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The Battalion
93 No. 53 (12 pages)
1893 — A Century of Service to Texas A&M — 1993
Wednesday, November 10,1993
Jim Peterson and three other
12eMAN
Greg Hill was suspended by the
alumni had knowledge of Hill's
mm.mimsmmWAmwtwn
NCAA in September for five
1 two jobs, according to a letter
Four members of the Twelfth Man Foundation knew
games because he was paid for
J obtained by The Battalion
Greg Hill was working for two A&M boosters
work he did not perform.
A&M boosters knew of job scandal
12th Man Foundation members discussed Hill's employment
By Juli Phillips
The Battalion
Four members of the Twelfth
Man Foundation could have
headed off the current NCAA in
vestigation of Texas A&M's foot
ball program a year before it start
ed if they had reported informa
tion that came out in a meeting,
according to a letter obtained by
The Battalion.
See Editorial
Page 11
[D
Srown
day
ir to Black-
:ly to hold
According to the letter, Jim Pe
terson, Cliff Taylor, James
’Stormy" Kimrey and Warren
Gilbert, all of whom at that time
were members of the executive
board of the foundation, took part
in the meeting. The Twelfth Man
Foundation is an alumni booster
dub for Texas A&M athletics.
The letter, dated March 23,1993,
was written by Kimrey to Byron
Wrotenbery, son-in-law of Gilbert.
Gilbert, a prominent A&M
booster, was disassociated from
the athletic program after allega
tions that he knowingly paid play
ers for work not performed.
Kimrey stated in the letter that
during a meeting of the invest
ment committee of the Twelfth
Man on Jan. 13, 1992, some mem
bers engaged in small talk con
cerning Christmas break employ
ment of the Texas A&M players.
"Warren (Gilbert) named a few
(players) he had employed includ
ing Greg Hill," Kimrey wrote.
"At that time, either Jim Peterson
or Cliff Taylor informed Warren
that Greg Hill was working for
Weldon Jaynes in Fort Worth.
Taylor told The Battalion Tues
day, "We just didn't take what
Warren said seriously. If I would
have thought that he wasn't just
boasting, I would have contacted
the University."
Both Taylor and Kimrey told
The Battalion that there is a rival
ry between Fort Worth and Dal
las when it comes to employing
players.
"I just took it as somebody's
loose talk," Kimrey said. "After
(Gilbert) was told about Greg's
employment with Weldon Jaynes,
we assumed that a man with his
integrity would take care of it."
Texas A&M Vice President of
Finance and Administration
Robert Smith said last week that
his office was not contacted about
the Twelfth Man members' prior
knowledge of Greg Hill's employ
ment situation until Jan. 6,1993.
"At that time," Smith said, "we
immediately reported the infor
mation to the NCAA."
The NCAA investigation be
gan after an article appeared in
The Dallas Morning News on
Dec. 20. A subsequent article in
the Jan. 9, 1993 edition of the
Morning News detailed employ
ment records from Weldon
Jaynes and Warren Gilbert and
reported that Hill could not be
working in both places.
Bill Willms, attorney for Gilbert,
would not comment about the
Kimrey letter, but in a prepared
statement said, "Mr. Gilbert has
fully cooperated with Texas A&M
and the NCAA and has met with
representatives of both and an
swered all of their questions."
Gilbert's son-in-law, Byron
Wrotenbery, also would not com
ment on the letter.
The incoming president of the
Twelfth Man, Jim Peterson, who
was also named in the letter as
one of the participants in the con
versation, did not return any of
The Battalion's phone calls.
On Sunday, Nov. 14, officials
from the University will meet
with the NCAA Infractions Com
mittee to discuss the investigation.
The following excerpt of a letter
written by Stormy Kimrey shows
that members of the 12th Man
Foundation discussed Hill's
employment before a meeting.
on January 13th of 1992, tha Inve&fcisante Co»#.ttfe«e in Ft. Worth,
Thosa present that X «sa» recall warr. &r. Ji?® patornon
{Kr. Cliff Taylor of Ft. Worth, hr. chslker of Oallaa, Mr.
•Ftixnk Shannon and handy Howard of Station, raaybo a couple
of othoso with warren and jsyseif. Stsall talk before the meeting
centered around the peat Cotton Bowl and mention «f where
player® ware balng employed during the holiday**. Warren nawed a
few ho had employed including Crag Kill. At that tine, either Jim
Fetor won or Cliff Taylor informed Warren that Greg Hill wan working
for woldon Janea in Ft. Worth. Warren quickly responded that he
w«» certain dreg employed by h.i» firm hat he would certainly
check it out upon his return to his office. After the meeting
Warren dropped sae at »FW Airport on his way hack home. On the way
to the airport we again discussed the gees t i on dfeent Oreg ’e
employment and he reassured me fee warn going to chock on thin that
nemo afternoon.
Basketball season starts next week
:on-
- his
life-
still enjoy
"I don't
hysical ex-
lic, where
Texas A&M basketball coach Tony Barone overlooks a halftime
warm-up during the maroon & white scrimmage at the 'Meet the
Kevin Ivy/THE Battalion
Aggies' basketball preview Tuesday night at G. Rollie. There was
also a 3-point contest and a slam-dunk contest.
policy
mer Sti
Transfer students find it
harder to get Aggie ring
New policy requires more hours at A&M
By Lisa Elliott
Changes in the ordering policy or me evggic .. ... .— ~
challenging for some students to get their ring.
Transfer students at Texas A&M as well as non-transfers will have
to wait longer before they can get their Aggie ring because of the new
y approved by the Board of Directors of the Association of For-
Students.
Starting Jan. 1,1994, undergraduate transfer students must complete 60
credit hours at A&M, instead of 30, before ordering their Aggie rings. If
transfer students graduate before completing 60 hours at A&M, they can
order an Aggie ring after they receive their diplomas. Non-transfer stu
dents will have to complete 95 hours before they can place a ring order.
Carolyn Swanzy, director of the Aggie Ring Program, said the
changes were made to reduce the confusion about when students can
place an order.
Porter Garner, associate director for alumni programs, said the poli
cy wasn't meant to punish anybody but to keep the Aggie ring special
by making it more challenging for transfer students to get.
"We're not trying to penalize anybody, we wanted to make sure that the
ring represents more than a two-semester experience at A&M," he said.
Garner said he talked to a lot of students about the new policies and
could not find one that disagreed with it.
"Most students want these policies to be strict," he said. "All the
Board is trying to do is make sure the Aggie wearing that ring fully un
derstands what it means to wear that ring."
Swanzy said the Board also took into consideration students who
need loans from the financial aid office to order the ring.
The policy at the financial aid office states that students wanting
loans for a ring must have completed 95 hours at the time they apply
for a loan.
Swanzy said that because students who are in the process of com
pleting 95 hours aren't eligible for a loan for a ring, the Board felt the
same policy should hold for ordering the ring.
However, she said, the new policy won't prevent the students from
getting their ring in time for important functions.
Students that place their orders after the spring semester will get
their ring before the football games, and students placing an order after
the fall semester will get their rings before Ring Dance.
Garner said the Association has been discussing the changes for
more than a year.
appellate
sidered a
i a justice.
iost liberal
's politics
Inside
Campus
•Ross Perot, Al Gore duke it
out over NAFTA
Page 5
Sports
•Men's soccer advances to
national tournament
Page 7
Opinion
•Column: Megliola prepares
for the dreaded job interview
Page 11
Student Services VP candidate catches 'Aggiemania'
By Michele Brinkmann
The Battalion
"This is a vice president for stu
dent services dream," is the way
Dr. Richard J. Correnti, a candidate
for vice president of student ser
vices, described his first impression
of Texas A&M University.
"There is something really spe
cial happening when students
participate at the level that they
do here," he said.
Correnti, currently the vice pres
ident for student affairs at Florida
International University, was on
campus this week to interview
with the vice president for student
services search committee.
He said he caught the Aggie
spirit when he received the "300
pounds" of information sent to
him by Ron Basse, head of the
committee.
"Aggiemania is very conta
gious," he said. "When I first got
here, I wanted to see Bonfire.
When I got there, I had to get out
of the car and see if it was real."
Correnti, who said he was im
pressed with the students here,
said his most important role is as
an educator.
If selected for the vice presi
dent position, Correnti said he
wants students to leave this Uni
versity with a greater understand
ing of people, especially those that
are different from themselves, and
to have a sense of commitment to
service and others.
"Student services plays a big
role in all of these things," he said.
Correnti said he would have the
most impact in the multicultural
area if he were to get this position.
"I have a lot of experience and
success in this area," he said.
Because of his interest in mul-
ticulturalism, Correnti said he
was especially pleased to learn of
the vote passed in the Faculty
Senate Monday, which approved
a multicultural requirement.
"This is a major step for the Uni
versity," he said.
Kevin Carreathers, director of
multicultural services, met with
Correnti and held a dinner for
him Monday, so he could meet
with minority faculty and staff.
See Candidate/Page 5
Correnti
ited
i.
Tomorrow in
Interview:
German journalists
visiting A&M
•Filins “Flesh & Bone,”
& “Fearless” •Xc\v albums by
Boh Dy lan, Kate Bush