09-16-2003, 07:19 PM
There's a reason why ![[Image: bowden_terry_small.jpg]](http://sportsmed.starwave.com/i/abcsports/personalities/bowden_terry_small.jpg)
reminds me of ![[Image: tots.jpg]](http://www.weirdlinks.com/images/tots.jpg)
reminds me of Quote:Former Auburn coach Terry Bowden said on tape two years ago that boosters were funneling thousands of dollars to football players when he became coach in 1993, a time when the Tigers already were on NCAA probation.
"They were paying players cash, $12,000, $15,000 to sign," Bowden said on the recording. "All I was told to do was shake hands and say, 'Thank you. I appreciate how much you love Auburn."'
Bowden did not make clear whether he reported the payment scheme to the NCAA, but said on the tape: "When I came here, I put an end to it." :rolleyes: (Riiiiight)
Bowden's comments were reported Sunday by the Opelika-Auburn News. A columnist taped the comments in a meeting about two years ago, and a copy of the tape was made available to the Associated Press.
Bowden did not return a phone call to his home in Orlando, Fla, seeking comment. He is currently a sports commentator for ABC Sports, where spokesman Adam Freifield said Bowden contended the remarks were off the record and had no further comment.
William Muse, who was president of Auburn during Bowden's term as coach, also said there was "a network of alums who each had agreed to provide X number of dollars per year for a particular player and that there was a book that listed all of these individuals and the amounts that they paid."
"There was even a rumor that, at one time, (an assistant coach) was the keeper of the book," Muse said. "In fact, after he left Auburn, Terry even told me that. But that has never been verified. In the NCAA investigation, there didn't turn out to be any evidence of that."
Auburn came under NCAA scrutiny when Pat Dye was head coach. Tapes secretly recorded by football player Eric Ramsey disclosed financial and other help being given to Ramsey in violation of NCAA rules.
On the tape, Bowden said 25 to 30 boosters would meet in Birmingham and 15 to 20 would meet in Rome, Ga., and that they would give $5,000 each. He said that when he arrived at Auburn, an assistant coach was collecting the money.
<a href='http://sports.espn.go.com/ncf/news/story?id=1617370' target='_blank'>http://sports.espn.go.com/ncf/news/story?id=1617370</a>