Sports

There could be turmoil in SIAC

• Not everyone agrees with a Tuscaloosa News report late Friday night that SIAC commissioner William Lide has been suspended.

Scott Chancey

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. - SIAC director of communications Harry Stinson III and assistant to the commissioner/ director of championships George Mategakis denied a Tuscaloosa News report on Saturday SIAC commissioner William Lide has been suspended from his duties and may not return.

"It's just hearsay," Stinson said. "As far as I know, he hasn't been terminated or anything like that."

After being further pressed if Lide had been suspended, Stinson replied, "He's not."

And after being asked if the Tuscaloosa News report is wrong, he replied, "Yes."

The Tuscaloosa News reported in Friday's paper that Lide had been suspended Wednesday by presidents of the conference's member schools in the wake of an audit into the conference's finances, according to sources within the athletic administrations at member schools.

Repeated attempts to contact Lide on his cell phone Saturday were unsuccessful.

In the report, however, Stillman athletic director Curtis Campbell confirmed to the Tuscaloosa News that athletic officials at member schools told him that Lide had been placed on administrative leave.

Mategakis, who returned a call to The Herald, replied, "I will support what Harry said."

Then, after being asked if both he and Stinson denied the report, Mategakis replied, "We are both denying it."

Albany State athletic director Joshua Murfree said Stinson also told him the report was not true, and an attempt to reach school president Everette J. Freeman at his home Saturday evening was unsuccessful. The head of the SIAC Presidents Council, Benjamin F. Payton, who also is president at Tuskegee, was reached by The Herald and he replied, "I'm not prepared to make a statement at this time. I would rather not say anything right now."

Derita Ratcliffe, who is athletic director at Kentucky State and chairman of the conference's athletic directors council, was not at her Frankfort, Ky., residence when The Herald called her home Saturday.

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