The Big 33 Football Classic: A tradition at risk

By Ray Fittipaldo, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

The Big 33 Football Classic prides itself in compiling the top high school football talent in Pennsylvania and Ohio for its annual game.

The list of alumni reads like an NFL Encyclopedia. From Joe Namath, Joe Montana and Dan Marino in the early years of the game to more recent stars such as Ty Law, LaVar Arrington and Ben Roethlisberger.

What would the game be without the top of the talent pool?

Because of recent NCAA legislation, Big 33 game director Mickey Minnich is finding out this year.

The NCAA recently passed legislation that allows universities to pay for summer school for incoming freshmen. Most universities start summer school the third week of June. Any player taking part in an all-star game after enrolling would be in violation of NCAA rules.

As such, this year's Big 33 will be played Saturday at Hersheypark Stadium without some of the top players from Pennsylvania and Ohio. Since the original 34-player Pennsylvania team was announced in the winter, head coach Bob Palko said five players have turned down the opportunity to play because their colleges wanted to enroll them in summer school.

Those five are Notre Dame recruits Steve Quinn, Derrell Hand and Mike Turkovich, Virginia recruit Mikell Simpson and West Virginia recruit Steve Slaton. West Virginia recruits Carmen Connolly of Seton-LaSalle and Ed Collington of Penn Hills will play because they are not attending summer school.

Ohio head coach Steve Channell had six players from his original roster who cannot play for the same reason. They are highly touted Ohio State recruits Jamario O'Neal, Fred Lenix and Alex Boone, Minnesota recruits Dominic Jones and Alex Daniels and West Virginia recruit Ryan Brinson.

Pitt and Penn State did not enroll any of their players in summer school out of respect for the Big 33 tradition. But they plan on enrolling the majority of their recruits in future years, which is why Minnich is moving the game from the third weekend of July to the third weekend of June, starting next year.

This year's game could not be rescheduled in time.

"This has all happened so fast," Palko said. "It's not anyone's fault. There's so much that goes into the game. There just wasn't enough time to change the date this year.

"It's unfortunate. Mikell told me, 'I grew up all my life wanting to play in the game, and now I can't play.' I've had other kids tell me that they would be deducted points if they missed class for a week, and that all the work they had done in school would go down the drain. The kids have been put in a bind."

Palko had a hard time filling out the five spots vacated on his roster. He was told by several college coaches in the winter not to choose their recruits because they were going to enroll in summer school. That included Connecticut coach Randy Edsall and Tennessee coach Phil Fulmer.

"It's been tough," Palko said last week when asked about filling out the roster. "You call a kid now, and he says no. You can't blame them. They made other commitments, or maybe they're mad that they weren't selected in the first place."

Minnich, who has worked for the Big 33 full time since 1985, said he is doing his best to ensure that the game has a future, but he admitted if the NCAA keeps making changes all-star games could become obsolete.

"It just seems like the window for high school all-star games is getting smaller," he said. "There's a possibility down the road that there wouldn't be a game. I never would have said that a year ago. But now I think there is that possibility. There could be a time when there are no high school all-star games, period. There could be a time when they'll have these kids report to college right after high school graduation.

"I'm not a pessimist, but I'm worried. If the NCAA shuts this [June] window further, we would have to look at playing in December or January. We're in our 48th year, and it's such a tradition in Pennsylvania. And it's growing stronger in Ohio."

Minnich said he has tried to speak with representatives from the NCAA, but his pleas have fallen on deaf ears. He understands that the NCAA did not set out to hurt high school all-star games, and that the Big 33 is merely an innocent victim.

But he would still like someone from the NCAA to listen to him about the importance of high school football, not only in Pennsylvania, but across the country.

"A lot of this revolves around graduation rates and getting the kids into school earlier," Minnich said. "From what I understand this is something the [college] presidents and coaches both want.

"But we would still love to have an audience with the NCAA to discuss how their rulings affect us. High school coaches do so much to promote their players for colleges. We would like for them to look at the big picture. The colleges have Friday night football now, Thursday night football. The winds of change are really blowing. We have a lot at stake."

The new academic legislation is just one of the recent NCAA rules changes that has presented problems for the Big 33. For the past several years, high school seniors have been allowed to graduate in December and enroll in college in January.

That has meant some of the top players from Pennsylvania and Ohio not taking part in the Big 33. Last year, Penn State linebacker recruit Dan Connor of Strath Haven High School did not play. Gateway's Justin King, also a Penn State recruit, will not take part in this week's game.

Jim Cordle, a highly touted offensive lineman from Lancaster, Ohio, will not play for Ohio this year for the same reason. He is attending Ohio State.

"I think the high school kids still understand the tradition and the history of our game," Minnich said. "A lot of the juniors we talk to now don't want to see anything happen to the game because they're dying to play in it. Of course, we'd like to have Justin King and Dan Connor play in our game. But the Big 33 is about more than one player."

Other complications are clouding the future of the Big 33. Pennsylvania's playing partner for future games is in doubt because of a potential conflict with a North-South all-star game in Ohio that also is the third week of June.

Minnich said he is hopeful Ohio, Pennsylvania's opponent for the past 12 years, can continue to be the opponent. Ohio officials met last week to discuss future participation in the Big 33.

Channell, a member of the Ohio high school football coaches association, attended a meeting with Big 33 officials earlier this month but declined to say whether Ohio would be a participant in the game next season.

"We're currently evaluating that situation," said Channell, who will be the association's president next season. "We're working on it is about all I can say right now."

If Ohio does not want to jeopardize its North-South game, Minnich said New Jersey and Wisconsin are two states that would love to step in and fill the void. He has had preliminary discussions with representatives from both states.

All of this has made Minnich a busy man in recent months. He is meeting with Gov. Ed Rendell next week and has reached out to professional teams for help and guidance.

Minnich knows the future is uncertain, but he said he will do everything in his power to make sure the Big 33 Football Classic remains the summer tradition it has been since 1958.

"I'm confident," Minnich said. "We're problem solvers. We look at the hand that's dealt to us. We have to stay strong. We'll find a way. If you're persistent, you'll find a way."