Dukes' Domain

(These thoughts also posted at Metro Sports Report)

It's the most hypocritical time of the year for college football.

The first few of 35 bowl games have been played. We'll be watching them the rest of this year and well into next. Players will be making sacrifices by spending time away from family as they prepare for games, but don't feel too sorry for them.

Every bowl game offers plenty of gifts for players, up to $550 worth of swag for as many as 125 individuals. Schools also are allowed to tack on another $400 worth of gifts, bringing to $950 the value of benefits players could receive.

Do the math. That's as much as $118,750 per team in benefits and as much as $8 million awarded to college football bowl participants. A player who goes to four bowl games during his career (as Iowa seniors are doing) can rake in $3,000 to $4,000 worth of gifts in a career.

And I emphasize the word "benefits.''

The National College Athletic Association is all about college athletes not receiving "extra benefits,'' those perks not normally afforded the casual college student. The NCAA scrutinizes coaches, athletic directors and athletic departments, making sure they stay within the rules.

Coaches cannot have their team or a few recruits over to the house for a barbeque. A booster cannot give an athlete money for a dinner or shopping trip. The NCAA rule book is thick and cumbersome, but the governing body expects every individual to walk the line.

Iowa and Oklahoma players involved in the Insight Bowl this week will receive an Ogio Convoy backpack, a cap and a shopping spree at a gift suite. Pinstripe Bowl participants Iowa State and Rutgers will get a choice of gifts at the Sony Style store and a tour of the MTV studios.

Other gifts at other bowls include watches, souvenir footballs, a $400 shopping spree at Best Buy, iPods, Kindles, 32-inch flat screen televisions, and on and on.

Oh, those poor college athletes. They claim they spend so much time refining their skills and practicing that they don't have any means of going out for a pizza or a movie. Then after the bowl games, they go back to their campuses, gorge on free meals, seek free tutors and further their free education.

OK, colleges make a lot of money off football, from gate receipts to merchandise sales. But don't tell me the athletes don't get much in return.

And the NCAA? It is often portrayed as The Scrooge of college athletics. But in bowl season, it is the Santa Claus that stops on every doorstep, delivering toys to their boys, naughty or nice.

Chuck Long led his Wheaton (Ill.) North High School team to a state championship but it was largely a running team and Long averaged only five or six pass attempts per game. Iowa coaches never saw him play in person, but they offered him a scholarship after watching 11 game films. Northern Illinois and Northwestern were his only other suitors.

By the time his college career was over, Long amassed numerous records and played in five bowl games for the Hawkeyes. He was the first player to pass for over 10,000 yards in a college career. He was given an extra year of eligibility due to a red-shirt rule that no longer exists.

So he decided to forego the NFL draft and return for another season in 1985. Long quickly emerged as a leading candidate for the Heisman Trophy along with Auburn running back Bo Jackson. Long had led Iowa to the Big Ten championship and a Rose Bowl berth, with signature victories over No. 2 Michigan and Michigan State.

When it became apparent that Long could become the second Iowa player to win the Heisman, joining Nile Kinnick in 1939, I asked Long if he had any objection to my joining him on his trip to New York City for the Heisman announcement.

On Dec. 7, 1985, a quarterback and a sportswriter set sail for the Big Apple.

I MET LONG and his then-girl friend, Lisa, at the Cedar Rapids airport. Long was as calm and composed as he often appeared in the pocket, searching downfield for a receiver.

We flew to St. Louis for the connecting flight to New York City. During about an hour layover, the three of us engaged in light conversation. Even though Long would be on national television in a few hours, no one in the terminal recognized him or sought him out for an autograph.

Chuck and Lisa took their seats a few rows from mine, buckling in like two normal passengers. But during the flight, the pilot came over the intercom and made this announcement: "Ladies and gentlemen, we are joined on our flight today by Iowa quarterback Chuck Long, who is a candidate for the Heisman Trophy.''

Passengers applauded and Long obliged with a short wave of his hand. Some approached Long for his autograph. A few others wished him good luck.

After landing at LaGuardia Airport in New York, the Longs were whisked to a limousine. I had planned to take a taxi to my hotel, but Long insisted that I ride in the limo with him and Lisa. It was about a 15-minute trip to Lower Manhattan and the Downtown Athletic Club, which at that time was the site of the Heisman presentation. (The Downtown Athletic Club was located about a half-mile south of the World Trade Center. Although it was not damaged in the 9-11 attacks, the DAC closed after those events. The public was banned from the area during clean-up; the club suffered financial losses and never re-opened).

It was during the limo ride that I sensed reality had set in with Long. The magnitude of the day had hit him. Would he really win the Heisman Trophy? I shook hands with Long, thanked him for the ride and off he went. I didn't see Chuck again until the actual ceremony.

SINCE 2005, THE Heisman presentation has been made at the Best Buy Theater in Times Square. Most members of the media do not sit in the same area where the presentation is made; rather they are assembled in an adjoining room.

But in 1985, reporters viewed the proceedings in the same room. I joined a few other members of the Iowa media delegation near the back of the room. Bob Costas mingled near us with some dignitaries before hosting the national television coverage.

The introduction of each Heisman finalist was accompanied by a five-minute video presentation. Long's began with footage of Kinnick, then showed Long alone walking on the Kinnick Stadium field. The clip included some of Long's greatest plays during the season and interview segments. Long noted that among his motivations was his younger brother, Andy, who had cerebral palsy.

The live TV camera then panned to Long, seated in the front row and dressed in a gray suit, white shirt and red tie. Behind him sat Iowa Coach Hayden Fry and Long's family.

As the announcement drew nearer, you could feel tension in the room. Long and Jackson were widely considered the leading candidates, although Sports Illustrated writer Rick Reilly had something to say about that. Reilly instead trumpeted the candidacy of running back Joe Dudek, who had set Division III records at Plymouth State in New Hampshire. A couple weeks before the Heisman ceremony, Jackson, Long and Dudek appeared on the Sports Illustrated cover.

BO JACKSON WAS named winner of the 1985 Heisman Trophy in the closest vote in its history, a 45-point margin. Jackson had 1,509 points to Long's 1,464. Jackson garnered 317 first-place votes to Long's 286.

It was difficult to argue against Jackson. He rushed for 1,786 yards and 17 touchdowns for Auburn, although he twice pulled himself from games due to injuries. Long passed for 2,978 yards and 26 touchdowns during the regular season with 15 interceptions.

Jackson and Long both carried three of the six regions of the country. Long carried the Northeast, Southwest and Far West; Jackson took the Mid-Atlantic, South and Midwest. Some of the Midwestern votes that Long might have received went to Michigan State running back Lorenzo White and Purdue quarterback Jim Everett, who finished fourth and sixth in the balloting, respectively. Dudek finished ninth with 12 first-place votes.

Long was gracious in interviews after the presentation, as were Jackson and Auburn Coach Pat Dye toward Long.

The 1985 vote no longer is the closest in history. It was bettered in 2009 when Mark Ingram of Alabama nudged Stanford's Toby Gearhart by 28 points.

Interestingly, Long won the Maxwell Award in 1985. Awarded by the Maxwell Football Club of Philadelphia, it also recognizes the best player in college football.

CHUCK LONG MARRIED Lisa in 1987 and they have five children, three girls and two boys. Chuck most recently has been offensive coordinator at Kansas, where head coach Turner Gill was recently fired and replaced by former Notre Dame Coach Charlie Weis.

Long was the 12th pick in the 1986 NFL draft, going to the Detroit Lions. Long threw a touchdown pass on his first NFL play but largely struggled behind a weak Lions' offensive line.

After his NFL career, Long had assistant coaching stops at Iowa and Oklahoma before landing the head coaching job at San Diego State. After going 9-27 in three seasons, Long was fired.

Long's journey has been a mixture of highs and lows since he left Iowa. But when he looks back at his college career and the day he almost won the Heisman Trophy, the memories have to be priceless.