ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Saturday, November 9, 1996 TAG: 9611110039
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: A-1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: ALLISON BLAKE STAFF WRITER
FACULTY AND BOOSTERS are applauding one-game suspensions issued to five players for tonight's game.
While defending the Virginia Tech athletic program on Friday, university President Paul Torgersen also made it clear that football players who get in trouble can expect the school to take tough action.
The August brawl on College Avenue that left a track star with a broken collarbone and this week produced indictments against seven Hokie football players apparently marks a turning point.
"I think the severity of sanctions have escalated and I think they'll escalate from here on," he said.
He added: "I think athletes across the university have gotten the message."
Declaring that enough is enough, university administrators, faculty and boosters are applauding one-game suspensions issued to five players for tonight's game against East Carolina University. Two other players were suspended for the rest of the season.
On Wednesday, a grand jury indicted seven football players and one former player in connection with the brawl. Seven face misdemeanor assault and battery charges. A ninth player was indicted on a felony abduction charge stemming from a separate incident in July, when a visiting student reportedly was forced to drink alcohol.
In a statement issued Wednesday after the suspensions were announced, Torgersen pointed out that no trial has been held and "these young men are presumed innocent."
Still, he said, "regardless of the final adjudication, even the appearance of impropriety by Virginia Tech athletes impugns the integrity of the entire program. We will neither condone nor tolerate it."
With this week's indictments, more than 20 Tech football players or former players have been charged in the past year; five were convicted, and charges were dropped against four others.
Faculty Senate President Paul Metz said the faculty was concerned about "athletic violence" and supports Torgersen's stance. Alumni also have backed the university's taking "swift and resolute action," said Henry Dekker, the rector, or chairman, of the board of visitors.
"I think there was a cumulative buildup in disappointment," Dekker said. "Then they began to express themselves somewhat."
Like others, Dekker said he was concerned about "condemning the whole program for the actions of a few." He wondered if the university ought to consider checking "a little more thoroughly into the background of some of these athletes we bring in, and see if they had problems in high school. These things don't occur overnight."
Virginia Tech Alumni Association President Nancy Sauer said the university has "gone an extra step" to work with players to help them understand their responsibility as role models. But she wondered if more can be done.
"Maybe long-term as an organization, Virginia Tech needs to take into consideration its recruitment policy, the ability for athletes to stand up to expectations," she said.
The sanctions also come more than a year into a $250million capital campaign that is receiving gifts ahead of projections. The school's action "might even be a little positive" for the campaign, said Charles Steger, the vice president for development.
"Nobody likes to have this thing happen, but our alumni feel we have not dodged a bullet," he said.
Still, the winning football team likely helped the campaign, Torgersen said. There are those who donate to the athletic program.
Last year's Sugar Bowl-winning football team earned $11million - money that helped support the entire athletic program, he said.
Sometimes alumni take in a game at the same time they revisit their old departments to consider giving academic donations, he said.
"Clearly, there's an enthusiasm woven around home football games we would have a hard time recapturing in other ways," he said.
William Skelton, a longtime Tech faculty member and former director of Virginia Cooperative Extension, heard talk about the suspensions around Blacksburg.
"The general reaction I've heard from people today around town is that this type of behavior cannot be tolerated," he said. "It's obvious it's been increasing, and you just can't have that type of behavior."
Like Torgersen, Skelton noted that Tech has more than 500 student-athletes. "It's not fair to all of these others, to have a few people who don't control their own behavior that give everybody a bad name."
Athletic Director Dave Braine said football coach Frank Beamer and the department have worked harder this year with the athletes. Counseling and drug and alcohol education programs have been boosted. Also this year, the athletes and administrators alike are going through a sexual assault education program.
LENGTH: Medium: 90 lines ILLUSTRATION: PHOTO: (headshot) Torgersen. color.by CNB