OU's probation 1973-1974

[SteelClip49]

I'm just trying to figure something out compared to some other programs. Can any of you please tell me all the reasons why OU was on major probation for those two years? I never did know other than it was not Switzer. It was under Fairbanks I believe.

[Soonerson1975]

Kerry Jackson

[Flagstaffsooner]

Yup a HS coach changed grades so that he could go to OU.

[Leroy Lizard]

Essentially, a high school coach falsified his player's academic records so that he could attend OU. An OU coach found out about it, but didn't report it, an NCAA violation.

During the investigation, the NCAA picked up a few other items that they always seem to find when investigating schools, but it was the Kerry Jackson incident that got OU in all the trouble.

[Flagstaffsooner]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1972_Oklahoma_Sooners_football_team

[tulsaoilerfan]

It was because of both Kerry Jackson and Mike Phillips

[texaspokieokie]

funny thing was, phillips didn't need his grades raised, & he played later (@OU)

jackson didn't, after freshman year.

[Adrian]

Funny thing too: once Steve Davis established himself at QB, Kerry couldn't crack the starting lineup anyway...

[Leroy Lizard]

Funny thing too: The games we had to forfeit were those in which we blew out our opponents.

[ouwino]

in 1972, steve davis was a freshman. he was something like the 6th or 7th string qb.

[yermom]

that was about the time freshman could still not play, right?

EDIT: i guess that was the first year they could...

[texaspokieokie]

in 1972, steve davis was a freshman. he was something like the 6th or 7th string qb.

Davis was freshman in 71, so couldn't play.
red-shirted in 72.

[EatLeadCommie]

so who was the coach who found out about it and didn't report it?

[70sooner]

Funny thing too: once Steve Davis established himself at QB, Kerry couldn't crack the starting lineup anyway...

if I remember correctly, at some point Jackson suffered a career ending knee injury, but Switzer kept him on scholarship and let him finish school.

[stoopified]

tHE OU COACH INVOLVED WAS BILL MICHAELS. fUNNY THING IS THAT OSU IS THE ONLY SCHOLL THAT COUNTS THE FORFEIT AS A VICTORY

[Judge Smails]

tHE OU COACH INVOLVED WAS BILL MICHAELS. fUNNY THING IS THAT OSU IS THE ONLY SCHOLL THAT COUNTS THE FORFEIT AS A VICTORY


Wow. I am shocked.

[BigRed47]

tHE OU COACH INVOLVED WAS BILL MICHAELS. fUNNY THING IS THAT OSU IS THE ONLY SCHOLL THAT COUNTS THE FORFEIT AS A VICTORY

Well, that makes sense. I mean it's hard enough for them to get a victory over OU so if OU is going to forfeit a game then they might as well take it. Then they can tell their grandchildren how OSU turned defeat into victory for that year.

[PLaw]

Yet, another funny thing, despite being on probation OU still wins the 74 MNC.

BOOMER

[owenfieldreams]

If Kerry Jackson had stayed healthy, Steve Davis would have never seen the playing field.

The H.S. coach @ Galveston Ball, did not actually change the grade, a student advisor did but both the coach and Bill Michaels knew about it.

[70sooner]

The H.S. coach @ Galveston Ball, did not actually change the grade, a student advisor did but both the coach and Bill Michaels knew about it.


I believe the principal of the school was also involved.

[Sooner Cal]

Kerry Jackson was a good kid who had nothing to do with what went on. He played in about 8 games as a true freshman and he looked very good. He had to sit out 1973 season and that cost him his career. It worked out for Davis who was a good leader, but hardly the athlete that Kerry was. In my opinion, Kerry took what had to be a major disappointment like a mature kid. I wanted to see him get on the field and I watched him practice several times afterwards and felt that the coaches were holding the probation against him.

I wouldn't be so quick to say that all Michael did was not report it. That may have been spin.

The 72 team was a great team, losing only to Colorado when they had the wrong shoes. Dave Robertson was a solid Qb, but Kerry was special. He could throw and was a strong runner. I think he would have been like J C Watts.

[King Barry's Back]

If Kerry Jackson had stayed healthy, Steve Davis would have never seen the playing field.

The H.S. coach @ Galveston Ball, did not actually change the grade, a student advisor did but both the coach and Bill Michaels knew about it.

I read the Jay Cronley piece from SI that was linked to the wikipedia article about the 1972 Sooners (which was linked from an above post).

According the that article, which I believe was written in 72 or 73 (so the info is not up-to-date), there are some discrepancies with what owenfieldreams wrote.

owenfield, I am wondering if you can source your info? I'd be really interested in finding out how the whole thing turned out.

Other thoughts: Jay Cronley wrote for SI back in the day? Props to him.

And his SI article from 40 yrs ago reads just like his World Picker column does today.

[texaspokieokie]

Yet, another funny thing, despite being on probation OU still wins the 74 MNC.

BOOMER

only half. everybody went by the AP & UPI in those days, & the coaches poll DQed OU because they were on probation.

usc @ 10-1-1 got the other half.

[texaspokieokie]

i think Bill Michael was the "fall guy".

[Leroy Lizard]

only half. everybody went by the AP & UPI in those days, & the coaches poll DQed OU because of DKR.

FIFY

[MyT Oklahoma]

Switzer talked about this in his book (Bootlegger's Boy) and that book makes for great reading.

[Leroy Lizard]

Switzer talked about this in his book (Bootlegger's Bpy) and that book makes for great reading.

His is one great sports book. Even non-Sooner fans can find it entertaining.

[PLaw]

Kerry Jackson was a good kid who had nothing to do with what went on. He played in about 8 games as a true freshman and he looked very good. .

I didn't think freshman eligibility came into play until later, but for what it's worth, I found where the NCAA allowed FR. to play in FB and BB starting in 1972.

Well done, Sooner Cal.

BOOMER

[texaspokieokie]

i think Jackson had to have known that something was going on.

[TheHumanAlphabet]

The H.S. coach @ Galveston Ball, did not actually change the grade, a student advisor did but both the coach and Bill Michaels knew about it.

Wow, I see things haven't changed too much in Galveston and Ball H.S....

[texaspokieokie]

i looked in the book & Barry didn't ever say why Jackson didn't play anymore. JMHO i don't think it was because Steve Davis was so great. Can't ever criticize Steve tho, @ 32-1-1.

Barry mentioned that the grade alteration was not that uncommon, in late
60s & into 70s. Black H S coaches wanted their guys to have a chance to get
out of the ghetto.

[Leroy Lizard]

i looked in the book & Barry didn't ever say why Jackson didn't play anymore. JMHO i don't think it was because Steve Davis was so great. Can't ever criticize Steve tho, @ 32-1-1.

The fact that he was a great QB helped.

[NMSooner'80]

I remember that Kerry Jackson played some in 1974, but Davis was pretty entrenched as the starter by then. But I do remember seeing Jackson play a couple of times as a true freshman in '72, and he really looked promising. I guess that year off really made him rusty, and I don't think Jackson even came back for what would have been his senior year in '75.

[BoomerJack]

As to Kerry Jackson's playing time, or lack thereof, vis-a-vis Steve Davis, was Jackson declared inelgible, retroactively so to speak, after all this broke? I know that he played in several games of the '72 season; the games that were forfeited by the NCAA edict.

[owenfieldreams]

My knowledge of the circumstances comes from friends who attended Ball H.S. with Jackson.

The head coach, Joe Wooley was fired over the incident but was hired by the Houston Oilers as a scout and someone dealing with personnel.

The story goes that and assistant coach (not a student advisor as I stated earlier), walked into the H.S. offices and asked the secretary to step outside. Supposedly, there were two men in the room, the assistant coach and a coach from OU but this has never been verified. Two player's grades were changed. "Popcorn" Jackson as he was called, and I assume Mike Phillips but I'm not sure about that.

Jackson played and showed great promise but got hurt. There's an urban legend story that during his freshman year, he threw a football eighty yards on Owen Field, from his knees. He would have been the first great option QB who could really throw the ball.

[SteelClip49]

and from what I understand, the NCAA never did say OU had to forfeit the games but the Big Eight enforced the ruling which is why OU doesn't ever look at the 72 season at 8-4 and keeps it at 11-1.

I wasn't around then, but I was thinking OU should have won the 1973 national title or at least a share of it going 10-0-1.

[Salt City Sooner]

and from what I understand, the NCAA never did say OU had to forfeit the games but the Big Eight enforced the ruling which is why OU doesn't ever look at the 72 season at 8-4 and keeps it at 11-1.

I wasn't around then, but I was thinking OU should have won the 1973 national title or at least a share of it going 10-0-1.
Bama (coaches poll winner) was 11-0 when the coaches released their final poll (which was before the bowl games), & ND (AP winner) was the same 11-0 when they released their final poll (after bowl games, which incidentally, included a 1 point win for the Irish over Bama in the Sugar Bowl).

[70sooner]

The 72 team was a great team, losing only to Colorado when they had the wrong shoes.


I dunno, I was at that game and I don't think it had anything to do with shoes. CU came outon fire and scored the first TD OU had givenup in 4 games. After that, Folsom was rocking and OU happened to play a not so good game.

[owenfieldreams]

We lost that game because we couldn't stop CU TE J.V.Cain. I was @ that game and our shoes had nothing to do with it.

Dave Robertson was our QB & he was not a triple-option QB.......better passer than runner. We were so talented we managed to win w/o Robertson being the classic wishbone operative.

Mike Thomas, from Greenville, Tx. was the 3rd string LHB on that team. He eventually transferred to UNLV, made A.A., and went on to a decent career w/the Redskins. When your 3-deep @ a halfback position is Pruitt, Washington,and Thomas, you know you are pretty damn talented.

[Adrian]

I remember watching the playback show after the OU-Colorado game in '72, and they showed a montage of the Sooner players slipping and sliding around. The song they played was "You Can't Roller Skate in a Buffalo Herd" by Roger Miller.

[Jdog]

funny thing was, phillips didn't need his grades raised, & he played later (@OU)

jackson didn't, after freshman year.

I recall Jackson being great his first year -then came the probation - and then he was in a car wreck where he cracked his sternum. He was never the same after that.

[Leroy Lizard]

We lost that game because we couldn't stop CU TE J.V.Cain. I was @ that game and our shoes had nothing to do with it.

Dave Robertson was our QB & he was not a triple-option QB.......better passer than runner. We were so talented we managed to win w/o Robertson being the classic wishbone operative.

He's the one QB I never saw, either in person or on tv. And I have never seen a clip of him playing either. Does one even exist?

[texaspokieokie]

must've been on tv in 72. i remember the tx game (on tv), it was much closer
than 27-0 would indicate.

i talked to a TX player 3 to 4 yrs ago & he said the blocked punt was due to
jerry sizemore missing a block. sizemore was a great player, went on to play many years in pros, with eagles i think.

[MyT Oklahoma]

I've heard the story that Colorado watered the field down the night before the '72 game after it had alreadyt rained. I wonder if that was true. Anyone know?

[texaspokieokie]

I recall Jackson being great his first year -then came the probation - and then he was in a car wreck where he cracked his sternum. He was never the same after that.

i can't find any stats or anything for Kerry Jackson.
he was on the roster in 74 & 75, but not in 73.

[70sooner]

I've heard the story that Colorado watered the field down the night before the '72 game after it had alreadyt rained. I wonder if that was true. Anyone know?

you're probably mistaking CU with Mizoo. That would be their MO, LOL!

And I'm pretty sure the Folsom was not natural turf in those days.

Like I said, I was at the game and CU simply played a better game than OU did that day.

[MyT Oklahoma]

^^ Understood although I heard that story somewhere over the years. I believe Eddie Crowder was CU's coach at the time and I always hoped that story was false.

[Leroy Lizard]

I remember that Kerry Jackson played some in 1974, but Davis was pretty entrenched as the starter by then. But I do remember seeing Jackson play a couple of times as a true freshman in '72, and he really looked promising. I guess that year off really made him rusty, and I don't think Jackson even came back for what would have been his senior year in '75.

How in the Sam Hill did the NCAA let Kerry play for any team?

[texaspokieokie]

How in the Sam Hill did the NCAA let Kerry play for any team?

far as we can tell, HE didn't break any rules. apparently he sat out 73 &
was on the roster for 74 & 75. for all i know (or care) he could've had good grades by that time.

don't see any indication that he ever played, except in 72.

[stoopified]

The 72 team was a great team, losing only to Colorado when they had the wrong shoes.


I dunno, I was at that game and I don't think it had anything to do with shoes. CU came outon fire and scored the first TD OU had givenup in 4 games. After that, Folsom was rocking and OU happened to play a not so good game.OU lost that game 2014 and was slipping and sliding all day long so while I realy can't blameit on the shoes I GUARANTEE if the surface is dry OU would likely have scored at least 21 points.Cain was verry good though and was a major reason CU won.

[Jacie]

I've heard the story that Colorado watered the field down the night before the '72 game after it had alreadyt rained. I wonder if that was true. Anyone know?

We were saying that in 1972 after seeing clips of Sooner players sliding on the artificial turf. Water was visible splashing with every foot plant so unless they had a lot of rain just before kickoff, well, the water had to come from somewhere . . .

[NMSooner'80]

far as we can tell, HE didn't break any rules. apparently he sat out 73 &
was on the roster for 74 & 75. for all i know (or care) he could've had good grades by that time.

don't see any indication that he ever played, except in 72.


I'm pretty sure I saw him play in a few of the early season blowouts in 1974. But I honestly couldn't tell you any of his stats. Blevins took over the backup QB slot behind Steve Davis, and he was pretty solid in that role even back then (true freshman year).

[texaspokieokie]

you would think that if he was on the roster that long, surely he got to play a little.
at least, he got an education.

[PLaw]

How in the Sam Hill did the NCAA let Kerry play for any team?

The same way they let Cam play for Auburn. Some things never change.

[70sooner]

OU lost that game 2014 and was slipping and sliding all day long so while I realy can't blameit on the shoes I GUARANTEE if the surface is dry OU would likely have scored at least 21 points.Cain was verry good though and was a major reason CU won.

I don't particularly remember all the slipping and sliding, but I do remember CU scoring the first TD OU had given up all season (CU was the 5th game) and it seemed like the whole CU team was down in the endzone in a pile. (It was the NE EZ, if I remember correctly, we were sitting on the west side). CU was called for a penalty CU also played inspired football the rest of the game. The Folsom crowd was as fired up as I've ever seen.

[texaspokieokie]

The same way they let Cam play for Auburn. Some things never change.

as noted above, who knowa if KJ ever broke any rules ???

[owenfieldreams]

CU did not water the field. There was a downpour in Boulder the morning of the game but I do not remember the water on the field, which was an artificial surface, being a factor.

[70sooner]

Give CU credit. They had a good team in 72. Do't forget, the year before, Nebbish, OU and CU were 1-2 and 3 in the country after the bowls were played.

[texaspokieokie]

yep, & their coach was that good ole "okie from muskogee" Eddie Crowder.

i think he later became their AD & hired Chuck Fairbanks to be HC.

[Leroy Lizard]

as noted above, who knowa if KJ ever broke any rules ???

But wasn't he ruled academically ineligible? If so, how did he end up playing after the 72 season? Or did he?

[NMSooner'80]

One thing I always hated about that probation is that it gave DKR and his Bevoid Oilys an extra bit of incentive to point fingers at OU and say we bought basically our whole team. Never mind that the K. Jackson situation had NOTHING to do with illegal "inducements."

Truth be told, it was really a typical UT response to getting beaten down a few times in a row. Anyone who handled them very often back then was assumed to be buying players. And of course the sainted UofT never did things like that (Hah!).

[texaspokieokie]

But wasn't he ruled academically ineligible? If so, how did he end up playing after the 72 season? Or did he?

alls i know is ,he was on the roster in 74 & 75. (i looked it up)

don't think you'd be on the roster if ineligible.