Colleges

Baylor to investigate if missing player paid

By Times Wires
© St. Petersburg Times
published July 24, 2003

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WACO, Texas - Baylor is investigating if missing basketball player Patrick Dennehy received money from coaches for tuition and rent.

Dennehy is presumed dead, and Carlton Dotson, a former teammate and roommate, is in custody in Maryland. An Aug. 19 extradition hearing was scheduled.

Dennehy's father, Patrick Dennehy Sr., said he was uncertain how his son paid for tuition and rent this past year while not on scholarship. Dennehy sat out the season after transferring from New Mexico.

"We kind of suspected it was done through a booster or ... alternate means," he said.

Among the allegations is Dennehy emerged from basketball offices in November with between $1,200 and $1,800 that he told his girlfriend, Jessica De La Rosa, came from a coach and was to go toward the purchase of a car.

But auto dealer Jerrel Bolton said one of Dennehy's girlfriends, not a Baylor coach, gave Dennehy the balance of a $2,000 down payment for a 1996 Chevrolet Tahoe.

De La Rosa, meanwhile, was declared ineligible for track at New Mexico after she told the school she took money from a Baylor coach for a cab ride from Waco to Dallas.

De La Rosa, a walk-on hurdler, wouldn't say which coach paid for her cab.

And Waco police Sgt. Ryan Holt said detectives did not renew a search on a farm-to-market road about 5 miles southeast of Dennehy's apartment, where they searched Tuesday.

"(Detectives) decided it's time to take a breather and see where the case is at," Holt said.

KENTUCKY: Guard Gerald Fitch re-aggravated a hernia in Orlando, where he was trying out for the U.S. Pan-American Games team. Fitch will not compete for the team but shouldn't miss any of the season.

ACADEMIC REFORMS: The Management Council will sponsor legislation that enforces stronger penalties for teams that don't meet academic standards. If passed, schools could lose scholarships and, eventually, become ineligible for postseason play. A final vote is not expected until April.

Big East commissioner won't take sides in split

Big East commissioner Mike Tranghese said he would quit if the football-playing members of the league leave to form a new conference. A split is among the options for Big East schools after Miami and Virginia Tech left for the ACC last month.

Tranghese has worked for the Big East since it was formed in 1979 and been commissioner for the past 13 years.

"If they split, I won't go with either segment," he said. "I've worked with all these schools for a very, very long time."

Meanwhile, ACC commissioner John Swofford said Tranghese has apologized for his conduct during the ACC's expansion. Swofford said Tranghese called and wrote a letter. He refused to say what the two talked about or what the letter contained.

BIG TEN TITLE GAME: There is little interest among Big Ten coaches in holding a conference title game even if the NCAA changes a rule to allow one, the commissioner said. Jim Delany said coaches fear a title game would diminish the importance of season-ending games such as Michigan-Ohio State.

O'BRIEN AWARD: Florida State's Chris Rix and Miami's Brock Berlin are among 42 nominated for the award that goes to the nation's top quarterback.

PEACH BOWL: The game was moved from Dec. 31 to Jan. 2.

MIAMI (OHIO): A criminal charge was dropped against Jon Wauford, a former assistant accused of striking a Marshall fan after a game last season. The prosecutor cited an out-of-court settlement. Wauford was accused of striking Robert Flaugher as he and other fans celebrated a 36-34 victory Nov. 12.

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