From ice, to diamond, to gridiron

Sporting News, The, Oct 4, 1993 by Ivan Maisel

We could be cute, or say that boys will be boys, but it would distract from the truth. The ugliness displayed on four college football fields last Saturday disgraced the game. It must stop.

Either that or the NCAA should hire Jose Sulaiman as its next executive director.

Last winter the NCAA adopted a rule that a basketball ejection will be accompanied by a one-game suspension. It's time to adopt that rule on autumn Saturdays, too. Take away from emotional young men what they treasure most.

Three of the brawls involved teams from the Atlantic Coast Conference, a group of academic powers that showcases itself as the Ivy League with hand-eye coordination.

"We had a bad day," ACC Commissioner Gene Corrigan says. "We had something at nearly every game. It's been since 1985 that we had a day like that. These kind of things happen. They're not good."

The other involved Miami, which has been trying to shed its ruffian image, and Colorado, which disgraced itself with everything but its play.

Get your 10-point-must scorecards ready.

North Carolina and North Carolina State got into a helmet-swinging brawl at the end of the first half after an out-of-bounds tackle by the Wolfpack's Ricky Bell sent Tar Heels quarterback Jasm Stanicek flying over the bench.

At the end of the game, assistant coaches Ted Cain of N.C. State and Donnie Thompson of North Carolina scuffled on the field. Now that's classy".

Virginia Tech and Maryland erupted into a helmet-swinger after the Hokies blocked a Terrapins field-goal attempt. Virginia Tech tailback Dwayne Thomas got tossed and Virginia state troopers came onto the field to help restore order.

Virginia and Duke also fought after the Blue Devils' Sean Thomas intercepted a pass by the Cavaliers' Symmion Willis. Officials ejected two players from each team in a game in which they also cared 19 penalties.

The worst fight occurred at Folsom Field in Boulder, where Miami defeated Colorado, 35-29. It could have been remembered as one of the most exciting games of the season. The Buffaloes, trailing 35-15 midway through the fourth quarter, scored two touchdowns and traveled as far as the Miami 11-yard line in the final minute before running out of downs.

Instead, the memory of a bench-clearing brawl that resulted in 12 ejections will linger. When the game ended, scattered boos emanated from the sebout crowd of 52,391.

University of Miami President Edward T. Foote II, Athletic Director Paul Dee and Coach Dennis Erickson repeated, "It takes two to tango" as if it were a mantra.

Erickson accepted responsibility with more grace than his superiors. "The buck stops with me," he says. "I have to get it straightened out so that it doesn't happen again." Dee suggested the Hurricanes had been "baited." He had a point. The same writers who detail Miami's inexperience don't hesitate to connect the current players to past problems.

"Those guys who played in the ('87) Fiesta Bowl are going to be collecting retirement here pretty soon," Erickson says. "That's got to die."

The Hurricanes came to Colorado only to read words and cartoons about their villainous past. The players largely responsible for Miami's thug image played out their eligibility in 1990. But news must travel slowly in the Rockies.

"There was an atmosphere of hate and dislike from the time we got there Thursday," Erickson says. "Why, I don't know. We haven't played them. We haven't been there in 15 years."

Miami had to read it in Syracuse last November, although the '92 team never did anything more than self-aggrandize. And that was Syracuse, not a major metropolitan city such as Denver.

Erickson says teams feel as if they have to prove the Hurricanes don't intimidate them That's where trouble starts. The players exchanged pregame shoves near the Miami sideline. Others saw Miami players and managers make gestures toward the crowd that ranged from being cocky to being vulgar. Then came the brawl.

Miami quarterback Frank Costa directed a textbook two-minute drill to a touchdown that put the Hurricanes ahead 21-6 with 20 seconds remaining in the half. Scott Barnwell lucked the ball out of the end zone. At the Miami 35, Colorado freshman linebacker Allen Wilbon blocked Miami freshman linebacker Antonio Coley to the ground. They continued after the whistle.

Teammates saw them, benches emptied and for the next five minutes, players took more cheap shots than a week's worth of "Hard Copy."

Fistfights broke out all over the field. Miami players shoved their coaches aside to swing at opponents. Three Colorado player pinned Miami defensive end Kevin Patrick the end zone. Tight end Garrett Ford ripped Patrick's face mask askew. Reserve guard Gerald Ancar threw a punch into Patrick's groin.

Buddy Ward, referee of the Big East Conference crew, says the officials quickly became overwhelmed. The melee reduced them to taking numbers of players who committed flagrant fouls.

The officials ejected seven Miami players, including two starters, and five Buffaloes, among them starting wide receiver Michael Westbrook and starting cornerback Dennis Collier.