Deseret News | BYU volleyball: Team makes history

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Brad Rock: BYU volleyball: Team makes history

JWT | 3:40 a.m. March 13, 2008

The shame to BYU is not in being on probation, it is in the way they treated their outstanding head coach Tom Peterson. At the peak of his career, for reasons unknown to all but a few (an unidentified few), he was tossed aside. Instead of giving him an opportunity to hear accusations against him and to face his accusers, they denied him access to information and denied him access to school support. As a master of shaping young people's lives by emphasizing truth, honesty, kindness, service to God and fellow man, hard work, team-work, and, yes, NCAA compliance, Coach Tom Peterson built lives. He built character. He built players and teams. His teams won. His players succeeded on and off the VB court. Then, someone in the BYU administration decided he was expendable and could be thrown out. As a master builder who valued and added value to the lives of all those he met, Tom Peterson deserved better. As a BYU alumnus, graduate, past player, and success story, Tom Peterson deserved more. He deserved to continue coaching for at least another few years at BYU. He loved BYU and coaching at BYU. He deserved more. He deserves more.

Dave | 5:50 a.m. March 13, 2008

BYU got a taste of its own medicine. An honor code violation is a right of passage at BYU. Mine was for what was deemed an inappropriate greeting on my voice mail! (No Simpsons quote should get you in trouble...)

Shameful | 7:19 a.m. March 13, 2008

Quit justifying and excusing the behavior of BYU. We all have to follow rules and laws that are equally as complex as the NCAA Rules and Regulations (i.e. work rules, road laws, family rules, Faith rules, social rules, criminal and civil laws to name a few). The difference here is BYU is in the spotlight, thus they will be scrutinized and rightfully so. As for not breaking the NCAA Rules and Regulations for 105 years, if you believe this statement, I have some beach front property in AZ if you are interested.

Comments continue below

BougarBasher | 7:21 a.m. March 13, 2008

Guarantee BYU has done a lot more things that also have been violations - they just haven't been up to reporting them. Since the compliance office didn't report these violations, they've probably not reported others!

bob | 7:25 a.m. March 13, 2008

Dave, try to forgive and let your anger fade away.

Lawman | 8:01 a.m. March 13, 2008

I agree 100% with JWT. I personally know Tom Peterson to be a just and honorable man. BYU threw him under the bus, no question about it.

Cougar | 8:46 a.m. March 13, 2008

Again, who cares? This is Volleyball. Next thing Rock will cover will be the other junior high sports of dogeball or climbing the rope. Enough already.

Anonymous | 9:07 a.m. March 13, 2008

I have followed BYU Volleyball for over a decade. They play some of the best brands of the sport in the country, as evidenced by their ranking. This is a volleyball powerhouse. Unfortunately, this was not a "powerhouse of order"... You have to have all your ducks in a row to sustain an excellent program like this. I know Peterson, too, and he is a good guy - but it was under his watch (as well as others) that the oversight slackened and these violations occurred. It was his job to ensure compliance. No excuses. It reflects badly on him to not accept responsibility and instead to make excuses.

BillieIdol | 9:35 a.m. March 13, 2008

Let's stop worshipping athletes and put them in their places (way behind scholars)!!!

Canteen Boy | 9:34 a.m. March 13, 2008

BYU administration is all about throwing coaches under the bus. People like Rollie Bestor and others are only out to protect their own interests.

The NCAA rules are a joke. Rides, money for lunch, etc...are all done to provide an act of service, yet they it's against the "rules". How does giving a player a ride to practice, or to class constitute a competetive advantage on the court or playing field?

To Anonymous | 9:48 a.m. March 13, 2008

You don't know you Peterson. If you did, you wouldn't be blaming this on him--trust me.

Furthermore, why isn't anyone questioning the fact that the official, full-time compliance officer at BYU wasn't fired. Is that his main job? If this is a sin of omission thing, and we expect our head coach to be doing more than babysitting--you know, like coaching?--then shouldn't the guy who's paid full-time to make sure this stuff doesn't happen take a bit of the heat? There's more to this than we know about. Something stinks in Holmoe land . . .

Pattern | 9:43 a.m. March 13, 2008

I am afraid the Church has become so obsessed with public image that what happened to Tom Peterson is not unusual anymore. It's as if image is the end all over the last ten years or so. Rather than being unique and proud of that we go to any length to be seen as just like everyone else. And according to this artice, a little probation helps us in that effort to be like everyone else.

BlueCoug | 10:04 a.m. March 13, 2008

What's so special about scholars?

Everyone who contributes to society, even the street sweeper, deserves respect. Just because many of us really enjoy sports, music, movies, etc. doesn't mean we worship the performers. In it's own way, sports is every bit as important to society as somone working in a lab.

Unless there's more to the story than we've been told, BYU should show some guts and give Coach Peterson a second chance.

BoiseCoug | 10:22 a.m. March 13, 2008

The good thing about all of this is that we are finally allowed to know why Tom Peterson was fired. The bad thing about all of this is that now that we know, we cannot help but wonder - WHAT IN THE WORLD IS GOING ON?? How can you end a man's association with the school that he gave his heart and soul to, for these types of infractions? If people can be fired for these types of things, then none of us have any kind of job security. He should have been told to better monitor his players (received a slap on the wrist) and then been allowed to continue to develop the program that he loved. This is just sad and wrong on so many levels.

Holmoe land | 10:28 a.m. March 13, 2008

its not really holmoe land, its skousen land and others who are bigger than life.

Chris P. | 10:51 a.m. March 13, 2008

Not sure if this is related at all but, per BYU's compliance newsletter available from the AD website, the head of BYU's compliance dept (Jim Kimmel) just retired after being their for 30 years.

Anonymous, you need to review the NCAA report and Tom Peterson's own statement. Peterson takes responsibility for what happened. However, the nature of these violations were subtleties that anyone who's ever been in a role of oversight knows happen all the time despite best efforts. Despite that fact, he got thrown under the bus. BYU Admin's inability to support and work with him given his commitment to BYU and his otherwise clean and respectable record is the shame here. Other Uni's have tolerated much worse to keep good coaches who are often worse people.

What Next? | 10:57 a.m. March 13, 2008

Could it be Death Penalty like what happened to SMU football. Maybe we should have the death penalty for men volleyball? It is possilbe. Then bring back BYU Men's Gymnastic. I know it has to be done because of Prop 9 (or what ever it was)
Go Cougars!!!!

What now. | 11:32 a.m. March 13, 2008

I havenï¿½t read all the stories on this but what happens to this seasonï¿½.the number one ranking, possibility of national championship, do they have to forfeit games they have played?

Ello | 11:34 a.m. March 13, 2008

This is not News, THIS IS PROPAGANDA.
Don't try to act like BYU is the only school who does not commit these infractions. We know the truth. There is a double standard with BYU and the Church for allowing these standards, or lack of.

BoiseCoug is right on!! | 12:02 p.m. March 13, 2008

Amen, amen, amen to Bosie Coug. Some of the above comments are extremely self-righteous and suggests there are those among you, "without sin."

Forgiveness IS The Gospel AND the very teaching of the Savior "Repentence," is not throwing someone out, its forgiving and helping and moving forward. Shame on my college, BYU, a school I love.

Anonymous | 12:34 p.m. March 13, 2008

To Chris P. | 10:51 a.m.,

Yada yada... just sounds like you and Peterson making excuses to me.

Re: Anonymous | 1:06 p.m. March 13, 2008

Great rebuttal... NOT

You obviously know very little about Coach Peterson. How "closely" have you REALLY "followed BYU Volleyball for over a decade"?

I suspect you're really just a Utah fan/BYU hater in disguise.

Im Appalled | 2:10 p.m. March 13, 2008

I'm Appalled!

A student | 3:18 p.m. March 13, 2008

Anyone who has followed BYU volleyball for the last 10 years really needs to get a life.
Its just sports, BYU cheated, whether or not the other teams are doing it is meaningless. And calling someone a "Utah fan/BYU Hater" is the epitome of the self-righteousness found in many zoobies. There are some real first class BYU fans but there are always the zoobies that think that BYU is a perfect place, a haven if you will from the real world. If you would spend some time in the dorms or around some of the athletes you would see that it is not all that different from other schools.
Zoobies please stop thinking you are some chosen group because you cheer for a team that is owned by the LDS church.

Booo | 4:23 p.m. March 13, 2008

I'm a HUGE BYU sports fan, alumnus, and also a huge BYU administration hater. Tom Peterson deserved better, but anyone who has delt with BYU administration should not be surprised by the move.

Go Cougs!
Boo Y administration!

Re: A student | 4:30 p.m. March 13, 2008

From the sorry attendance at most Utah football and basketball games, it's quite obvious that there are a lot BYU haters who aren't Utah fans, therefore, the Utah fan/BYU hater distinction is appropriate.

If you're not a volleyball fan, why are you reading and commenting on an article about BYU volleyball, if it's not just to make some rude BYU-hating comment?

If you'd paid any attention at all to the actual article and discussion of the content of said article, it should be abundantly clear that the "infractions" BYU was accused of commiting, were not meant to gain an unfair advantage, but were motivated by humanitarian concerns for someone in need.

Metal Bubba | 6:18 p.m. March 13, 2008

Volleyball games at BYU were the best sporting events I attended whilea student in the early 90s. So enough with the "it's just volleyball" comments.

Had to laugh at Shameful's comment that "As for not breaking the NCAA Rules and Regulations for 105 years, if you believe this statement, I have some beach front property in AZ if you are interested." LOL... you do know that Lake Havasu is in Arizona and it has hundreds of miles of beach front property. So yeah, if it's cheap, I'll take you up on your offer!

re:JWT | 10:10 p.m. March 13, 2008

sounds like there is more to the story here. let's get some of those journalism majors out there to dig a little deeper and find out why Coach Peterson was ousted. also, how can the NCAA sanction anyone if the athlete doesn't end up at the school that is supposedly committing the infraction. seems like the penalty is already imposed by the absence of the athlete. i find it interesting that a booster is anyone who buys season tickets to a school's sporting events.

CalCoug | 2:21 a.m. March 14, 2008

I look forward to the day when Coach Peterson coaches another volleyball team to victory in the Smith Fieldhouse and demolishes BYU!

Bad call BYU! Throwing a good man and coach under the bus in a failed attempt to avoid reprimanded by the NCAA.

It'd be nice to see the Y stand up for individuals a little more often even when things get a little rough. Coach Peterson--go coach at school that will respect you and support you and not abandon you at the first sign of a challenge. You deserve that. The Y doesn't deserve you!

Re: I Am Appalled! | 3:13 a.m. March 15, 2008

I was delighted to read, "I Am Appalled!" It's wonderful to know that others appreciated the years I was a BYU student (late 1970s). We enjoyed watching Tom and his teammates play club VB. We especially enjoyed frequent "I Am Appalled..." letters to the editor, Bagley and Benson cartoons in the Daily Universe, and the treasured book by that name. "Dressed for Successful Entry into Med School, Business School, and the McKay Testing Center" and the Bella Absug-like coed meeting her male roommate with a Farrah Fawcett poster on the wall are just a couple of the cartoon gems from that time. I hope Steve Benson and Pat Bagley will consider drawing cartoons about BYU volleyball. It may help ease the pain! They were talented student artists at the same time Peterson was a talented BYU volleyball player.

BYU statements and actions could become political cartoons in the right hands.

Possible Cartoon Ideas:

Peterson resigns "under cloud." Recruiting coach is promoted to head coach. Compliance officers keep jobs.

Peterson told to not talk. Press told to ask Peterson why he resigned.

Peterson accused of not caring about academics. Student/players who maintain academic eligibility under Peterson lose eligibility once Peterson leaves.

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