WVU athletic director Shane Lyons spent Monday and Tuesday of this week at Big 12 meetings in New Orleans.
The league has a partnership with the Sugar Bowl, which hosted a dinner, and it was a good time for the ADs to get their heads together. In fact, the timing couldn't have been better.
See, conference member Baylor is knee-deep in controversy after a tragic incident involving football player Sam Ukwuachu. The defensive end played at Boise State, then transferred to Baylor after being dismissed by Broncos coach Chris Petersen, who is now at Washington.
To say there was baggage is a gross understatement. Ukwuachu's former girlfriend has testified she was hit and choked in Idaho. Then, while at Baylor, Ukwuachu was convicted of sexual assault for raping one of the school's female soccer players.
BU's handling of the case has been under serious fire. Also, there was the he-said, he-said back and forth between Baylor coach Art Briles and Petersen. Briles said he called Petersen and was never told specifically about Ukwuachu's acts of violence toward women. Petersen fired back that Briles was "thoroughly apprised."
Whatever the case, the most nauseating statement came from Briles after the facts surfaced publicly. "It was a very unfortunate situation for all involved," he said. As our kids would say, smh - shaking my head.
So now, a bit late for the traumatized soccer player, the Big 12 is acting. The league has drafted a policy similar to that put in place by the SEC after Alabama took lineman Jonathan Taylor, who was dismissed from Georgia. Taylor was arrested for domestic violence while at both schools.
The rule would prevent Big 12 schools from accepting transfers who have been dismissed from another team for "serious misconduct," defined as sexual assault, domestic violence or other forms of sexual violence.
"I thoroughly support the new rule," said WVU president E. Gordon Gee.
"I was supportive," said Lyons. "We still have to get the language down and get it through our faculty reps, but, conceptually, we all agreed we need some type of language similar to that of the SEC."
On Tuesday, WVU football coach Dana Holgorsen was asked about the situation.
"Whatever is happening outside of here is not for me to talk about," Holgorsen said. "But we've always done the same thing. We've done background checks on guys based on high school coaches, junior college coaches and former coaches. We put everything in our administration's hands. If there is an issue, then we make a decision on what is best for the university collectively."
"You have to look at it case by case," Lyons said, "but in our climate I expect my staff to look closely. Coaches make us aware of issues and the administration makes the call. I'm confident we've had steps in place."
Mountain State sports fans, however, know both WVU and Marshall have taken questionable characters throughout the years. Maybe the coaches have felt it's more difficult to recruit to the state and need to put on blinders, or at least shades, to do so. We've seen coaches who were willing to "roll the dice."
Today, though, it's time to toss away those dice. It's time to stop gambling with the lives of other students. It's time to pump the brakes on the athletic "arms race" and put more funding into background checks.
Look, work on and put in any language you want for a new policy. But, really, this is very simple.
Coaches should check their competitive nature. They should look around the campus. And they should ask themselves one question:
"If I had a daughter or son on campus, would I want this athlete living right next door to my child in a dorm or off-campus dwelling?"
If the answer is no - or if there's any hesitation whatsoever - the coach should move on. Period. There are 321 million people in the United States. Plenty of good kids out there. Find them.
The most heartening comment I found came from Lyons.
"I think our coaches, regardless if an athlete has been dismissed or not, need to find if there are issues," he said. "Look at athletic ability, sure, but look at character too."
What I'd suggest to all athletic directors is to do the same with coaches. Especially these days.
Consider the current situation. Head coaches are paid exorbitant salaries. Holgorsen is set for life. WVU basketball coach Bob Huggins is set for life. Marshall coach Doc Holliday is, by now, set for life. MU basketball coach Dan D'Antoni is, considering his NBA background, set for life.
If you land a major college head coaching job in football or basketball and last, say, three years, you should be set for life. Realize that. Do what's right. Yes, you are paid to deal with the high pressure. Yes, you are paid to win.
But do everyone on your campus a favor and do so with good kids.
Put the damn dice away.