Ah, college football. The history. The camaraderie. The pageantry.

But let’s take a look at the big news from the second weekend of another glorious college football season, shall we?

(BULLET) Pittsburgh quarterback Rod Rutherford did not start Saturday against Kent State after being charged with indecent assault. Rutherford allegedly kicked out the car window of a 19-year-old woman.

(BULLET) Washington fullback Zach Tuiasosopo admitted shattering four car windows ($6,800 worth of damage) after drinking at a sorority party and pleaded guilty to third-degree mischief.

(BULLET) Mississippi suspended starting corner Travis Johnson after discovering he and four others stole long-distance access codes from athletic department phones and made $1,463 worth of calls.

(BULLET) Miami (Ohio) kicker Jared Parseghian was suspended after he stole artwork and a street sign from a city park.

Ah, yes, college football indeed. The crude behavior. The shameful excuses. The growing rap sheets.

Funny how the same athletes and coaches that bring us to our feet in jubilation can also leave us doubled over in disgust.

But it doesn’t have to be this way, at least in Brenda Bredemeier’s opinion. At Notre Dame, Bredemeier runs the Mendelson Center for Sports, Character and Community, an organization set on not simply restoring a clean-cut image to athletics, but enacting real change through moral education.

Someday, Bredemeier hopes box scores stop reading like police blotters.

‘College football coaches and college basketball coaches do bad things,’ Bredemeier said. ‘Moral educators do bad things. Everyone does bad things, makes mistakes, poor choices. What’s important is, when these choices are made, what happens then?’

Too many times, Bredemeier said, athletes and coaches are simply reprimanded with firings or suspensions. Publicly, the school saves face. But the athlete or coach is left unemployed and oftentimes misunderstood.

For instance, Bredemeier described how one high-profile men’s basketball coach was fired after owning up to evidence of ‘sickening’ behavior. The coach also said he had a serious illness.

Though Bredemeier chose not to use names, she seemed to be referring to former Iowa State coach Larry Eustachy, who this summer made headlines when a picture surfaced of him holding a beer and carousing with coeds. Eustachy also acknowledged an alcohol problem. Iowa State dismissed him.

The university did not act improperly by firing the coach, Bredemeier said, but it missed a chance to turn his ill-fated exploits into life lessons.

‘If you see this from a moral educator perspective, let the guy go in there, address his athletes, say what he did wrong, what he never wants them to do,’ Bredemeier said. ‘Let him use this opportunity to make up for some of the bad things he did. Let him teach his kids how they can help one another.’

Similarly, Bredemeier said Pitt mishandled the situation of Rutherford, the starting quarterback who allegedly kicked out a 19-year-old woman’s window.

In addition to a longer suspension – she called the three-series hiatus Rutherford faced ‘ridiculous’ – Bredemeier said Rutherford should have to apologize to the team and coaching staff. Then, coaches should explain what rules Rutherford violated and spell out guidelines for acceptable behavior.

‘The key to this is an idea called norms,’ Bredemeier said. ‘What are our expectations for our coaches? Our athletes? This has to be more than keeping your nose clean and making sure your mistakes don’t get caught. It has to be about trying to be a person that does the right thing for the right reasons.’

The problem, Bredemeier said, is the college athletic system doesn’t reward moral development. It fires coaches who lose and materially rewards coaches who win.

Coaches have a responsibility to the athletes, not just to the administrators who control their jobs and contracts, she said.

‘I’m sort of old fashioned,’ Syracuse head football coach Paul Pasqualoni said. ‘I think every coach has a responsibility to teach those kids. In college, you need to make sure the kids are working hard, keeping up with their schoolwork.

‘That’s stuff that goes on every day – or at least it should be going on every day – in every program.’

Obviously, it isn’t. Besides last weekend’s debauchery detail, scandals have sprung up this year at Ohio State, Baylor, Washington, Alabama, Fresno State, Georgia and St. Bonaventure.

From allegations of murder (Baylor) to academic fraud (Georgia) to gross sexual misconduct (Alabama), a disgusting disregard for human decency by some has contaminated college athletics. It taints the work of the many coaches and administrators committed to Bredemeier’s principles.

That’s what drives the Mendelson Center to continue hosting seminars, giving lectures and spearheading research projects.

‘We don’t want to just raise consciousness or introduce a new vocabulary or inspire people for a day,’ Bredemeier said. ‘We want to change the way people think about coaching for character.’

Then maybe we can get back to checking scores instead of the police scanner.

Louisville at Syracuse (-3)

Sat., 1:30 p.m., Not televised

One week after allowing 505 yards against North Carolina, Syracuse faces an even more potent offense. Louisville running back Eric Shelton rushed for 151 yards and a 6.1 average. Though UL quarterback Stefan LeFors passed for just 180 yards, he should improve against SU’s unproven secondary.

But can SU’s offense continue to roll against Louisville?

Pick: Louisville 38, Syracuse 34

Illinois (+10) at UCLA

Sat., 8 p.m., ABC

The Los Angeles Times reported that recently promoted backup quarterback John Sciarra was arrested last month for disorderly conduct and public intoxication.

Should Sciarra be suspended this weekend and starter Drew Olson be injured, the Bruins have two options at QB: Brian Callahan, a freshman walk-on, or Matt Ware, a junior cornerback but former high school signal-caller.

Pick: UCLA 27, Illinois 14

No. 24 N.C. State at No. 3 Ohio State (-11)

Sat., 12:10, ABC

OSU Running back Maurice Clarett – who would have been a Heisman Trophy candidate this year had he not become mired in allegations of filing a false police report and accepting inappropriate gifts – will miss the entire season, reports say.

The question is, with junior tailback Maurice Hall averaging 4.4 yards per carry, will anyone in Buckeye Land care by season’s end?

Pick: Ohio State 38, N.C. State 21

Kentucky at Alabama (-14)

Sat., 7:45, ESPN

The Tide nearly toppled No. 1 Oklahoma last week in a 20-13 loss. In fact, they racked up 303 yards of offense against perhaps the nation’s best defense.

But let’s face it. Reading about former head coach Mike Price’s lewd exploits with strippers is far more entertaining than watching this team play football.

Pick: Alabama 34, Kentucky 31

Ball State at No. 11 Pittsburgh (-31)

Sat., 12:30, No TV

Rutherford hit 17 of 25 passes for 288 yards and four touchdowns last weekend, as the Panthers ripped Kent State, 43-3.

But after the game, Pitt head coach Walt Harris told reporters Rutherford faces additional internal penalties for his conduct. He declined to reveal what the penalties would be, but apparently mandatory participation in a kickboxing class has been ruled out.

Pick: Pittsburgh 52, Ball State 14

Published on September 10, 2003 at 12:00 pm