Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: FRIDAY, January 20, 1995 TAG: 9501200083
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B-6 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: DOUG DOUGHTY
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
Certainly, there is much to be said for Copeland as a person. He is honest, loyal, God-fearing, self-effacing and, yes, intelligent.
That doesn't mean he was a great athletic director.n with Copeland was understandable.
In July, one of UVa's football signees, Tyrone McGill, was dismissed because he became homesick and went home after his third day in the Summer Transition Program. Sources close to the program said Welsh was furious.
``I don't know how you explain that,'' Welsh said. ``How do you explain it?''
The question was posed to the athletic director.
``It's not my job to explain it,'' said Copeland, who had a smug way about him at times.
When Dick Schultz was Virginia's athletic director from 1982-87, every question was met with a straight answer. With Copeland, too often the buck stopped somewhere else, if it stopped at all.
Maybe it's unfair to compare Copeland to Schultz, who was chairman of the NCAA basketball committee and later served as executive director of the NCAA. If there was any question whether Virginia would make the NCAA Tournament during Schultz's tenure, forget it; the Cavaliers were in.
Under Copeland, however, UVa's football team tied for third in the ACC in each of the past two seasons, but did not get one of the spots reserved for the top four teams. There was a feeling he was outmaneuvered by fellow ACC athletic directors in both cases - by North Carolina State's Todd Turner in 1993 and Duke's Tom Butters this year.
In all fairness, Virginia did not help itself with late-season losses and may not have improved its position with any manner of lobbying. What UVa supporters wanted was some show of outrage, and they didn't get it from Copeland or president John Casteen, whose indifference for athletics is unmistakable.
Copeland's close ties to the ACC office, which usually would be considered a positive, came to be regarded as a negative. There also was a feeling that Copeland had surrounded himself with people who owed their careers to him - the ``Dream Team,'' as they came to be known - and were unlikely to challenge him.
That's probably the case at a lot of schools, and a review of Copeland's career shows that it is not without accomplishment. The McCue Center, a $10 million football-support facility, was built during his tenure. So was Klockner Stadium, home to UVa's soccer and lacrosse teams.
Copeland should be credited for the way he handled the discovery that illegal loans had been made to student-athletes. A lack of secrecy and a willingness to cooperate with the NCAA helped reduce the penalty, although the sanctions applied to violations during the Copeland years.
Some would praise Copeland for his selection of Jeff Jones as men's basketball coach, but others have not forgotten how he botched the process. He should have targeted Pete Gillen of Xavier, but became enamored of Rick Barnes of Providence. He only turned to Jones after Barnes stiffed him.
Virginia will need a new football coach at some point in the next decade, and the men's basketball search raised fears about Copeland's ability to find a successor for Welsh. Copeland's departure has removed former William and Mary colleague Jimmye Laycock from the role of logical front-runner.
Copeland was almost invisible in his last month at Virginia - missing the Independence Bowl, for example - but materializing for a home basketball game with Clemson. Coincidentally, the Tigers are now coached by Barnes, making his first trip to Charlottesville since a whirlwind visit in 1990.
If Copeland isn't bitter, which he claims he isn't, it's a wonder. Copeland is a UVa alumnus, and he's from Charlottesville. Nobody can believe he's excited about leaving home for SMU, Dallas and the ruins of the Southwest Conference.
And it didn't have to happen. With a little more charisma, with a little more assertiveness, with some better communication skills, maybe even the football people could have grown to appreciate him.
Doug Doughty covers University of Virginia athletics for this newspaper.
by CNB