This thing is huge, so I might have to stop and type it in in stages. Taken from Boston Globe, Thursday, June 16, 1994, page 1. Article by Michael Madden. Begin quoted material: Boston College hockey officials made promises they couldn't keep to hockey players and their parents about athletic scholarships, creating an atmostphere of distrust that has plunged the program into turmoil. The Globe has learned that the scholarship chaos helped convince former Boston Bruins player and executive Mike Milbury to resign as BC coach just two months after he gave up a secure future as the designated successor to Bruins general manager Harry Sinden. BC even asked its star player, freshman goalie Greg Taylor, to give up his scholarship because there is no scholarship money for incoming freshmen. And, said one source, BC "not only has no scholarships for this class coming in, but possibly none for the class after that [in 1995-96]." Amid this situation, BC athletic director Chet Gladchuk yesterday appointed Jerry York the new hockey coach. York has been the hockey coach for 15 years at Bowling Green in Ohio and is a 1967 graduate of BC. No doubt one of the more daunting tasks for York will be sorting through the scholarship problems he inherits. The NCAA allows 18 hockey scholarships, and Gladchuk repeatedly insisted in a recent interview that BC has adhered to NCAA regulations. The basic problem, he said, is that BC's hockey staff - and in particular, former head coach Steve Cedorchuk, who was forced to resign by Gladchuk in March - had made more scholarship offers and promises than there were scholarships available. "You have to rely on the coaches, that they are within the spirit and guidelines of the NCAA and the integrity of your institution," said Gladchuk. "We simply could not extend the limitations [of 18 scholarships]. We always have abided by NCAA regulations. We found out it was impossible for the institution to extend the aid [that had been promised]. What some of these boys had to do was to go through normal financial aid." Gladchuk said problems with the hockey program were "not reflective of the way we conduct business in any other field." Cedorchuk said Monday that, upon advice of his attorney, he would have no comment. Said one BC hockey player, who asked to remain anonymous because he feared repercussions, "We used to sit around the lockey room. There might be 25 or 26 of us, and we knew there were only 18 scholarships allowed. One guy'd be saying, `I've got this,' and another guy would say, `I've got that,' and everybody was saying they had a scholarship. It seemed like all of us had a scholarship or had been promised a scholarship. Then, later, we'd hear stories of guys who hadn't gotten what they thought the had." In his 62 days on the job, Milbury had parents come to him in tears, parents whose sons had been promised athletic scholarships - scholarships BC no longer could deliver. In several cases, parents had written assurances, but despite that, BC had to backtrack from the commitments. Indeed, the distrust how is so great that some parents are talking about lawsuits against the school. And the feeling that BC's word no longer is its bond is so pervasive that Milbury's post-resignation talks with BC are not about returning to the Heights but of obtaining a written, legal indemnification that he will not be sued for resigning so quickly. The common thread through this story is that the lives of young men, thier parents and even Mike Milbury himself have been changed - in many cases not for the better - because they did not realize BC was making promises it could not keep. *end quoted material* There is a LOT more to the article, interviews with screwed players and parents, testimony by Gladchuk, and alumni reaction which I will post section by section over the next weekend. Tony BU'92'93 Former Ogre