Huskies' Hobert Got $50,000 Loan -- Money From Businessman Spent In Spree; May Violate NCAA Rules, Lead To Sanctions

University of Washington quarterback Billy Joe Hobert received a $50,000 loan from an Idaho businessman last spring under unusual conditions that could violate National Collegiate Athletic Association rules governing college athletics.

The loan, made by the father-in-law of one of Hobert's friends, has no specific payback schedule and was made even though Hobert has no assets to guarantee its repayment. According to the loan agreement, full repayment can be demanded at any time.

Hobert said he spent the $50,000 during a three-month spree on cars, guns, expensive stereo equipment, golf clubs and wild weekends in which he lavished "hundreds of dollars" on friends.

Hobert acknowledged that the only way he could repay the loan now would be to turn pro next year instead of returning to Washington for his final year of eligibility. "If I become a pro, obviously it is going to be easy to pay off," he said. "But if I don't, then I'm going to be working a long time to pay off that loan."

The loan could violate an NCAA rule prohibiting athletes from receiving benefits not available to other students. The rule says "a student-athlete may not receive preferential treatment, benefits or services (e.g. loans on a deferred payback basis) for his or her athletics reputation or skill or payback potential as a future professional athlete."

When he signed the loan, Hobert was considered one of the top quarterbacks in the nation. He had just led the Huskies to a victory in the Rose Bowl and a share of the national championship. His performance this season has been inconsistent and cost him the starting position.

Dick Dunn, associate dean of the College of Arts and Sciences at the university, who as faculty athletic representative is in charge of reporting violations to the NCAA and Pac-10 Conference, said the preferential-treatment rule applies even to those who have no relationship to the university.

"We've had situations in the NCAA at other schools where someone unknown to the school does something to support the school," said Dunn, who also serves as chairman of the compliance and enforcement committee for the Pac-10 and as a member of the NCAA Committee on Infractions. "We're taking this seriously."

"You can be sure we will be in contact with the NCAA and Pac-10," he said.

Dunn said the loan Hobert received is not the size and type normally available to a student.

"The size of the loan is not the issue. The conditions of the loan are one issue," he said. "And the other is whether Billy Joe as an athlete was able to obtain a loan that other students couldn't."

He added, "It has to be a loan with a regular payback schedule."

Dunn said if a violation is found, Hobert could be declared ineligible and the team could be penalized. He said he doubted the Huskies would be subject to the most serious sanctions, which include forfeiture of a conference title, a ban from appearances in bowl games or television, or the loss of football scholarships.

"We're talking about an individual situation, and these situations are usually resolved with individual punishments," he said.

Dunn learned about the loan when asked about it yesterday by The Times. UW football Coach Don James said he learned about it earlier this week when Hobert told him after Hobert learned of inquiries being made. UW Athletic Director Barbara Hedges said she learned about it late yesterday from Dunn.

Hedges said she had notified the Pac-10 that the school was investigating the loan. Hedges and Dunn met with Hobert today.

James said he didn't think the loan violated any NCAA rule because it wasn't made by anyone associated with the university or its football program.

"The only thing that would be an NCAA violation is if I arranged a loan for a player," James said. "A player has every right, as every other human being's got, to borrow money if he needs to go get it."

However, James said he was surprised at the size of the loan. "I thought it was an unusually large amount of money, but dollars have changed since I grew up," he said.

Hobert likewise said he did not think the loan was an NCAA violation. He was worried, though, about the impact of its disclosure when The Times questioned him about it.

"I don't want to get into the story because as soon as somebody finds out I took a loan, there's going to be a big investigation," he said before later acknowledging details of the transaction.

"I have to say the money I borrowed wasn't the smartest thing I've done because I ended up blowing it and now I've got all these bills and nothing to show for it," Hobert said.

The loan was made to Hobert by Charles Rice, a nuclear engineer from Idaho Falls, Idaho. It was arranged by Rice's son-in-law, Rudy Finne, a Seattle longshoreman and golfing partner of Hobert's. Rice had never met Hobert before they met to arrange the loan.

PAIR MET ON GOLF COURSE

Hobert, 21, met Finne when the football player was a sophomore at Puyallup High School. Finne often played golf at the Tyee Valley Golf Course, where Hobert worked as a groundskeeper.

Finne, 43, is a onetime restaurateur and commercial fisherman. He also invested in a Tacoma restaurant in the late 1970s that was to include a cardroom. The deal fell through before a gambling license was obtained. He acknowledges making bets on college football games with friends but said he is "not a heavy gambler at all." The NCAA has strict rules prohibiting an athlete from providing information to those involved in organized gambling.

"I am no more a gambler than any Saturday-morning quarterback," Finne said. "I am a fisherman-longshoreman."

Hobert, who said he has wagered up to $100 on personal golf matches with Finne, said Finne would never ask him to give advice or affect the outcome of a football game.

"If he did it, I'd kill him," he said. "Him and I are really good friends, and that's not something that you go into and ask a friend to do. Everything that Rudy and I have done has been pretty much on the straight and narrow, other than gambling on golf. I don't delve into any kind of gambling other than my personal golf game."

Dunn said, "The gambling connection is of tremendous concern here." He said all athletes sign a statement saying they will not associate with organized gambling or gamble on college sports. There is no specific provision about personal golf gambling, but, "It's the kind of behavior we ask the student athlete not get involved in."

FINNE A HOBERT FAN

Finne, an avid Husky fan who attends games, said he became very fond of Hobert over the years. "He's one in a million. He's got a heart of gold."

Finne said Hobert told him last spring he was deeply in debt. "When I saw him really low, it unnerved me," he said. The longshoreman asked his father-in-law to meet with Hobert and they drew up a contract during a series a meetings at a Seattle restaurant and a tavern.

Finne said he understands why the $50,000 loan raises so many questions. "That's an awful lot of money to lend to somebody who doesn't have any assets," he said. "But the point is, he has been an awfully good friend of mine."

Rice had met Hobert only two or three days before he gave him the first of three loan installments. When asked why he had made such a large loan to a college student with no security, Rice replied: "I thought he was a nice kid."

Rice said he did not make the loan based on Hobert's future earnings as a professional player. Although there is no repayment schedule and he can call in the loan on a moment's notice, Rice said: "I didn't expect him to pay it back until he was out of school. . . .

"I have made loans to lots of people," Rice said.

Robert Staker, a former business associate who has known Rice for 30 years, said he is not surprised that he lent money to Hobert. "He's a very generous individual. He's a very outgoing individual," Staker said.

Rice is a prominent nuclear scientist. He managed the nation's nuclear rocket program and was president of a firm that operated a major federal nuclear research facility in Idaho Falls. Later, as a consultant, he assessed the safety of various commercial nuclear reactors.

"He's kind of swashbuckling. He's a gung-ho type. Give him a job and he'll do it," said Ralph Lapp, another former partner. "I do know he had a big family. My recollection is that he was generous with them."

Rice said he is not an alumnus of the UW or a booster of the athletic department. He said he hoped the loan would inspire Hobert to take care of the problems that were troubling him. At the time, Hobert was separated from his wife, Heather.

"I guess I expected that he would try and turn his life around and get back into the business of being a good kid," Rice said.

Hobert said he told several Husky assistant coaches this past spring that he planned to get a loan, but did not provide them with the name of the lender or amount of the loan.

HOBERT FRIEND SHOCKED

Roy Moore, a Huskies booster and operator of the Tyee Valley Golf Course, was shocked when he learned of the loan size and terms.

"I think if he's got guys who would loan him fifty grand on those kinds of deals, I'd like to know about it. The way the banks are today, that's the kind of deal I'm looking for," he said. "That just blows my mind."

Moore, who is a friend of Hobert's, said the way he handled the transaction and spent the money was a shame. "He's dumb for borrowing it and the guy is probably dumber for loaning it to him."

Hobert said he originally borrowed $25,000 in April and spent it all within a month. He said he bought a 1991 Chevrolet Camaro for about $9,000, and used $5,000 to pay off his wife's Chevy Blazer and $2,900 to do the same on a Hyundai he already owned. He put $1,200 toward his car insurance, spent about $1,000 on a semi-automatic pistol and hunting rifle, and returned $2,500 to a woman he had lived with briefly during the separation with his wife.

Hobert said he went back to Rice for another $10,000 in May and $15,000 in June. He said he traded in the '91 Camaro on a '92 model, added a $4,000 stereo system, and spent much of the remaining money entertaining friends.

"I just pulled it out and paid cash wherever I went," Hobert said. "People must have thought I was the richest guy in town until I stopped showing up at places (where) I had spent the money."

Hobert said he has been trying to sell the car for the past several weeks, partly because his wife is expecting their first baby in February. He said he will have to file for bankruptcy if Rice calls for full payment of the loan, which according to Hobert carries an annual interest rate of 10 percent. Hobert said that in his meeting with James, the Husky coach suggested that he begin making even small payments on the balance.

HOBERT PLANS TO REPAY

"Chuck's been very lenient because he knows I have no money and blew all the money I had," Hobert said. "If he wanted to, he could take my butt to the cleaners. I'm glad he's a friend. Hopefully, he'll wait until I get done with school and get a job before I can start making the full payments."

James, facing a tough game against Arizona this weekend, was irritated at being questioned about the case.

"If he's violated rules, then there would be discipline," James said. "But I don't have any rules that say what the hell players do with their lives. That's not my job. We have academic rules, we have NCAA rules for eligibility, but I'm not a judge. There's a lot of things that players do. I let them walk around with cellular phones, wear earrings, which I don't particularly enjoy. But I don't run their lives."