Plagiarism is a serious violation in college.

But when it comes to a university’s football program, copying someone else’s work is common procedure. For as long as football has been around, February and March mark the time for staffs to visit other programs, looking for ideas, organization and even plays.

‘As coaches, we’re the greatest imitators and stealers of all time,’ said Tom O’Brien, Boston College head coach. ‘If there were plagiarism in football we’d all be arrested.’

Thankfully for all 119 Division I coaches, their school’s plagiarism policies don’t extend to football schemes or practices. With improvement always the goal, teams look to other programs for help in specific areas. Or, if a team demonstrates success one year, staffs flock to that campus trying to pick up as much information as possible.

In 1968, the University of Texas first implemented the wishbone offense. The new formation brought a buzz to the college football world. Before the 1970 season, Sonny Lubick, Colorado State’s head coach, drove all the way from Montana State (then an assistant there) to Austin – more than 1,700 miles – just to sneak a peek.

More recently, a popular destination has been West Virginia. Last year the 11-1 Mountaineers not only bowled over Big East competition, but beat Georgia in the Sugar Bowl.

WVU’s dominant running game out of the spread offense attracted numerous programs to Morgantown, W.Va. Hundreds of high school coaches attended West Virginia’s coaches’ clinic, and at least 25 Division I coaching staffs visited Morgantown, WVU head coach Rich Rodriguez said.

Those programs learned a lot from watching practices and talking to the Mountaineer staff. But at the same time, host schools, such as West Virginia, make sure to get something in return from the visitors.

‘It was great for our coaches, as far as our professional enhancement,’ Rodriguez said. ‘Not only did we talk to them about what we were doing but what they were doing, and we were able add some things to our package.’

Usually assistants will make the trips, but when free, head coaches will also try to visit a few programs in the offseason.

Lubick likes to travel himself, spending about 12 hours a day with the team for two or three days. O’Brien sends all his assistants, who then will return to him with written reports. The whole BC coaching staff reviews the findings for up to a week and then has breakdown meetings for offense, defense and special teams.

Sometimes small things are swapped during the trips. O’Brien is always interested in how practices are led. Fisher DeBerry, entering his 22nd year as the head coach of Air Force, once took how Penn State crossed the sideline together before practice and implemented it with his team. Other times, more significant ideas are swapped. DeBerry said one of the best plays he’s ever run was a counter learned from Southern California.

Not all coaches trade plays, though. O’Brien said some places may be secretive, but at schools where he or his assistants know someone on staff, the programs are more open. That’s what is so special about the college coaching ranks. Lubick called the college coaching profession a ‘great fraternity.’

‘Everybody is friends in this business,’ Lubick said. ‘I’ve been helped all along. For me, I’ve been coaching 30 something years of college. I’ve done it every year. I did it when I was a high school coach. I don’t really see a lot of coaches hiding things, most of the places I go, coaches make an effort when they see you traveled 1,000 miles.’

But just because hundreds of miles are logged and there are friends in the coaching ranks, the visits don’t come without unwritten rules. According to DeBerry, Lubick and O’Brien, teams within their own conference are not visited or hosted.

Syracuse coach Greg Robinson declined comment on where his staff traveled because he didn’t want anyone to know what he might be adding to his squad. Robinson did say, ‘there weren’t many (schools) visiting us.

‘You’re always trying to study, evaluate, maybe get an idea here or there,’ Robinson said. ‘Maybe someone has a better way. Most of our work has been to analyze what we’re doing and getting it right.’

That’s what it all comes down to. The objective of visits is not to revamp one’s strategy, but to pick up a few bits of information. As O’Brien said, ‘we’re not trying to reinvent the wheel.’

Still, the visits are an important factor of offseason improvement as the game evolves.

Lessons can be learned from high school, college and NFL coaches. Lubick visited Syracuse when Paul Pasqualoni was head coach. It was information learned from former SU defensive line coach Ed Orgeron that Lubick used to model his new academic support system at Colorado State. Lubick also spends time with pro teams, such as the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, where friend Monte Kiffin is the defensive coordinator.

‘That’s the way I learn football,’ Lubick said. ‘Go to the best football and learn from the best people. (You) can learn off tape, but it changes every day. You’ve got to go every year and see new techniques.’

Boston College also sought out the NFL, visiting the Washington Redskins, Cincinnati Bengals and the Baltimore Ravens. Spring trips have been a part of BC’s recent success, but were also helpful when the Eagles first moved to the Atlantic Coast Conference.

O’Brien’s assistants talked to as many staffs as possible to gather information on the conference’s teams. During such conference switches, some teams that were open in trading information can turn into a rival. But as O’Brien said, ‘such is life.’

Other than the occasional coach becoming a rival, there are no real negatives to the trips. Programs usually help their fellow schools and the road trips are a great time for a staff to bond.

‘It’s always a fun thing to do,’ DeBerry said. ‘You’re just talking football, and sharing how they and we do it.’

And along the way, copying and pasting someone else’s ideas into one’s system, is perfectly legal and even encouraged.

Said Lubick: ‘Everything I’ve learned is from going to other places.’

Published on August 31, 2006 at 12:00 pm