When Paul Blake called me about a month-and-a-half ago and asked me to find a date that would be appropriate to speak at this. I looked at the schedule and I said well, we're wrapping down the Big Ten season. We've got home games with Northwestern and Wisconsin. I think this would be a great time to do a preview on the year and what lies ahead in the season so I thought I would follow through with that and discuss the Northwestern Wisconsin games. Yeah, you know better than I do want to say that everything. I say here's off the record. I know better than that though.No, just just let me say that it has been a very trying last two or three weeks. I don't know how long it's been since my leading up to my resignation and since my resignation, I really felt at the time that I resigned. if it was the thing to do so that we could put this thing in perspective deal with a very serious situation and left the program go on. Unfortunately, it hasn't gone on because there have been a number of other issues that have been raised along the way other than the issue of the three young men in Madison. We're going through not only investigation. We're going through almost Inquisition in certain areas. I know there is a group at my office is now at the athletic offices going through all the financial statements in travel vouchers for the last 10 years going through all the telephone bills. If there's a group that is trying to find out the results of a confidential drug screen that I have instituted with our basketball a program for the last few years and trying to find out is there some information they can get that would break confidentiality is to who may have been smoking pot or whatever. Been so rather than the issue being resolved. It just seems to be escalating and I'm not here to defend myself or to defend the program in as I thought about what I might want to say. I thought let me try out of all this that's going on to zero in on what I feel are some major issues and hen. Let me also say that these are Jim Dutcher has opinions they do not reflect necessarily the opinion of the athletic department. They certainly do not reflect the opinion of central Administration dorm. I looking at what's going on what's going on and what may be the future of this particular program? if you remember at the press conference in which I announce my resignation president Keller started with the very I thought thought-provoking statement on a grave issue of sexual assault. And if you remember he indicated his horror and disgust and some amount of Despair that we is an academic institution had created an environment in which that could happen and then went on to say that the eight other players have been traumatized by that offense. In sitting there when he used the word offense. I thought God. I wish you'd just said allegation. Because there is no one is going to downplay the seriousness of the issue of sexual assault or rape if you will. I have been cast on all sides of that issue without ever making the statement about it. One of the people on the assembly committee committee of Intercollegiate Athletic said that. Your thinks women are pieces of meat. I get another letter from a lady who wrote a book called raped which is a national book thanking me for my strong stand against sexual assault. So it depends hats in the eyes of the beholder, I guess. But my personal feeling is that there wasn't larger issue here than the issue of sexual assault and that issue is the foundation of our system of justice and that's called a presumption of innocence. And in our rush to judgment, I think that that was somewhat trampled on. If these young men are proven guilty in court, they deserve to be punished. I don't feel they're entitled to any special assistance from the University at this time. But I also feel that the university has no business prejudging them in public. And so we're talking about two very sensitive major issues won the serious issue of sexual assault. The other is the foundation of our Judicial System called a presumption of innocence and these two things have got somewhat intertwined. people get in trouble young people old people white people black people lawyers presidents of law schools archbishop's judges and athletes no one is immune from trouble people run afoul of the law. And you have to ask yourself doesn't mean that these basketball players are in trouble because of that environment or because their basketball players or is it just that it's such a major issue because they are basketball players and if they weren't we would not be hearing so much about it, when dr. Keller said that we are not one day away from disaster in the chemistry Department in the English Department. He was absolutely correct. Because I can't think of an offense in the chemistry Department that would lead to students being pictured on the front page of national newspapers in Prison Blues. What's the issue? The issue is you know, the media's response the University's response to certain situations and I can't judge it I'm asked why was this a national issue? Well, there were some decisions made when you decide to Forfeit athletic contest at this level of competition. And when you decide to talk about canceling a program, it becomes a major national issue. I am not disputing president colors right to do that because he has a broader job to do he Services the entire University and he Services the state of Minnesota, and I don't think he arrived at that. I know he did not Arrived at those decisions lightly. However, the result of those decisions made a very strong Statewide issue and somewhat original issue a very emotional national issue. And now we have to live with that situation. In the light of in the fall out of this. There was a release of a confidential Big Ten survey. The Big Ten survey was done in the in the. From 73 to 78. And what does survey dealt with? What is the graduation rate of scholarship freshman from that institution in a five-year. This report was put together as a confidential for internal use only report. I got a call from a Dave nimmer who is an investigative reporter want to know if he can come out to my house because he's been called to pick up a confidential report and when he picked it up it was little bit startling. I get contacted by Associated Press that they had been contacted about picking up a confidential report and they felt the results of that report were startling. and they were but the another issue was who made the decision when we're already swimming in Muddy Waters to muddy the water a little bit more. In Cloud a very emotional serious issue with additional serious specks in his I investigate they say the decision was made by the president's office. And I ask myself why. Since this was an issue a report that they had since November why at this particular time? Release a confidential report. What about the other nine big 10 schools for also holding an confidential report, aren't we breaking their confidence when we do this, but it became then the central issue with graduation rates of athletes at the University of Minnesota. The Madison thing was pushed to one side and now we're dealing with another very serious issue and everyone who could pick up a pencil or go before a microphone or stand before a camera had to make some kind of statement on the confidential report. Everyone is horrified in statements. Like this is a program going out of control and it's a program about to explode that the overall graduation rates of Minnesota athletes is 28% while the graduation rate of the normal student is somewhat about 50. I've been trying to find out what that somewhat about 50 years since the group's and some University Representatives appear before the house higher education committee. I was told this morning that they had that figure but they weren't at Liberty to release it right now. That figure is 35% of the general students at Minnesota who graduate within a 5-year. 35% So what song would seem to be an athletic department issue is now a University of Minnesota issue, why are only 35% of the students at this University graduating within a 5-year. Suddenly. The athletic report doesn't seem so damning. Because it rather than an athletic department issue, we have a serious University issue here and maybe it's not a serious issue. Maybe we should take great pride in the fact that we are not a diploma Mill that there are no easy routes the graduation from the University of Minnesota that we have high academic standards that athletes and non-athletes must meet and why do we have to make excuses for the fact that were a credible? Very difficult academic institution that when you pick up that degree and it says University of Minnesota it mean something because you've had to do something to earn that degree. The figure of 9% that jumped out of the basketball report was very damning to me as an individual to our basketball program to every player who played in our basketball program. I had a young man Kelly Scott drive over at noon during his lunch hour and bring me a copy of his diploma. He said coach I graduated he still nobody thinks anybody graduated to play basketball. I said Kelly and I will will try to correct that the report that you see in front of you are these 23 people that say that this report indicates it said 2 out of 23 graduated within five years that were on scholarship. You'll see looking at that report. But there are a number of factors that go into whether an athlete at that particular time and basketball graduated. You'll see that only ate those 23 were here for four years. Only eight we're here for 4 years did n 73 1 player was here 1/4 one here was two weeks and one was here two years Flip Saunders was the only one that completed and it took 6 years to graduate. Because flip out of when he was through playing got an offer to coach at Golden Valley. Here is the young guy who wanted to be a basketball coach. She had the opportunity to do that and to take part-time classes while doing what he wanted to do, but statistically Flip Saunders does not count because he didn't get his degree in five years is his degree tainted. He just didn't get it in 5 years and is you go on down through the first two classes? The first three classes were recruited by by the former coach Bill Musselman in his staff. In a lot of things happened in 74 the NCAA investigation hits people start leaving Mark olberding leaves Chad Nelson. Leave Mark landsberger leaves Kenny Robinson leaves. Because they don't want to be in a program in which they cannot go to win NCAA tournament. And so some young men who were recruited a bills Agora Chris Webber Dave Carolyn the Gary Krakowski to be back up players suddenly have to be players in the Big Ten and they're flat-out not good enough to play Big Ten basketball at that level as starters. They know that I'm so after a while. They're over recruited. You recruit players that are better than they are in basketball players have a lot of Pride. They're not willing to sit on the bench. And so they leave most times with your blessing you help them find another school where they can be successful. I know when Chris angler came to see me. He was playing behind Randy Brewer. He said coach I can't beat out Randy Brewer. We're in the same class. I said Chris. Let's see if we can find your school. You can play at we started calling he ended up at Wyoming was in All Conference Center ended up playing in the NBA has his degree from Wyoming. That doesn't bother me that he didn't graduate from Minnesota. I'm proud of Chris Engler. He comes back and works at my camp and I'm proud of his accomplishments. And so I guess what I'm saying is you can say what you want to say What's the tistics? And they statistics while they were damaging to the entire University at that particular time. The damaging thing to me was the timing of the release the motivation for the release and why then You know, why are we trying to damage our own program? Hopefully, you know some good will come out of it. Another big issue is recruiting. It's one of the issues that President Keller asked the task force to look into. You know, are we recruiting the kind of student-athletes that we want representing this University? Just so you know, we're allowed three contacts with any student-athlete prior to his signing where off-campus were allowed three contacts at his at the side of his high school when we recruit we talk to counselors. We talk to teachers we talk to coaches we talk to parents we talk to anyone we can who can get a line on this young man. Dr. Wilkinson made a quotes last week before the house higher education committee and what you said if a coaches setting their make it to this making a decision not having pride enough until the youngsters background not having asked the right questions not having made the right observations not having talk to the right people not having talked to his parents not having really talked in a serious manner with the student-athlete. That coach is letting part of his job. Slip that person can't blame anyone but himself and I say I'm in If we weren't doing those things we are to blame but the fact is we are doing those things, you know, we are talking to parents and to counselors into coaches. The truth of the matter is you don't always get straight answers. They want that young man to have an opportunity to go on and play college basketball and they want that young man to have an opportunity to get an education. And so they may not give you all the facts that you might want to know what they're saying is how in the hell did Mitch Lee get here? Hinge a winner who was a very good reporter for the Minneapolis Star and Tribune went to Miami and spend a week investigating the background of Mitch Lee and could find nothing that would keep him from being a successful student athlete at the University of Minnesota. That's not me going down there. That's an investigative reporter going down there and investigating it clearer than anyone could for a recruit. We have not taken anyone who has a criminal record or who we think has character flaws. We have taken people. For marginal students we have done that. I did not admit anyone to the University of Minnesota. Anyone that applies at this University feels on an application for a mission that goes to the emissions office and they make a determination whether he should be admitted to this University. I have absolutely nothing to do with the admissions. So someone other than me looked at the information also and said, yeah, this guy's admissible as a student at this University. Someone in your academic counseling unit says yeah, we'll work with this young guy. And hopefully, you know, the results are going to be positive. Jimmy Williams recruited michley and did a very good recruiting job. But he also recruited Mark Wilson. Kevin Smith was recruited by Stu Steiner and said howdy bring that guy in. You know, he also recruited John chaski Flip Saunders recruited George Williams. In all of them brought those people to this University for the right reasons in his recent charge to the University test committee doctor calorie said that the central goal of the athletic department at the University was won the personal and physical development of the student-athlete the attainment of an education. Who can argue with that? Number to not to provide entertainment, but the meet the needs of the student-athlete. Well, I got to plead guilty to that. Because I like the band being there and I like the dance line and I like the cheerleaders and I like Goldy the Gopher and I liked all that whole thing that goes in with entertainment that makes what we advertised as being the best show in town. And so I thought providing entertainment was part of the job. But that was part of the thing we were doing not at the expense of the student-athlete not at his expense. But in addition to helping the student-athlete and then the Third charge is competitiveness and team success while not unimportant must be of a lower priority. I wish the hell somebody told me that cuz I would have I would have operated our basketball program a whole lot different. I thought winning was very important. I thought we feeling Williams Arena was very important. I thought challenging for the Big Ten Championship was very important not at the expense of the student-athletes. But I would have done many things differently. I would not have taken marginal students. If I'm not expected to win if that's of a low priority and this guy is a better player, but this guy's a better student. Let's take the better student. Let the better player go. But in those cases when they were balanced we took the better athlete. Inside with our work we can make him a good student. I would never have gone to Hawaii this year. Why take that time during class time to go to Hawaii two reasons for recruiting purposes so we can get better athletes into our program into play the extra game. So we got a better chance to go to the NCAA tournament by playing three extra games. We went to we can get the 20 easier. We've got a better chance fur if winning was of a lower priority. I'm foolish for taking that team and missing the class to go there. I would never practice during exam. I would take those seven days during exams and never practice rather than trying to work in practice at midnight there at 7 in the morning or wherever we can during examination. I would never go the day before game and practice on the visitors Court. We do that to get acclimated to the surroundings into the environment cuz we think it's going to make our team effort better. What I would do is a big as the Big Ten says if you're if you're 250 miles away from the site of a contest, you have to be there the day before I would practice here insist on a charter plane Charter in play the game and get back that night. Like Michigan does with charters in Indiana does with chargers in Illinois does with Charters, but we do with commercial. I do that because I thought it gave us a chance to win. And what did we Sacrifice by doing that we sacrifice some class time? I would definitely like I say recruit a different. Priority in some cases academics versus athletic ability student-athlete or cup complexion of our team may change. We may look a lot like Wisconsin after a couple years and a relative standing in the Big Ten may change but if these are your priorities than those are the things you do rather than practicing 2 and 1/2 hours a day and having 2 hours study table. I would practice an hour and a half a day and have 3 hours study table. I would change the amount of time we practice I would increase the amount of time we have study table. And another thing I would do is I would tell every kid who is not a National Honor Society student that you're going to be redshirted your freshman year as an academic Redshirt that I don't care what the national rule is. When you come in here, you're not going to play as a freshman. We're going to Redshirt you academically is a freshman. You still got four years left. Because these are our priorities personal physical development and if you if that's your priority you're better off not to play as a freshman not to provide entertainment. In competitive and team success would be of a lower priority and I think the new coach coming in if he knows these list of priorities may do some of these things I'm suggesting I got to admit to you based on what I thought my job was my priorities were out of whack. Dr. Keller s cavalry good question. Why are all our problems in basketball? I think it's today. I think it's a legitimate question. Why are the problems in basketball? Well, they're not all in basketball. You've just read more about the guitar and basketball anybody that works with the young man is going to have some situations and I'm not talking about this serious legal situation like we have in Madison, but you are going to have some situations. In basketball. However, we have a higher percentage of minority students than any sport. Then that's not only a Minnesota. That's nationally in the NCAA Final Four last year of the 20 starters 19 were black of the 20 starters in the NCAA finals. Proposition 48 the research into that has shown that minority students as a group teslore on National test scores. And that's one of the arguments against proposition 48 that you're discriminating against minority students. And we do on occasions bring in minority students who end up being almost aliens on her own campus. because of the social adjustments that they have to go through on our particular of ours is not a typical campus know ours is an urban campus and it with some very special adjustments to be made. Basketball has more visible athletes recruited than any other sport because of the future recruits. There are in basketball in the impact they can have on your program you get into National recruiting. Tommy Hammonds is a familiar name Glen Rice has a billion. So there's tremendous competition for basketball players when you get them many cases you get a spoiled product that you have to almost deprogram and say hey all I've been telling you about how damn important you are you no, forget that you're just another guy here on this. You're just another guy you're in this program in on this campus. You need a year to do that honest-to-god. You need a year where the guy does not play for he can get into the mainstream of being a student-athlete on a college campus. The length of our season is crazy we go October November December January February and part of March we go almost 6 months. We play 31 basketball games regular season. We play Wednesdays Thursdays Saturdays Sundays in the Big Ten we play for different nights a week if you're followed Big Ten basketball. When we have like when flipped up the team, the michigan-michigan state is they left on Wednesday. They were going Wednesday, Thursday, Friday Saturday and luckily got back Saturday night. They didn't think they could get back to Sunday so that young guy isn't in classes Wednesday, Thursday Friday a week from now. They go to Ohio State and Indiana. Those guys will be gone Wednesday, Thursday, Friday Saturday Sunday because it's a Sunday game in Columbus and maybe get back Sunday night. Maybe not till Monday. That's reality in the Big Ten where you're located where we're located. I have taken our team. I figured it up. 138 Road games. I've coached at the University of Minnesota. I've taken our team on a road 138th X. That's over 200 nights in hotels. I asked Paul giel. I said Paul how many times have you been called by anybody saying that there was an incident involving the basketball team in airports in the lobbies of hotels at the hotel in restaurants. He said none. I said well we're a hundred and thirty-eight for 139, but that 139th. Got you. But the reality in football for instance, how many road games do you play? What for this year Charlie? I don't know before you leave on Friday go in there stay overnight Friday play the game Saturday afternoon and come home. You know and you do what you're gone for nights, maybe five maximum five evenings that during that whole season. Are you on the road in the team situation the rest time Hawaii basketball how we got did you read that one about left in the players in Maryland? I thought that was left. He's laying there the other night. They've just played the somebody North Carolina State. He hears the phone ringing in and it's he's already pulled bed check everybody's in their in their beds left to hear the phone ringing and ringing and ringing. He said he'll that's one of our players rooms. Why aren't those guys answering the phone? So you in Downey phone don't nobody was there so he goes down in the lobby in the guys come in at 7 in the morning. Panda Lefty's ipsum home and suspend him for a game. They're playing again tonight. You know, I guess if guys are going to go out and then didn't yeah you like to think that's never going to happen. But if you're gone that often it it can happen. Unfortunately another problem with basketball. As far as problems are guys come in with Pro in their mind every guy we recruit thinks he's good enough to be a pro in in basketball. You don't have to make the NBA you make the CBA you play overseas you play in the NBA and so to get them geared in the proper thinking about the balance between academics and Athletics is difficult and I can't be mad at Kevin McHale cuz he doesn't have his degree. You know, he makes 1.3 million a year, you know, it's tough and I get on Kevin and he says coach he said I just you know, when I get done with this season, you play a hundred and nine games or whatever. I just can't get fired up to come back. I said Kevin you're a failure because you're in you're you're one of those you're at the top of your profession. You make the end you one of the top 10 or 20 players in the world, but in the eyes of many people you are a failure. Because you do not have any initials after your name. But Pro bowls a reality if you look at that list, you'll see that it's a reality is good for Lockhart a failure cuz he's playing for the Harlem Globetrotters. I don't think so. I think you know, I'm I'm very very proud of the accomplishments of goose Lockhart and I I got on Randy Brewer last summer big Brew came to speak at my camp and Randy starting for the Bucs and I said damn it Randy I said, I promised your mother when I recruited you that I would help you get a degree and hand the responsibility for getting a degree is interesting. Do I get it that the athlete get it has a counseling unit get it who sees that a guy gets a degree when it's obvious got to be a combination of those things. The university for a long time is pushed it off on the staff but not when they're producing numbers like 35% I think suddenly they're going to say well maybe we better look at ourselves or a little bit if only 35% of the whole group is graduating. Maybe we got some problems here. And I think you're going to see that because I don't think it's I don't think it's a cover-up yet. And and I I think they you know, I think you will see a real look at that. But anyway, I asked brew and Randy says coach you said I took every class my advisor told me they took at Minnesota. I never flunked a class in four years and they tell me I'm two years short of graduation. He said I took every class I was told to take and never flunked a class and they tell me I'm two years from graduation. What would happen to see? She switched his major and went into egg business when you switch your major you automatically lose one full year of Minnesota because they don't accept courses, you know program to program if they're not exactly the course, they won't accept them. And so, you know, you're mad at the guy but but still young and he's mad at Minnesota University you knew coming in with the regulations were well whose fault is it isn't my fault that Randy didn't graduate is at Randy's fault. He doesn't think so. He thinks you did everything you should do is at the University's fault. Hey, let's all share it know there's blame enough to go around. There's blame enough to go around let's let's just share it once in awhile. And one other problem with basketball. Is take this is a knock on me cuz I take it as a knock on myself. I am not a mr. Fix-It. One of the things they're going to find as they go through and I told him what they were I said. I'll save you a lot of digging cuz I can't a year ago some guys charge them phone bills to University department number now. It's such a common thing nationally and even on this campus that the university has a has a policy for unauthorized use of athletic department phones. So I can I get the bills 2 months after the things are over night. Like I said boy third-party third party, we don't make third-party calls. So I go down I check all those calls I go into Holger Christensen said that aren't authorized they're not being made by our coaches. So I said Jimmy Williams our work will chat. So we Trace every single call on that list and find out if there's some of the basketball players who are saying they find out that a bill is called of these and whatever it is they can get through and it goes on for a week and a guy says his buddy. Hey, you know what you can do if you say this that's going to happen and so it spreads because nobody cuz you don't get the bill for two months later. So we meet and I say did anyone tell anyone here that they could make calls and charge him to the university never really said what I said, did anyone tell you that coach staff member anybody tell you that I said, no I said okay, you got a bill you're going to pay it back. And so we set up a payment schedule for each kid, according to University policy and all that. They have this this this isn't that they asked me if I were mr. Fix-It. I've looked at that given those guys Helen went in and paid the bill and it would not have been a problem. It has been over it would never come back to bite me. But I don't believe in doing that you're responsible for your action. And if you screw up you're going to pay even if it's eventually going to cost me. Went on Alexander got involved with the the Boombox last year. I could have taken care of that with two telephone calls. But I said time you screwed up you pay the price. And so I bring a lot of the problems on myself because I don't believe in being a mister Fix-It. In the soul, you know, some of these things are going to come back and have come back to haunt me. No, I'm not talking again about the seriousness of the offense in Madison, cuz that's in a whole different category of problems, and I'm not in any of this Trying to minimize their I guess I'll just close because they're starting to look at me funny that the I don't know if you watch the watch the national televised game Billy Packer at halftime yesterday on Saturday, and if you see that. Cuz I want you to know that you're not alone folks. That these kind of problems that were talking about recruiting problems NCAA problems. Whatever problems are a national National concern in so they interviewed some coaches about what are we going to do about graduation rates? What are we going to do about recruiting? What are we going to do about this? And then Billy Packer who's dad was the coach who is followed basketball forever gave three suggestions. I don't often agree with Billy Packer, but I thought his suggestions were sound one. He said table all legislation for one year. Table proposition 48 table drug screening at the NCAA championships table all new legislation let everybody catch their breath. He said number to suspend all investigations for 1 year. Tell NCAA to stay in Shawnee Mission tell us st. Paul Pioneer Press to stay in their offices. Give everybody a chance. It's like that Library guys where she got any books at overdue. We're going to give you a. Here you come back. We're not going to find you, you know. Suspend investigations for a year and let's look at this Insanity called college basketball and see where the hell we're going. And then three he said every University should have a self-study of its program or a step ahead of them there because we do have a task force that is going to do a self study of the program. No concerns about that. The guy who knows probably more about college basketball anyone cuz I've been in at 28 years will not be called before the test committee. But the self study of your program I think is important. And what is it? It's saying that this is an endemic problem. It's not only at Minnesota. It's everyone everyone realize it College presidents realize that faculty men athletes. Coaches are all saiyan. God, let's do something about getting this damn thing under control. It's a wrap up. I want to just leave you with some thoughts. We got too many people right now who are prophets a gloom-and-doom the dang, you know, these scandal-ridden the this written the shambles this that we've dwelled on that we've lived with it. We're trying to do something about it. Let's start looking ahead to what's the future of this basketball program in this Athletic program in this University. Our fans are willing to do that. They come off their 16000 strong to watch some guys go out there and work their fanny off and I got to say that I really love the thing that is sustained me and really made me proud through this is the performance of those players. They're the only ones that have seemed to Shield themselves from this and say let's go out and play ball, you know in the job that Jimmy and flip have done has been tremendous. They have done an outstanding job preparing these guys to play basketball and I don't care John wouldn't couldn't take him in to Michigan and one and I don't care. I don't care who that was a suicide mission flip took him on and you just go in there, you know, we got a mad a month ago and then flip had to pay the bill and I call Freda and don't take it easy on this guy, but we do have great fan support. We have a strong nucleus of a basketball team people don't want to believe that Ray Gaffney Kelvin Smith, Tim Jansen Todd Alexander Terrence Woods, David Holmgren, Paul Vans and Jim shikenjanski Melvin. Newborn a Willie Burton. You've got 10 You guys there who are Big 10 Basketball Players? You put that group out there today and her better than three or four teams in the conference. So don't say that. This thing is on on salvageable who in the hell would want that job, you know, it's it's an impossible situation. It's not an impossible situation. You've got great fan support. We've got tradition in the program. It's difficult and believe me. I grieve over the position if I put the University where it is, I'm sorry for that, you know, and I I shoulder a lot of the responsibility and I feel some of that responsibility, but right now we don't need more of that. We need some people with some optimism and some people who are willing to look at the handsome people with some dedication. The great thing is that they wrap garbage in yesterday's newspaper. But not enough people are wrapping garbage and if they're keeping it out and rereading it, you know, let's read it one more time. Wrap your garbage and get rid of it. And let's go on from here. This is a tremendous University. You know, it is a tremendous University. It's built on a good foundation athletically and a strong Foundation academically. It's in a state where the people are tremendous, you know and sold the foundation for success is there. Let's just build on that Foundation. Let's quit wallowing in self-pity. You know, I have I'm rejoicing in the wonderful 10 years I had here. While trying to you know, still deal with hoodoos to telephone did some guy use marijuana who paid that lawyer, you know why you're involved in that you still can't stop put your feet in concrete and say well we can do anything here like how you can't, you know flux look ahead. Other people are willing to do that. I think the people at the University of have to be willing to do the same. That's what is disjointed to talk is you are going to get but I would take some questions. I will say this that I can't make any comments on on the issue of of of Phil Resnick in in who paid Phil Resnick that is right now a university issue and there will be something for forthcoming on that and it would be very inappropriate for me to comment on that at this particular time. When you're running a big operation, unfortunately, some people become Expendable, you know, I probably would have stayed if somebody would have asked me to because I had another year in my contract but I don't think they're about test predict play after today. They're not going to they're not going to ask me to but but that doesn't detract from the University. You know, they might my judge of a man is is is this a guy you'd like to be in a foxhole with Ken killers that kind of guy. I would not mind being in a foxhole with Ken Keller. I don't agree with all the things he does but I I do agree with this is right to do it. Then in that he does have it have a thought process some of the people that advises them I think would bail out at the first charge, but the but I don't do no. I don't think that accounter. That that was an option. I think that the reason that option wasn't continued that they wanted to make darn sure that the seriousness of this was brought to everyone's attention and they felt that they needed some time to do their own internal investigation on who else may have been involved and what other what other situations I understand that but a postponement still would have would have met those methods requirements. I I just don't think it was an option. That was where is required it at the at that time. There was a rush to judgment or really there had to be a big because there was another get our guys are waiting on the bus and I'm waiting to go over and take them to Northwestern I didn't resign because you know because they forwarded the Northwestern game I had already resigned I had already resigned. And then they do start but I had resigned effective the end of the season. I was going to coach the rest of the season then the decision was made to Forfeit the Northwestern game in a couple of the adviser said we'll expect you to support the president and I said, I'm not going to support the present cuz I don't agree with them and I said, well, we've got to have the United kind of thing at the press conference and I said, well, we got a problem here then cuz I'm going to have my own press conference then if that's the if that's the case then so they got the president on the line and and I told him I said I thought the strength of a free University is that people had the right to disagree? And he said I agree then he was super then then he was super but that that did Force the immediate resignation. Yes. I think you're grate your goal for graduations 100% I think I think every guy that comes should be encouraged should have every counseling opportunity. To persist to a degree. The problem comes is that the average student CLA takes 5 and 1/2 years those 35% The Graduate it takes him five and a half years to obtain a degree. I have had three children graduate from Minnesota and I've got a fourth one there. Now, none of them graduated in four years. One of them's in law school. Now one graduated in business education one graduated in physical education. Then I got a daughter there now and CLA they couldn't do it and they're good students who worked hard and did everything so I think we've got a we got to give this support and I think if graduation is the goal then I think we got to do some of the things I talked about red shirt them is freshman change your travel plans change your practice priorities if that is the goal of the new coach Alvin Miller found out that wasn't the goal at Ohio State. They said Eldon you didn't win enough, you know, and he's been in the NCAA. Read last 4 years in Rick basis. Why is he being let go he said cuz he did not win the Big Ten Championship. Rigdon half-step. He said we're getting rid of him cuz he didn't win the Big Ten Championship. Well, you know, I'm not going to compete with Eldon for the Northern Iowa job. I'll tell you that you know, but but it's all right. I do appreciate I appreciate your comments and I I think that's the general feeling it. You know that the got something good came out of the last 10. Like I say I am I am really embarrassed by the position that the university finds itself in and what degree I had and putting them in that embarrassing position in I I don't know what I can do about that at this point. Yeah, probably. Yeah, I'm sure I would have this here's the thing that it happened with that when he showed up and one of the players come inside coach if you seen Mitch and ice and I said go look at go. Look at Mitch. I like the hell is that will Mitch was the team Barber he cut all the guys are on the team that wanted their haircut, you know, and he thought that that was that was neat. And I said Mitch people are not going to understand that cuz I don't understand it and I've worked with you and I don't understand what you're trying to say here. And so I said if you're going up on that porch you not going up with that on your head. And so I sent to the trainer and I said you got some cheers in there or whatever. We're going to give this guy a haircut here in Jimmy Williams called his barber in the guy didn't get there till Just before half-time and they cut his hair and Mitch did not protest that he realized he'd made a mistake doing that got if I know not what I know that we did. We did not kept them on the team after his first at-bat. I found that pretty hard to do when a jury says this guy hasn't committed a you know, at least you know that they find him not guilty boy. I'm in a tough position then and the thing about it now is I am getting second-guessed about that and it by Central Administration. They said he should have been let go the first time why in hell didn't they tell me that you know, if we could have discussed it out of said this is my point of view. This is your point of view. I work for you. You're probably going to win the argument. I don't know what it was that you you have to know. It wasn't because even when he was a freshman he come with a big curl in his head. He come with crazy Parts down the side and I don't know if you noticed the Spud Webb in the in the dunking contest in NBA. He had a character chair and a side of his head. Sometimes those guys are our little bit ahead of what there we catch up to him later and my opinion. I saw this an act of defiance. That's why I if I didn't think that other side going up and play. I saw it like you saw it, you know, that's why we hadn't cut. Yeah, I think what you're saying is is the central administration at all universities getting much more actively involved proposition. 48 was really win, which no man has a young guy has to have a 2.11 core classes and he has to have a certain minimum National test score to be admitted that helps everybody as far as graduation rates cuz you're going to get a better caliber student that it's worked in that you're going to get a better caliber a student. I think the the national move to drug screening at the national championships is good. No, I haven't seen the statement on that suited. The purpose of Olympic drug screening is to eliminate from competition if your phone to pay have marijuana or whatever in your in your urine, then your you can't compete the purpose of individual program. Drug screens in football hockey and basketball test at the University of Minnesota now is to identify problems and give help and guidance and see if you can solve that problem. If you can't solve it then you then you got to terminate but it's it's identification and that's what the papers trying to do. Now find out who did you identify, you know, and God if they sign a statement of confidentiality only the doctor and I know but I share that with my staff cuz we all got to work with those guys. They got to know if you know if if if anybody is is undergoing counseling or or whatever, but that's that's another National rule that's probably is a good National roll. And so there is a trim. Toward tightening things up toward, you know, getting things back in proper perspective the concept of the student-athlete. There's a yearning to let's get back to that concept or the guy is a true student-athlete.