketball revenue was to be "very limited" at first and said the Hurricanes' distribution of football revenue would be "very, very gradual - very gradual."
Sharing would begin "a couple years" after the football league was formed, Jankovich said. At most, he said, the Hurricanes would share 10 percent of their football money for at least the first five years of sharing. That way, he said, the other football schools would have a chance to generate revenue of their own instead of sapping Miami's earnings.
"It was very clear from the outset that at no time would Miami jeopardize its [football] revenue with Big East football," Jankovich said. "If I was there, revenue sharing in football would be very limited for a long period of time."
Jankovich said Virginia Tech, West Virginia, Rutgers and Temple were not involved in Miami's initial agreements with the Big East. Those four were added to form the eight-team football league Feb. 5, 1991, about a month after Jankovich left to join the Patriots. Maggard took over from interim athletic director Paul Dee two days after the football league was announced.
"If I were there, people would have to live up to what we agreed to," Jankovich said.
A league source said that has been Maggard's position so far.
Those agreements, however, are among what will be reviewed at this week's meetings. Temple athletic director Charlie Theokas would not confirm the Miami scenario.
"It's safe to say Big East football schools are looking at [revenue sharing] differently than a year ago because of the quickness of our success. Things have changed, and we're reviewing our entire operation," he said.
Theokas called any problem with Miami "not a deal-breaker or a deal-maker."
"Because of our newness, everything is still up in the air, including revenue sharing. It's unfair to put it on Miami," Theokas said.
Theokas, a member of the league's finance committee, said a formal plan probably won't emerge from this week's gathering. Syracuse athletic director Jake Crouthamel said to him there is little urgency about implementing a revenue-sharing plan.
"I don't think it's critical," he said. "In [basketball] we had very little revenue sharing for the first five years, and we didn't suffer."
The issue came to light at league meetings in early December, but one league source said it has not resulted in animosity toward Miami.
"It's a pretty compatible group of people," said the source, who requested anonymity.