THE `SHU' DROPS: SHUMATE PLEADS INNOCENT

An emotional Ron Shumate said Thursday he has done nothing wrong and believes he will ultimately be exonerated.

Choking back tears, the winningest basketball coach in Southeast Missouri State University reacted following the Southeast Board of Regents' unanimous decision to fire him.

The Board of Regents, in a statement, said its actions were based on information from the ongoing NCAA investigation of the Southeast men's basketball program.

University officials have neither confirmed nor denied that NCAA rules have been violated, saying only that until the NCAA investigation is completed and an official report is filed, no additional comments will be made.

But Shumate was adamant about the fact that he has run nothing but a clean program during his 16 seasons at Southeast.

"I remain confident that I will be exonerated and that I have committed no significant or major violations," said Shumate. "Ron Shumate has not done anything wrong. Ron Shumate has run the cleanest program in the OVC, the cleanest program in America. Period."

Shumate had a 306-171 record at Southeast, taking over a struggling program and building the Indians into a Division II national power during the 1980s. But since moving to the Division I level six seasons ago, the Indians have had just one winning campaign, and they are coming off a 12-18 season.

Shumate believes that -- regardless of what Southeast officials are saying -- the Indians' recent struggles on the court played a major role in his dismissal.

"When you lose, they don't look at graduation rates, how the kids don't get into trouble. They look into winning and losing," he said. "We lost, so they went after me. That's the nature of the beast. That goes with the profession. I understand that.

"It's like when you look at a 450-page book, you'll find something you've done wrong. I just know that I did good. The Show Me Center wouldn't be there. We wouldn't be Division I, even though I told them not to do that."

That last remark was a reference to the fact Shumate was not actually enamored of the school's decision to move up to Division I in 1991. He had gone through a similar situation while at Tennessee-Chattanooga in the 1970s, building that school into a Division II power and then struggling once the school moved to Division I.

Asked whether he might want to contest the firing, Shumate said, "Contest it? Right now I'm just in a state of shock. I know this, if Bill Stacy was still president, if Marvin Rosengarten was still athletic director, these kind of things would not be occurring.

"But when you have a new administration, they want to bring in their own people. I understand that."

Shumate said he wanted to express his thanks for all the people who have supported his program over the years.

"I appreciate everybody that supported Ron Shumate and Southeast basketball over the years," he said. "We came from nothing, and we brought the program up to respectability."

As for Shumate's future plans, he said, "I've put almost 17 years into Southeast Missouri State. I love this area, and I love the people. I did the best job I could possibly do. I always said they'd carry me out of 1507 Amblewood. I don't know what I've done wrong. I didn't do anything wrong except lose."

Shumate said he felt for his assistant coaches, who also will no longer be affiliated with the Southeast program.

Randy Curl, who has been with Shumate for 10 years, was suspended, and his contract will not be renewed when it expires in late June. Kirt Cochran, a former Southeast player under Shumate, and Scott McCowan both resigned.

"I feel very much for them," he said. "I can handle it. I'm a big boy. I just hate it for them."

Shumate at Southeast

Year Won-Lost

1981-82 21-10

1982-83 25-6

1983-84 16-12

1984-85 24-8

1985-86 27-7

1986-87 20-11

1987-88 28-4

1988-89 27-6

1989-90 26-5

1990-91 21-7

1991-92 12-16

1992-93 16-11

1993-94 10-17

1994-95 13-14

1995-96 8-19

1996-97 12-18

Southeast 306-171

Overall 445-232

Highlights at Southeast

Nine 20-win seasons

NCAA II national runnerups (1985-86, 1988-89)

Eight NCAA II tournament appearances

Seven NCAA II regional titles

Seven MIAA championships

47-game home winning streak

No. 1 in career wins at Southeast: 306