Old UK coach Hal Mumme got the job at SE LA today.
Southeastern Louisiana recommends Mumme as its coach for 2003 season
By MARY FOSTER
AP Sports Writer
June 28, 2002
HAMMOND, La. (AP) -- Hal Mumme, forced to resign at Kentucky after dozens of NCAA violations were uncovered two years ago, was hired Friday as the coach for the reinstated football team at Southeastern Louisiana.
The University of Louisiana Board of Supervisors approved the appointment without discussion after the board's athletic committee accepted the university's recommendation. No board member objected to or spoke against Mumme.
Southeastern Louisiana, which dropped football in the mid 1980s for financial reasons, begins playing again in 2003.
Meeting in Baton Rouge, La., the committee voted to give Mumme a 5 1/2 -year contract, through the 2007 season.
Mumme's base salary is $75,000, according to Southeastern athletic director Frank Pergolizzi, who said the contract includes incentives.
Earlier reports that Mumme would be the new coach drew criticism from the president of the Louisiana Senate, among others, but school president Randy Moffett said he had no qualms about hiring the former Kentucky coach.
``We've identified a person who can win. We've identified a person who can recruit. We've identified a person who made a mistake,'' Moffett said.
In January, Kentucky was placed on three years' probation by the NCAA for football recruiting violations, all under Mumme's tenure from 1998-2000.
The Wildcats were cited for more than three dozen recruiting violations, banned from a bowl game this season and will lose a total of 19 scholarships over a three-year period.
While Mumme was charged with failure to monitor the program, he was not given any individual sanctions.
``I think the fact that I walked away with no penalties speaks volumes,'' Mumme said before the committee vote. ``I will do my best to run a good program, a clean program.''
State Sen. John Hainkel, R-New Orleans, said earlier this week he felt the state could not afford to associate itself with a candidate who had been brushed by scandal.
``I am perhaps extraordinarily sensitive to the message that Louisiana sends out,'' said Hainkel, who is president of the Senate and has helped secure millions of dollars in state funds for Southeastern.
``Deserved or not, we've had a bad reputation for political corruption and ill dealings and so forth. ... Simply given the time and place, I don't think we ought to take a chance.''
Also opposed to Mumme was Gino Marino, a former football player at Southeastern and a member of the selection committee who helped secure a $1 million donation for the program.
``We took a lot of time considering all the candidates,'' Southeastern athletic director Frand Pergolizzi said. ``I think just about all of them had supporters and people opposed to them. We listened to everyone and took what they said into consideration. We wouldn't be human beings if we didn't take that into consideration.''
The other candidates for the job were: Frank Monica, a former Tulane assistant now at St. Charles Catholic High; Sam Goodwin, former Northwestern State coach and current athletic director at Henderson State; Steve Ensminger, former LSU quarterback and current coach at Central High in Baton Rouge; and Norm Joseph, offensive coordinator at San Jose State.
Associated Press writer Melinda Deslatte contributed to this story
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