Gainesville, Fla. A formal revocation of two years of college basketball statistics of Vernon “Mad Max” Maxwell by the University of Florida today reinstated Maxwell as the all-time leading scorer with the Gators. This ruling, which was decided this week and led by the Athletic Director Scott Stricklin, is the completion of a decades-long process of mending Maxwell’s legacy.
A Legacy Reconsidered
The 60-year-old Maxwell joined Florida in 1985 and earned 2,450 points in his four-year college career with the Gators. He also averaged 18.8 points per game and assisted the Gators in their first appearance in the NCAA Tournament, which reached the Sweet 16 in 1987. He was also a two-time first-team All-Southeastern Conference choice.
Nevertheless, Maxwell was deprived of his statistics over two seasons, 1987 and 1988, by the then athletic director of the Gators, Bill Arnsparger, who eliminated an average of 1,404 points in 67 games, due to an NCAA inquiry into violations in the period he spent at Florida. Consequently, Maxwell had dropped to the 55th position of all-time Florida scorers many years ago.
Restoration of Records and Recognition
Maxwell surpasses Ronnie Williams (198084) again to take the lead of Gators scorers with the restoration. At the larger Southeastern Conference level, he is now the third all-time after LSU’s iconic figure, Pistol Pete Maravich, and Tennessee star Allan Houston.
Maxwell was very grateful for the reinstatement. He posted on social media that he felt honored that his legacy in Gainesville is once again remembered, and that the fact that now his past and the university have resolved their relationship makes his 82-year-old mother feel very satisfied.
Impact Beyond College
Following his college stint, Maxwell then proceeded to a 12-year professional career in the NBA with 2 championships under his belt with the Houston Rockets.
My Take
The vote to recalculate the numbers of Vernon Maxwell is not only a correction of the numbers, but it is a question of respect, history, and legacy. His omission in the book of records over the years has been a portrait of Florida basketball history that is never finished, of the basketball history of Florida, and of himself as well.
Reinstating those stats not only does justice to Maxwell, but it also revises an institutionally made decision that had far-reaching effects. By doing this, Florida is repairing a portion of its past and, in the process, is sending a message to the world of the necessity to give athletes their due, even 50 years later.
Would you like to watch something that examines similar cases, where athletes were having their records vacated or erased before being reinstated, in the case of college sports?
