Was Yale's Football Coach Really a Rhodes Scholar Candidate?

"Throughout the process, Witt has consulted with football head coach Tom Williams, who was a Rhodes candidate himself when he was a senior at Stanford in 1992, but turned down his chance for an interview in order to attend an NFL minicamp. Williams praised Witt’s ability to balance his academics and work load as the starting quarterback."

Problem: There’s no record of Williams having been a Rhodes Scholar candidate. The NY Times reports Williams never applied.

"But officials with the Rhodes Scholarship Trust said this week that they had no record of Williams ever applying for a scholarship, let alone having to weigh whether to attend a finalist’s interview. Williams, whose biography on the Yale Web site says he was a Rhodes scholar candidate, does not appear in the scholarship trust’s databases."

When asked about it, Williams said:

"“I wasn’t trying to confuse anyone or make it sound different than it was,” Williams said, adding of Witt, “No, I didn’t get as far as he did.” Of his situation, he said: “I was in the preliminary stages at Stanford and I had to decide, but the interview wasn’t official.”"

So did he apply? Why did his bio on the Yale website mention he was a candidate? Should he have corrected the outlets that said he “turned down his chance for an interview?” George O’Leary wants someone to get the bottom of this, dammit.

The Same Tough Call? Well, Not Quite [NYT]