OSU’s AD wants to see improvement on and off the field

By Cliff Kirkpatrick
Corvallis Gazette-Times

CORVALLIS — Bob De Carolis plans to watch the Oregon State football team more closely than usual the next 12 months.

OSU’s athletic director said the program is at a crossroads. He’s not thrilled with the 5-6 season, and knows some constituents — fans and boosters — are calling for coach Mike Riley’s head.

The Fireriley.com Web site is already up, advocating his removal.

De Carolis won’t say any coaching job is safe because something could happen to change his mind. However, he plans to see what Riley does with next season before doing anything drastic.

“I’m not happy with the results,” De Carolis said. “I have concerns in some areas. The off-the-field stuff is a concern. It looks like we got that under control. Things need to stay under control. Academically we need to do a better job. And the coaches are a big part of that. So are the kids. We have to improve in those areas for next year, and I will have a very discerning eye about that.”

Problems began last year with backlash from a series of run-ins with the law by the players. There were bar fights and incidents involving drugs and alcohol.

OSU created a harsh code of conduct policy in response, but there was another alcohol-related problem that resulted in a death of a minor in dorm.

Riley started a zero-tolerance substance policy and suspended two more players.

“In a way that did hang over us,” Riley said of the death the day of the season opener.

Then there were two senior starters who were academically ineligible before fall camp. That cost OSU on the field and more bad publicity.

A published report claimed about 50 percent of the players were ineligible last winter, accusing the program of not helping black athletes.

“We had a real bad winter term with some guys,” Riley said. “We’ll get better and we have.”

By the time the season started 92 percent of the team was eligible. Most of the players caught up by taking classes in the summer to meet the NCAA mandate of progress toward their degrees.

Beyond OSU’s vast resources for academic support for athletes, Riley created mandatory study sessions and made his assistant coaches meet with the at-risk players daily and their professors weekly.

“When I evaluate everything, we must maximize our efforts in those areas,” De Carolis said. “That’s on the field, in the classroom and off the field. I want us to be good in all those areas. That’s how the program will be judged on those three things.”

As for the on-field performance, De Carolis knew this was going to be a difficult season. It’s what happens in Riley’s fourth season of a seven-year contract that he will be judged. He received a pass this season, and now the pressure is on to produce.

“We had a very young team this year,” De Carolis said. “We had a ton of question marks on both sides of the ball. Thinking back in August on paper 5-6 or 6-5 is right. What people are frustrated with is how we got here.”

The Beavers started out strong this season with a 4-2 record, but lost four of the next five. There wasn’t one area that was the culprit, so nothing could be the scapegoat.

Going with a young team is the popular reason so many games fell apart. It was a rebuilding year, but Riley didn’t use that as an excuse.

“In our business we never want to anticipate this,” Riley said. “We all want success. I always thought we would make a bowl game, and that’s disappointing. And now, I can see why we didn’t. They were very tangible things. Nothing came easy, and it went down hard for this team.”

The bottom line goes further than wins and loses. OSU just finished expanding half of Reser Stadium, and there are plans for more. However, none of the six home games were sellouts.

The football team is under pressure to win and stay family-friendly more than ever before to fill those seats to fund the entire athletic program. Attendance went up, but not enough.

“I would think that’s the goal regardless,” Riley said. “I don’t want to live worried about the extracurricular stuff. I just want to coach our team to be the best we can be.”

Even though Riley has one year to get back to a bowl game, he says he’s not looking over his shoulder. He learned to block scrutiny out long ago.

Critical e-mails and phone calls are intercepted so he can concentrate on his job, but he’s not naive.

“I only know about it when people tell me,” Riley said. “I stopped worrying long ago. I know the business, and I know what goes with it. People are happy when you win, and are not when you lose. Whatever the criticism of the undercurrent is, not many people say it to my face so I don’t hear it. I love our fans and Beaver Nation, but I don’t go to sleep wondering what they think about.”

Riley keeps busy, enjoying what he does. The coaches have hit the recruiting trail hard and plan to find ways to improve the young athletes they used this season.

He’s excited about the future, and he’s not the only one. De Carolis predicts — and expects — a turnaround in 2006.

“I think this team will improve tremendously,” De Carolis said. “They need to start winning today. It starts now. If they dedicate themselves to lifting weights and work hard in spring ball and this summer, we will be fine.”