Switzer Says Irish Pulled ‘Improper’ Job

Barry Switzer, former Oklahoma football coach, claims Notre Dame once won a recruiting battle with the Sooners for halfback Tony Brooks of Tulsa, Okla., by offering an “improper inducement”--a job paying $13.50 an hour.

Switzer said he believes Coach Lou Holtz knew nothing about it, but that unidentified representatives of the school arranged it after Brooks signed a letter of intent with the Irish in 1987.

“The kid had his hand out,” Switzer told the Chicago Tribune. “He was asking for certain things. He said he needed to work right away.”

Brooks, who was also recruited by Oklahoma, said he chose Notre Dame for academic reasons.

“Nobody connected with Notre Dame made any illegal offers to me,” he said. “It’s absurd.”

Holtz said: “If the allegations were true, it would come as a shock.”