Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: WEDNESDAY, July 12, 1995 TAG: 9507130026
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C-1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: Associated Press
DATELINE: COLLEGE PARK, MD. LENGTH: Medium
Maryland quarterback Scott Milanovich has lost a chance to win the Heisman Trophy and the multimillion dollar NFL contract that usually follows, all because of a handful of bets totaling $200.
Milanovich, the most prolific passer in school history, has been suspended for eight games by the NCAA for gambling on college sports, according to sources. It is the most severe penalty handed to a Division I athlete for such a violation.
The school has appealed the suspension, one of five given to Maryland athletes by the NCAA on Monday. The school also will appeal the 20-game suspension of reserve basketball guard Matt Raydo.
Four of the athletes have given the university permission to release their names. The fifth, according to sources, is Milanovich, but the school and the NCAA won't confirm that.
The appeal process will be completed within two weeks. For now, however, Milanovich is left with shattered hopes.
``Let's just say he's disillusioned,'' Maryland athletic director Debbie Yow said.
Milanovich has not commented publicly on the case, and calls to his parents' home in Pennsylvania were not returned.
The NCAA said that had Milanovich not cooperated with the university's investigation of campus gambling, he would have been forced to miss the entire season.
Milanovich allegedly placed six bets totaling $200 during the fall of 1992, 1993 and 1994. Yow has said none of the athletes bet on Maryland games or did anything to alter the outcome of games involving the Terrapins.
``The most important issue for us is that he had contact with a bookie and placed bets with that bookie,'' said Carrie Doyle, the NCAA's eligibility director. ``When you start placing bets with a bookie personally, you've crossed a line, and after you've crossed that line the cases become serious cases.
``This is organized gambling and the possibility of organized crime being involved is certainly a greater possibility when you start betting with a bookie.''
If the appeal is denied, Milanovich would miss 75 percent of the Terrapins' games. In 17 prior cases, the NCAA did not suspend a player for more than 25 percent of his team's games.
``What a jump, from 25 percent to 75 percent. My God!'' Yow said. ``We don't argue that he should be punished. We recommended two games. It's just that the punishment does not fit the misdeed.''
This was supposed to be a banner year for Milanovich. He contemplated skipping the season to enter the NFL draft after his junior year, but after the league's evaluation committee determined he would have been picked between the third and seventh rounds, he decided to return to school.
He ranks No.1 at Maryland in career pass completions (525), completion percentage (.661), pass efficiency (142.40) and touchdown passes (47). Operating coach Mark Duffner's run-and-shoot offense, he was expected to set school marks in career passing yards, attempts and total offense. He also ranks first in career punting average (42.8 yards).
The other three football players - Jermaine Lewis, Jaron Hairston and Farad Hall - will miss one regularly scheduled game. That is the punishment suggested by the school in its report to the NCAA.
Each placed two bets on college football or basketball games using parlay cards, sheets that list 30 to 40 games. A bettor must correctly pick at least three games without a mistake to win. The total amount bet ranged from $10 to $25.
Raydo was given his 20-game suspension for making nine to 12 bets on college football games during the fall of 1994. Some of those bets were also made through a bookie, which led to his harsh sentence. He, too, would have been suspended for a full season had he not cooperated in the investigation, the NCAA said.
But Yow said the NCAA is sending the wrong message by giving harsh penalties to players who cooperate.
``We have a chance to teach a life lesson, with the help of the NCAA,'' Yow said. ``The lesson goes something like this: If you're candid, forthright and tell the truth, it will all work out for you. That's not what happened here.''
Keywords:
FOOTBALL
by CNB