Ex-Players (Some Angry) Coming For "Duke Football Summit"

Duke officials expect about  200 of the school's former football players to be in attendance this weekend, when the university hosts an unpublicized "football summit," designed to discuss the future of its struggling program.

Athletic director Joe Alleva said he called the meeting, which will begin with a Friday night reception and continue Saturday with segmented presentations and discussions at the school's on-campus Yoh Football Center and the nearby Washington Duke Inn. Alleva and coach Ted Roof will be among the speakers at the event, and university president Richard Brodhead also hopes to attend.

Alleva said his goal is "to provide information to our football alumni, have them see where we are, have them meet Ted and listen to his philosophy, listen to their questions and suggestions, and most importantly funnel all their energy and passion into our common goal of having a competitive football team."

Duke has had only one winning record (8-4 in 1994) since coach Steve Spurrier left to take the Florida job after the 1989 season. Barry Wilson (1990-93), Fred Goldsmith (1994-98), Carl Franks (1999-2003) and Roof have combined for a 42-148 mark (22.1 winning percentage), 18-116 in the ACC (13.4 percent), over the past 17 years. The Blue Devils finished 0-12 this season, including a loss to Division I-AA Richmond.

More than a dozen former Duke players contacted by the ACC Sports Journal said their emotions toward the football program range from hope to concern to frustration to anger.

Brian Baldinger, a former Duke offensive lineman (1979-81) who also played in the NFL, said he thinks this weekend's meetings came about because of complaints from ex-players and other supporters of the program. He also said he was told that Duke basketball coach Mike Krzyzewski supported the idea.

"Right now, Duke football is a drag on everybody, in every way," said Baldinger, who will be unable to attend the event because of his NFL playoff commitments as a commentator for Fox Sports and the NFL Network. "It's a drag on publicity for the university. It's a drag on revenues for the athletic department. I'm sure Coach K and the basketball program would benefit from a good football team, too.

"Right now, Duke isn't even close to being able to compete. And if you're going to bring back the coach that's 0-12, you're crazy."

Former Duke coach Tom Harp, who led the Blue Devils to a 22-28-1 record from 1966-70, said he will not be in Durham this weekend but that he has talked with many ex-players who are making the trip. He said the discussion is expected to revolve around the delicate balance between maintaining the university's academic integrity and giving the football program enough academic flexibility to become competitive.

"We've been having that debate for 40 years now," Harp said. "The problem at Duke is not coaching. They're good coaches, and they work very, very hard. Until you give your coaches the ability to sign players who can compete on an equal basis, you won't win. It's that simple. And losing today makes it harder to win tomorrow. You can't just keep getting stepped on and stepped on and stepped on.

"There are a lot of (upset former Duke players), and there should be. But these aren't easy questions. It might be easy somewhere else. It's not easy at Duke. Many people, including some former players, are very protective of the university's integrity and reputation, and they should be, too."

University secretaries and other staff members sent invitations to former players and have handled the planning for the event. The former players and other guests also were invited to attend the 2006 football team's regularly scheduled annual banquet Saturday night.