Memphis State Coach Received $5,000 for Team’s Tournament Appearance

The Holiday Bowl secretly paid former Memphis State basketball coach Dana Kirk $5,000 for his team to appear in the San Diego Lions Club-Holiday Bowl basketball tournament in December of 1985, John Reid, executive director of the Holiday Bowl, said Tuesday.

In a pretrial hearing for Kirk, who will stand trial June 22 on charges of tax evasion, mail fraud and obstruction of justice, U.S. Attorney Hickman Ewing Jr. Tuesday filed a motion to that effect in U.S. District Court in Memphis.

Ewing told The Times in a telephone interview that Kirk allegedly solicited the money in return for his team’s appearance in the tournament.

Ewing alleged that Kirk, who was fired in September, about two months before being indicted, requested the money in cash and that payment be kept confidential.

Reid, who was part of the negotiating team that secured Memphis State’s appearance, said Kirk was paid the $5,000 stipend because the tournament was “scrambling” to secure a big-name team.

“There was financial consideration for Kirk,” Reid said. “We were painted in a corner . . . we were left without a (big-name) team. It is something we might not consider under different circumstances.”

He added that he was not aware of similar payment to other coaches, although it is a common practice to pay teams to appear in tournaments.

Bill Finley, then tournament director, denied any knowledge of the payment to Kirk.

It is not an NCAA violation for either a tournament to offer or for a coach to accept such payment, NCAA spokesman Jim Marchiony said.