Clemson's football team will boycott the 1990 season unless Danny Ford is reinstated as coach or one of his assistants is named as his successor, players said Saturday.
"Until the team is satisfied, until we get an explanation and get what we want, our intentions are to boycott this season," tight end Stacy Fields said during a news conference at Mauldin Hall, the university's athletic dormitory.Fields was joined by teammates Vance Hammond, Eric Harmon and Scott Beville. They said the team voted unanimously for the boycott Friday night.
"Our demands ain't very hard," Hammond said. "We ain't asking much in our opinion, but right now we don't feel like we have an opinion. We feel like we're really lost.
"We want Coach Ford back, and if not we want them to sit down and give us reasons why. It hurts, and it hurts bad."
Ford hasn't explained why he resigned less than two weeks after the NCAA accused Clemson of recruiting and other violations.
Fields said the team requested an explanation from school officials after the resignation was announced Thursday, but hasn't received a satisfactory answer. He also said players are concerned about the effect Ford's departure will have on recruiting.
"A number of our young athletes might want to transfer as a result of this," Fields said.
Ford's resignation - for which he will receive a settlement of about $1 million - has sparked protests from Clemson players, alumni and fans.
At Saturday night's Clemson-Hofstra basketball game, which Ford attended, fans occasionally broke into chants of "Danny, Danny." There also was an unusually large number of state Highway Patrol officers at the game, along with several officers from the State Law Enforcement Division.
Bobby Robinson, Clemson's athletic director, didn't return a telephone message left at his office Saturday.
Nick Lomax, vice president of student affairs, looked on as the players spoke Saturday, but didn't take part in the news conference.
"My sole interest in being here is to assure that these young people don't make an emotional decision today that they're going to regret tomorrow," he said.
Lomax said the players had demanded a meeting with Clemson president Max Lennon, who was out of town Friday night.