by Brad Parrott
Dave Bliss dove to the depths of deceit and despair. The former Baylor men’s basketball coach recently pleaded with members of the UTSA Fellowship of Christian Athletes (FCA), “Let me be your advance scout. Don’t go where I have gone.”
After 28 seasons as a head coach at Oklahoma, SMU, New Mexico and Baylor, Bliss resigned from Baylor in 2003 following an NCAA investigation into circumstances surrounding the murder of Baylor player Patrick Dennehy by teammate Carlton Dotson.
The once respected coach who worked FCA summer camps and shared his faith with thousands brought disgrace and dishonor upon himself by illegally providing scholarship assistance to Dennehy and another Baylor player. When the murder occurred, Bliss panicked and urged members of his team and coaching staff to lie to NCAA investigators in an effort to save his job.
Although Bliss was never accused of any criminal misbehavior, his NCAA transgressions resulted in his being banned from collegiate coaching for 10 years. His reputation dismantled by nationwide media coverage, Bliss moved his family to Denver. “I was so ashamed that I rarely came out of the house for more than four years,” he said to the UTSA students.
During this time of isolation, Bliss said he conducted “an autopsy” upon himself and the personal decisions that led to his demise. “The mistakes that I made caused me to reassess everything in my life,” he said. “Finally I asked God, ‘Can I have a do-over?’ And He said, ‘Absolutely.’”
Bliss began his redemption with three tell-all speaking trips back to Texas. The prestigious Salesmanship Club in Dallas was first in 2008. Then Athletes in Action invited him to share his story with coaches at the 2008 NCAA Men’s Final Four in San Antonio. D.W. Rutledge, head of the Texas High School Coaches Association, then asked Bliss to speak at his group’s statewide conference preceding the 2009 All State Games.
“I was never invited to speak to the Salesmanship Club when I was coaching,” Bliss said. “I had to be a failure to be invited.” Bolstered by this second chance, Bliss accepted an opportunity to coach the USA team in the 2008 Jones Cup international competition where it finished second. He then moved back to Texas about 60 miles north of San Antonio in Kyle.
“God has a plan for me, and it has nothing to do with wins and losses,” Bliss said. “He wants me to be an advance scout. God planned my comeback. I’d like to be a coach of coaches and encourage them not to go where I have been. I don’t think any of them would do what I did, but I didn’t think I would either.”
Bliss now can be found each day driving throughout central Texas visiting with high school and college basketball coaches. He’ll review a practice schedule or draw up a play, but he would rather visit about saving youngsters’ lives through the incredible influence of being a coach.
Bliss closed his talk with the UTSA FCA by telling the story of Joseph Strauss, chief engineer of the Golden Gate Bridge. Strauss found it difficult to find workers to build the bridge because of the deadly frigid waters of San Francisco Bay.
To dispel their fears, he designed a series of nets to catch workers who might fall from the bridge during construction. “Standing on the cliffs overlooking the Bay,” Bliss said, “Strauss dove into the net to prove to them that it was safe. He was their advance scout.”
During the construction of the Golden Gate, Strauss’ nets saved the lives of 19 workers. Advance scout Bliss is driving the roads of central Texas looking to catch coaches and young athletes in the life-saving net called Jesus Christ.