by Matt Harvey
ASSISTANT SPORTS EDITOR
(June 19) GLENVILLE --
Former Liberty standout Bryan Harman was the Fairmont State player contacted by Glenville State football coach Warren Ruggiero, according to a report from the West Virginia Conference released by the school Thursday.The Pioneers have been deemed ineligible to win the conference football title and Ruggiero will not be permitted to recruit off campus in the coming season because of the contact with Harman. Glenville State will, however, be able to participate in postseason play.
Harman was a reserve quarterback with Fairmont State at the time of the contact -- last Oct. 13 -- and currently is vying to be the Falcons' starter.
In a letter attached to the WVIAC report, Harman said Ruggiero had called him at his home and asked him if he liked Fairmont State football.
Ruggiero also told Harman "he heard I was not playing at Fairmont and I explained that this was because I was red-shirted," Harman wrote.
"He told me to keep them in mind in the future. He also asked me not to say anything to anyone about him calling, but I really didn't think anything about it," Harman wrote.
At a press conference Thursday at Glenville, Ruggiero said he would appeal.
"There were some other circumstances concerning the phone call that weren't present (in the report) that I believe change the spectrum of the phone call and will result in a viable appeal," Ruggiero said.
The appeal must be filed by today and probably acted on by July 3, Athletic Director Steve Harold said.
School officials declined to discuss the specifics of the appeal.
Harold, meanwhile, said he was unsure if the NCAA was continuing to investigate Glenville, saying attempts to contact the association have largely been unsuccessful.
Other findings in the report:
n Allegations that Glenville practiced out of season could not be proven. "This has become a 'he-said, she-said' situation," the report said. "While there is evidence that illegal preseason practice did occur, evidence also has been presented by Glenville State that it did not."
n Glenville State has "no plan monitoring or plan for dealing with courses taken in the summer and how they should be viewed when certifying normal progress," the report said.
n Paper work on recruiting contacts and evaluations was not appropriate, the report said.
n Glenville's booster club, the Pioneer Athletic Club, "had no oversight by the college except by the presence of Athletics Director Steve Harold on its board," the report said.
n Ruggiero has missed two of the past three league meetings and has sent no representative, and the on-field behavior of the team both point to "lack of monitoring and institutional control," the report said.
The league gave Glenville a detailed list of documents that will be required in the future, including recruiting contact logs, telephone logs, transfer release letters and drug testing consent forms.
The league's Conduct Committee also will evaluate the program again at the end of the 1998-99 school year, the report said.
Outgoing Glenville State College President William Simmons said he has charged Harold with righting the athletic department.
"I think the athletic director is going to be quite busy in the next few weeks, next few months, meeting these requirements," Simmons said.
Ruggiero said he welcomed much of the scrutiny, but took exception to the criticism for missing league meetings, saying he had been excused from attending by league officials. "That was a slap in the face," he said.
Ruggiero also indicated that even if the appeal fails and Glenville is unable to officially go after an unprecedented sixth straight league title, the Pioneers will unofficially take on all comers.
"If they want to say it's not our title, fine," Ruggiero said. "But if we win by the numbers, it will go up on the wall as a conference title, anyway."
GLENVILLE -- Former Liberty standout Bryan Harman was the Fairmont State player contacted by Glenville State football coach Warren Ruggiero, according to a report from the West Virginia Conference released by the school Thursday.
The Pioneers have been deemed ineligible to win the conference football title and Ruggiero will not be permitted to recruit off campus in the coming season because of the contact with Harman. Glenville State will, however, be able to participate in postseason play.
Harman was a reserve quarterback with Fairmont State at the time of the contact -- last Oct. 13 -- and currently is vying to be the Falcons' starter.
In a letter attached to the WVIAC report, Harman said Ruggiero had called him at his home and asked him if he liked Fairmont State football.
Ruggiero also told Harman "he heard I was not
playing at Fairmont and I explained that this was because I was red-shirted," Harman wrote.
"He told me to keep them in mind in the future. He also asked me not to say anything to anyone about him calling, but I really didn't think anything about it," Harman wrote.
At a press conference Thursday at Glenville, Ruggiero said he would appeal.
"There were some other circumstances concerning the phone call that weren't present (in the report) that I believe change the spectrum of the phone call and will result in a viable appeal," Ruggiero said.
The appeal must be filed by today and probably acted on by July 3, Athletic Director Steve Harold said.
School officials declined to discuss the specifics of the appeal.
Harold, meanwhile, said he was unsure if the NCAA was continuing to investigate Glenville, saying attempts to contact the association have largely been unsuccessful.
Other findings in the report:
n Allegations that Glenville practiced out of season could not be proven. "This has become a 'he-said, she-said' situation," the report said. "While there is evidence that illegal preseason practice did occur, evidence also has been presented by Glenville State that it did not."
n Glenville State has "no plan monitoring or plan for dealing with courses taken in the summer and how they should be viewed when certifying normal progress," the report said.
n Paper work on recruiting contacts and evaluations was not appropriate, the report said.
n Glenville's booster club, the Pioneer Athletic Club, "had no oversight by the college except by the presence of Athletics Director Steve Harold on its board," the report said.
n Ruggiero has missed two of the past three league meetings and has sent no representative, and the on-field behavior of the team both point to "lack of monitoring and institutional control," the report said.
The league gave Glenville a detailed list of documents that will be required in the future, including recruiting contact logs, telephone logs, transfer release letters and drug testing consent forms.
The league's Conduct Committee also will evaluate the program again at the end of the 1998-99 school year, the report said.
Outgoing Glenville State College President William Simmons said he has charged Harold with righting the athletic department.
"I think the athletic director is going to be quite busy in the next few weeks, next few months, meeting these requirements," Simmons said.
Ruggiero said he welcomed much of the scrutiny, but took exception to the criticism for missing league meetings, saying he had been excused from attending by league officials. "That was a slap in the face," he said.
Ruggiero also indicated that even if the appeal fails and Glenville is unable to officially go after an unprecedented sixth straight league title, the Pioneers will unofficially take on all comers.
"If they want to say it's not our title, fine," Ruggiero said. "But if we win by the numbers, it will go up on the wall as a conference title, anyway."