The Michigan Daily- Sports Tuesday- January21, 1992 - Page 3 Griffin The two-time Heisman winner talks about collegiate athletics Former Ohio State running back Archie Griffin established himself as one of college football's greatest players by winning the Heisman trophy twice, in 1974 and 1975. Griffin, a three-year all-America selection, is also the only player ever to play in four Rose Bowls, leading the Buckeyes to a Rose Bowl win over Southern Cal in 1974. He played in the NFL for eight years with the Cincinnati Bengals, and is currently assistant director of athletics at Ohio State. Daily Sports Writer Tim Rardin spoke with Griffin about college football, academics, and the Heisman. Daily: What do you think about this year's split No. I's, and who do you consider to be the best team in the country? Griffin: It's very hard to say who should be No.1. I think both of those teams are outstanding. Cer- tainly Washington, winning against Michigan the way that they did proves to me that they're a great football team because, going into that game, I certainly thought that Michigan had a very good shot at winning. And I know how difficult it is to play in the Rose Bowl with all the distractions. Miami, in the past decade, has pretty much been the team and they have kept a very 'I don't want to give Desmond any advice. That's certainly Desmond's decision and I know that whatever he decides M to do is going to be the right decision. If he chooses to come back, I think that's great. It's really admirable.' good program over the years. It would be interesting to see who would win that particular football game. I think it was right to make both of them No. l's because I think they were both very deserving of it. D: With that in mind, what is your feeling on college football utilizing a playoff system instead of the current bowl setup? G: For the most part, I'm against that. I think the college football season is long enough. To go to a playoff now, you'd have to get a lot of teams involved and I just think that would drag the season out too much longer. D: What is your feeling about athletic dorms? Do you think they're necessary or should they be done away with completely? G: I'm of the opinion that I like to see athletes mixed amongst the population of the university. That's how we've had it in the Big Ten, and that's what I'm used to. I don't think you need them. I liked the fact that when I was a student, I was able to be next door to a guy who wasn't an athlete and I could social- ize with people other than the those that I was on the team with. I think you get a little bit more out of be- that if it's a kid who I think will come back and get his education, it really doesn't bother me at all. In alot of cases, they will come back. From a football standpoint, it would probably be best that if a kid was going to leave early, he should make sure that he would be an early SPORTS INFORMATION Former Ohio State running back and two-time Heisman Trophy winner Archie Griffin is now assistant director of athletics at his alma mater. ing around a variety of people D: How do you feel about the new, stricter guidelines just passed by the NCAA- moving the mini- mum incoming GPA from 2.0 to 2.5 in 1995? G: I guess I'm against that. I'm against anything that's going to give one group more of a chance that an- other group. Quite frankly, I think it's been found that a lot of minori- ties will be affected more than whites. I'm against not giving a kid an opportunity. I can think of a lot of athletes, either that I played with or that I have come in contact with, who might not have had a 2.5, but they were still able to come into college, get a degree, and are now very successful and productive citi- zens. You can't blame a kid for the education system from which he comes. Sometimes when you do that type of thing, you end up penalizing those kids. D: The NCAA is obviously try- ing to upgrade the academic guide- lines, but do you think they're doing enough as far as helping the student- athlete once they get to college? G: I think, for the most part, that the schools are doing everything they can to try to help student-ath- letes. Most colleges have a support system for their athletes, so I think the colleges are doing a pretty good job of that. D: It seems like more and more underclassmen are leaving early for the professional ranks. How do you feel about players leaving before they finish their education? G: It all depends on the situa- tion. One of the things that I like to think about when I look at this is draft choice. If you look at the num- bers that make it in the NFL, you'll find that the percentages are very low of college players moving on. So I guess he really should be sure. It certainly is a very difficult deci- sion for kids to make, but it's some- thing that they should consider. D: Do you think that the game of college football as a whole has changed since you played in the mid 70's? G: I don't think it has really changed a whole lot. College foot- ball is still basically running, blocking, tackling. In the Big Ten, there is probably more passing than there was in the years that I played because coaches like Bo (Schembechler) and Woody (Hayes) relied on strong running games. That hasn't changed much. Basically, football is still the same to me. D: Speaking of the Big Ten, how would you rate its football a com- pared to other conferences, espe- cially considering Penn State's ar- rival in 1993? G: I think we're just as good as any conference. Sure, we're going to have our up years and our down years, but basically we're one of the top conferences in the country. D: You mentioned Coach Schembechler and Coach Hayes ear- lier, which certainly brings to mind the Ohio State-Michigan rivalry. What do you think makes it so spe- cial? G: I think one of things that makes the rivalry a rivalry is that we're bordering states. Also, from our standpoint, you always have alot of Ohio players at Michigan and that certainly adds to the ri- valry. It's been there for a long time so history also plays a part, I think. D: Desmond Howard, as a red- shirt junior this season, has an op- portunity to return next year and accomplish what only you have done - win 2 Heisman trophies. Know- ing that he will graduate this May, is there any advice that you would give to him? G: I don't want to give Desmond any advice. That's certainly Desmond's decision and I know that whatever he decides to do is going to be the right decision. If he chooses to come back, I think that's great. It's really admirable. If he wants to come back and take another shot at a national championship or whatever the goal might be, that is certainly admirable. His situation is cer- tainly rare because most players don't have a degree going into their senior years. I've been asked the question 'What would I have done in that situation?' But I don't really know because you can't know until it hits you personally. I would feel uncomfortable telling you that I would do one thing or the other. If Desmond chooses to play another year of college football, that's great. If he wants to go pro, that's great too because he is definitely going to be a guy who can make alot of money in professional football. That just gives him another year of '1 can think of a lot of athletes who might not have had a 2.5, but they were still able to come into college, get a degree, and are now very successful and productive citizens.' earning potential. D: As far as your record of the two Heismans, do you think it is a record that will ever be matched? G: Oh, I think it will. I believe that somewhere along the line someone will even do it three times. I've always felt that records were meant to be broken, and I think that that is one that will eventually be broken. STNAVE. AT USERTY 761.0700 $30 DAILYHWSERE STUDENT s" I.D. M5 Prince of Tides (R) Father of the Bride (PG-13) Jeff Sheran Sheran My Thoughts Wait till game starts to head for bathroom My favorite football team cannot win the Super Bowl this year. In that respect, I.guess I'm like many people around here. Luckily for us, when the annual classic airs Sunday evening, we won't have to pretend to root for Buffalo or Washington. We can just watch the commercials. I must admit that even when my favorite team is playing in the Super Bowl, I still pay close attention to the commercials. And given the quality of title games in the past decade, I'm thankful the spots are so entertaining. Imagine if we had to watch some overzealous mother tell us that she buys Charms Blowpops by the bag, despite her son's tendency to buy 'em by the pop. Or if we had to witness ads for products with aesthetically displeasing names, like Anusol. Or still worse, if we had to watch those local commercials with the five-dollar budgets that tell us how much ham the Full House Restaurant packs into its ham sandwich. But we don't. We get to watch the best commercials, by the best advertisers, like Nike, Pepsi, Gillette, Reebok, and Anheuser-Busch. Oh, and McDonald's will debut a new campaign also. The Super Bowl is the most-watched event on television. That's why CBS, carrier of this year's contest, is charging $850,000 for a 30-second commercial. With the recession, word has it advertisers are talking the network down to as low as $800,000 per spot. But that's only for ads which feature Michael Jordan or Bo Jackson. Of course, Jordan will appear in a brand new Nike ad - his co-star will be Bugs Bunny. I'm disappointed in Bugs for selling out like that. We'll see 60 seconds of I don't know what, supposedly something called Hare Jordan. Elmer Fudd never could get the best of the crafty rabbit, but he didn't have Jordan's hangtime, either. Ambitious entrepreneurs that. they are, the people at Nike will probably start marketing a $60 shoe to wear on your lucky rabbit's foot. Pepsi began previewing its new ad series with a man driving a car through a billboard. After seeing that, our eyes will no doubt be glued to our sets. Apparently the Pepsi corporation doesn't understand how effective their current commercial, the "what looks better - the new Pepsi logo or Cindy Crawford in a swimsuit?" really is. I've seen people turn off CNN during the Gulf War. I've never seen anyone turn off that commercial. In fact, there are probably people in this country who would pay Pepsi $850,000 to air Cindy instead of the new ad. But what about The Game'? It promises to be exciting - both teams have tough defenses, explosive offenses, and recent experience in the contest. I like Bud Light by a field goal this year. Yes, despite a strong matchup between Buffalo and Washington, the Super Bowl is still in danger of being upstaged by the Bud Bowl. Budweiser staged a marketing coup three years ago when it created the annual clash. And getting Chris Berman for the play-by-play guaranteed that no one in America would head for the bathroom or refrigerator when the other game was on. When Bud Dry burst onto the market, beer consumers figured it was just another package for Anheuser-Busch to sell its beer in. Who knew the brown longneck would develop into Bud Light's star quarterback? I wonder who will win the Offensive MVP Award. I mean in the Bud Bowl - otherwise, just about every beer commercial is offensive enough to win the award, Enjoy this year's Super Bowl commercials. The Winter Olympics are only three weeks away, and then we'll have to watch commercials that say things like, "Depend. The Official Undergarment of the 1992 Olympics." t 4 r University Activities Center University Activities Center is looking for people to head the following groups: * MINI-COURSES . SOUNDSTAGE " SPECIAL EVENTS Applications are available at UAC, 2105 Mich. Union and are due by 5pm January 24, 1992. For more information, call UAC @ 763-1107 , . . Present this coupon when purchasing a large popcorn and receive one FREE LARGE DRINK Expires 1-27-92 The 0ffice of Minoriy Affairs Registrar's Bulletin Board Dates to Remember Last Day to: 'Jo- Tue., Jan. 28 Student leaders Withdraw From Winter Term-with payment of the $50 disenroltment fee and $60 registration fee. Drop Classes-with a reduction in tuition and without a $10 change of election fee. NOTE: Some units (Law, Medi- cine and Dentistry) begin classes on a different academic calender and this date will vary for those units. King/Chavez/Parks SPRING VISITATION PROGRAM Program dates are March 2, 1992 - May 29, 1992 An average of ten hours per week is required $5.55-$6.55 Office of Minority Affairs OFFICE ASSISTANTS Hiring for Winter Term 10-15 hours per week $5.00 - $6.50 Tue., Feb. 18 Withdraw From Winter Term-with payment of half tuition and $60 registration fee. NOTE: This date will vary for the units having a different academic calender. r Beginning Wed., Jan. 29 Withdraw From Winter Term-pay half of tuition and $60 registration fee through Tuesday, February 18. This fee adjustment applies only to complete withdrawals from the term and not to a reduction of credit hours. i Diversity Program ASSISTANT FACILITATORS Hiring for Winter Term 10-15 hours per week $6.55-$7.55 If you are interested, and would like more information, please pick up an application $10 Change of Election Fee Due-payable in advance at the Cashier's Office for drops, adds or modifications to Winter term schedule. Wed., Feb. 19, Withdraw From Winter Term-pay full tuition and fees. 11 I