The Rice Thresher (Houston, Tex.), Vol. 76, No. 14, Ed. 1 Friday, January 20, 1989 Page: 1 of 16
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SINCE 1916
VOLUME 76, NO. 14
FRONTPAGE
JANUARY 20, 1989
Goldsmith takes head coaching jobicE
UNIVERSITY
by Keith Couch
At a press conference Tuesday,
January 17, President George Rupp
named former Arkansas assistant
coach Fred Goldsmith the new head
football coach for the Rice Owls.
Goldsmith replaces Jerry Berndt,
who resigned to become the head
coach at Temple University in Phila-
delphia. Former associate athletic
director J.R. "Bobby" May was
named the new athletic director, a
post also vacated by Berndt.
"I think this is a unique situation
here," Goldsmith said. "Rice doesn't
just give lip service to academics.
This school is above the norm in
intercollegiate athletics."
The new coach pointed to the
successes of other academically ori-
ented programs such as those at
Duke, Wake Forest, and Stanford as
examples for Rice. "I really believe
this is the best time in the last 25
years for schools with academic in-
tegrity to have a resurgence," he
said.
Goldsmith downplayed Rice's 0-
11 finish last season, saying, "I feel
like I'm 10-2 and just went to the
Cotton Bowl (with Arkansas last
season) and that Rice is 0-0. That
monkey just isn't on my back." Ar-
kansas' slim seven point victory over
Rice was a better indicator of the
Owls' play last season, according to
the new head man. "Rice is hungry.
The feeling here is of a family fight-
ing the outside enemy. Everyone
here is really together."
Goldsmith predicted an offense
based on drop-back and sprint-out
passing. "There would have been no
trip to interview here if I wanted to
run the Arkansas wishbone," he
said. "I think we need to be more
open to move the ball."
Rice's defensive strategy will be
modelled on the offense of the Razor-
backs, a unit Goldsmith has led as
defensive coordinator forthe lastfive
seasons, he said. During that period,
the Arkansas defense was consis-
tently among the Southwest Confer-
ence's best In 1981, Goldsmith was
also head coach at Slippery Rock
(compiling a 2-7 record) and was an
assistant under Ken Hatfield at Air
Force for four seasons.
The immediate concern for Gold-
smith and his new staff is recruiting,
where they are already far behind.
Rice's primary focus will be on Texas
in contrast to past years. "I want to
recruit Texas like we're the Univer-
sity of Texas," Goldsmith said. "I've
recruited in Texas for eleven years
and I know there are great athletes
and there are many places where
academics are strong."
Goldsmith is the third head foot-
ball coach in five years at Rice, and
the sixteenth in the 77 year history of
the school.
May echoed Goldsmith's opti-
mism and praised the new coach's
AM
1989
m
integrity, ties to Texas, and history of
winning. "It took a special individual
to come in here and take this chal-
lenge," May said. "This is a unique
school. Fred has an understanding J IRRARi
of the importance and place of inter- •*"
collegiate athletics at Rice."
May graduated cum laude from
Rice in 1965 with a BA in Com-
merce. As an undergraduate athlete,
he was Southwest Conference cham-
pion four times in hurdles and was
NCAA Champion and All-America in
1964. He has been involved with Rice
athletics as a coach and administra-
tor since 1967, and was named asso-
ciate athletic director in 1980.
Most of the staff of assistant foot-
ball coaches has been filled. Key
appointees are offensive coordinator
Mike Heimerdinger from California
State—Fullerton and defensive coor-
dinator Craig Bohl from the Univer-
sity of Wisconsin. Recruiting coordi-
nator Mark Cordelli came from Ar-
kansas with Goldsmith.
New head football coach Fred Goldsmith addresses reporters on Tuesday.
Coach Berndt leaves Rice for Temple
by Elise Perachio
BSU, MAO march honors
King's 60th birthday
Jerry Berndt resigned as Rice
University's head football coach and
athletic director December 31 to
accept a head coaching position at
Temple University in Philadelphia.
Berndt may be the first college foot-
ball coach to come out of a no-win
season and accept a job with equal, if
not greater, benefits.
The Owls finished 0-11 this year,
leaving Berndt's total Rice record at
6-27.
Berndt left his Rice position only
by Kurt Moeller
The Black Student Union and the
Office of Minority Affairs co-spon-
sored three events Monday to honor
slain civil rights leader Martin Lu-
ther King on his sixtieth birthday.
The BSU held a rally at Willy's
statue, led a march across campus,
and presented Rice with a plaque.
At the noon rally, Jones College
junior Chris Nixon read a short ex-
cerpt from the famous "I Have a
Dream" speech, which King deliv-
ered at the March on Washington
August 28,1963.
Before Nixon spoke, people wei%
given black ribbons to tie around
their arms. Afterwards, BSU Presi-
dent Anthony Wills dedicated the
wreath of flowers next to the statue to
King.
About 50 people were gathered,
but the crowd grew to nearly 80 by
the time the speech ended.
Hanszen College senior Wills
said when he was a freshman, the
crowd attending the events honor-
ing Luther's birthday was predomi-
President Rupp joins members of the Black Student Union and the Minority
Affairs Office at Monday's rally commemorating Martin Luther King's birthday.
Rice mourns loss
of MSCI profes-
sor Jack Roberts.
See story page 5
nantly black. "I'm pleased to see a lot
more different types of people. It
shows we've made progress."
The march across campus
started just after 7 p.m. at Brown
College. The marchers went by all
the colleges, playing a tape of King's
speech and singing verses of "We
Shall Overcome," a civil rights an-
them of the 1960's.
A plaque-presenting ceremony
was held at 8 p.m. in the Farnsworth
Pavilion of the Rice Memorial Cen-
ter. Sid Richardson College junior
Alex Byrd started by giving a speech,
at one point asking specific members
of the audience what King and his
work meant to them. Chris Nixon
read another, longer excerpt of
King's "I Have a Dream" speech, c
BSU Secretary Elaine Watkins
said, "Generations to come will hear
and take heed of Dr. King's words,"
as she presented a plaque to the
university, accepted by President
George Rupp.
The BSU andthe Office of Minor-
ity Affairs' wood and brass plaque
will be displayed in an undetermined
but highly visible place in the RMC.
The ARCO Foundation provided
about $190 to purchase the plaque,
which is engraved with King's pic-
ture and some of his speeches.
When asked why the plaque was
presented, Cathy Clack, director of
the Office of Minority Affairs, said,
"There's never been anything last-
ing, anything permanent [to honor
King]. We wanted to do something
on a grander scale."
Watkins said, "A lot of people. . .
wanted a constant reminder of the
work of Dr. King and other civil
rights leaders."
When asked what she thought
King would see in today's situation,
Watkins said, "He [King] would be a
little upset" Watkins said King
would be especially upset about the
crime, drug use, and expectations of
failure prevalent in many black com-
munities.
In response to the same question,
Wills said, "We're close to the moun-
taintop, but we're not there yet."
Wills said some problems remain
because of insensitivity by others,
but said, "[theeconomic problem] is
the biggest hurdle."
after several daysof intense delibera-
tion and negotiation with Temple's
athletic director Charles Theokas.
At the end of this season, Berndt still
had two years left on his five-year
contract with Rice and was not plan-
ning to leave.
According to the Houston Post,
Berndt might have stayed if Presi-
dent George Rupp had challenged
Temple's offer with a requested
contract extension.
Berndt said in November, "If this
were two years from now and I was in
the last year of my contract, obvi-
ously I would [think'about a coach-
ing change]. But I still feel we made
significant progress this year. It just
didn't show up on the scoreboard."
Berndt accepted Temple's offer,
estimated at $170,000 per year, ac-
cording to the Houston Post This
salary would be comparable to what
Berndt received as head coach and
athletic director at Rice.
Possible reasons for Berndt's
departure may have included
Temple's plans for a new athletics
complex overwhich Berndt will have
some influence. Since Temple does
not impose academic standards on
its student-athletes comparable to
those at Rice, Berndt will be able to
choose from a much larger pool of
recruits, subject only to NCAA rules.
As Berndt put it, "It was like
Temple made me an offer that was
very difficult to refuse."
At the news conference announc-
ing his resignation, Berndt said, "I
feel whipped. I haven't slept in the
last seven nights. I feel a great deal of
sadness. We've worked so hard
here. My staff put their hearts, souls
and bodies into this program."
Nearly all of Berndt's staff will
accompany him to Temple.
John R "Bobby" May was pro-
moted from his position as associate
director to become athletic director.
Berndt recommmended May, a Rice
alumnus and a member of the ad-
ministration from 1967, as his re-
placement.
Sports Information Student As-
sistant Dave Egenolf said, "Promot-
ing Bobby May was the best move
the Athletics Department could have
made. [May] knows the system.
He's been around for a long time.
This is his home town, so he's not
likely to leave. When the athletic
director always hinges on the foot-
ball coach that's a bad idea. We need
some stability in the Athletics De-
partment."
The Athletic Department's
search committee for a new football
coach was headed by J. Evans
Attwell, member of the Board of
Trustees and managing partner of
Vinson & Elkins, attorneys-at-law.
Other members were: J.D. "Bucky"
Allshouse, the 1989 president of the
Association of Rice Alumni and
Houston attorney, Dr. Hally Beth
Poindexter, chair of the department
of human performance and health
science; and Dr. G. King Walters,
professor of physics and former
dean of the Wiess School of Natural
Sciences.
Many football players expressed
optimism about the arrival of the new
coach, despite their disappointment
at Berndt's departure. The team
members met with Goldsmith ear-
lier this week.
Sophomore Inside linebacker
Richard Duggan said, "I feel like
Coach Berndt did a good job in that
he brought in a lot of good talent
Berndt lost some of his confidence in
what he was trying to accomplish.
That's probably why he decided to
leave, I also feel there is new enthusi-
asm and new hope in the players
SEF BERNDT. page 8
OPINION
Stokes speaks on
Division I athletics.
page 2
FINE ARTS
Every movie we saw
over Christmas...
page 9
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McGarrity, Patrick & Sendek, Joel. The Rice Thresher (Houston, Tex.), Vol. 76, No. 14, Ed. 1 Friday, January 20, 1989, newspaper, January 20, 1989; Houston, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth245710/m1/1/: accessed May 21, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Rice University Woodson Research Center.