Texas Tech's Tommy Tuberville: 'I just hate we lost two teams'

Texas Tech head football coach Tommy Tuberville answered questions this week in an interview on KESN-FM. Some excerpts:

On attempting to deal with improper agent activity and the potential impact such activity has:

Well, I've seen (former University of Miami and Cowboys' head coach) Jimmy Johnson run them off the field, absolutely, physically, run them off the field. That's back when agent's first started becoming known. Obviously, down there (at Miami), we were high-profile. The thing that they're doing now - they've got "runners"; they use former players to get back in your locker room. . . What you're doing (a student-athlete who gets improperly involved with an agent) is you're jeopardizing the entire team. You're not just jeopardizing yourself. You're jeopardizing the university and everybody involved. And, that's what you've got to sell these kids: 'Just remember who you're affecting when you do something like that.' I've seen them (agents and their 'runners') around dorms. I've seen them sitting around in parking lots in cars. Of course, most of them are pretty visible. They're jacked up with these big rims. Most of them aren't real smart now, to be honest with you. They don't last long. The good ones last long, and, then again, there's some very good ones, and I'd trust a lot of them with a lot of our guys. We do have a list. Every coach has a list; we share that list with what agents have done and the ones that will go behind your back. Again, it's hard. We don't allow any agent, good or bad, at practice. You've got to separate them as much as you can, but, again, going back to NCAA, they've got our hands tied in how much we can be around these kids and what we can do with them, especially in the summer time. You can't even, it's almost impossible to know what's going on. So, you do away with the dorm, you can't get them in one group, they're all out in apartments all over the city - heaven knows what's going on, so there's a lot of trust involved, and you just keep your fingers crossed every day that nothing happens; but, again, you assistant coaches have to really be involved. They have to know their players, and they only have like 15, so they're the ones that, really, every day, once a week, talk to them, especially the high-profile kids that you know are going to be high draft choices. They don't go after the guys, like me and you. They go after the 'big' players that are going to make that big money. So, you can pretty much single out who's going to be targeted.


On advice he'd give the NCAA for solving the problem with sports agents' interference:

We have talked and talked about it as coaches and as AFCA (American Football Coaches Association) trustees. There's really nothing that you can do. You've got crooks, basically; there are crooks in every business. They're going to prey on these young kids, and the thing that I would say is 'Don't let them use agents.' But, you can't do that. This is a country where you've got rights. They do have to be licensed. I know back in Alabama, we had several that we ran off campus and wouldn't let them come back because they weren't licensed. You've got to be licensed in that state, and if you break a rule, then you can't come back in that state. There are so many variables that are run by state rules that it's hard to do anything, nationally. But, again, it all goes back to having good kids and talking with them.


On the viability on the ten-team Big 12 Conference and his reprimand by the conference for statements he made concerning the disparity in income-distribution among the members:

You want me to get back in that, don't you? I've been spanked. (laughter) The thing about that, I'm glad we're at least holding together because I came into this league, I like all the coaches and there are some great programs. I just hate we lost two teams. But, it'll work out for the best. You know, there's been a lot of negotiations about scheduling. I think it's going to be good; I just hate that we lose a championship game. Some people say, 'Well, you've got a better chance in making the national championship game.' I'm not sure of that. I think a lot of people hold that against you when you don't play that extra game in terms of voting.

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