Wednesday, January 15, 1997
SOFTBALL:
Speculation notwithstanding, NCAA probe not linked to leaveBy
Mark Dittmer
Daily Bruin Senior Staff
Sue Enquist, UCLA’s head softball coach as of last week, sat in
her office yesterday, in a cubicle alongside the one Sharron Backus
has occupied for 21 years as UCLA’s softball coach.
"I think a lot of people of course try to link it (Backus’
retirement) with the pending NCAA investigation," Enquist said.
"But I can tell you that that had absolutely nothing to do with
it."
Backus retired from her position as co-head coach of the
softball team on Jan. 6, leaving fellow co-head coach Enquist to
take the reins of the team. The announcement came with just over
three weeks remaining before the start of the softball season.
However, her retirement will not take effect until the end of the
season, and she will be temporarily reassigned, at her request, to
a more administrative position within the athletic department.
It also came just weeks before the NCAA Committee of Infractions
hearing, at which the NCAA will decide whether to penalize the UCLA
softball program for violations involving using more scholarships
than allowed.
And so, as Enquist said, people may indeed link the retirement
with the NCAA investigation. Still, Backus said in the press
release announcing her retirement that she is retiring for reasons
much more personal than any potential NCAA penalties. Her mother
died in October, and it has taken a toll on Backus.
"After the death of Sharron’s mom, she didn’t feel she could
give 100 percent to the program," Enquist said. "She felt that this
would be the best time to quit, as opposed to staying through the
season and maybe not being all there."
"That’s the kind of person she is," assistant coach Kelly Inouye
said. "She doesn’t want to be out there if she’s not doing the job
as well as it can be done."
The NCAA investigation regards violations for which UCLA
softball had already been put on probation by the Pac-10. In the
1993-94 and 1994-95 school years, the softball program awarded more
scholarships than allowed by NCAA rules. Certain softball players
had their scholarships counted against the scholarship limitations
in women’s soccer, which had not used all of its scholarships.
One of the extra scholarships in question was offered to Tanya
Harding in the middle of the 1994-95 season. Harding, a star on the
Australian national team, came to UCLA 21 games into the 56-game
season, and returned home just two days after the softball World
Series championship game (which UCLA won), according to the Los
Angeles Times.
After reporting its own violations to the Pacific 10 conference,
UCLA reassigned then-associate athletic director Judith Holland to
student affairs, far from the athletic department. Disciplinary
action was also taken against Backus.
The Pac-10 imposed additional penalties upon UCLA in December of
1995, including placing the softball program on probation for the
1995-96 season.
In May 1996, the NCAA reviewed the penalties imposed and decided
to conduct its own investigation. They have now completed that
investigation, and will decide what action to take at the meeting
of the Committee of Infractions, which will take place from Jan. 31
to Feb. 2.
Backus is being temporarily reassigned to ease the transition
for the softball program. Her position will be mostly
administrative, as the NCAA bars her from practicing with the team
after retiring.