It takes time to build. (Insider: College Football).

During a period when most coaches were trying to squeeze in vacation or were introducing their players to preseason workouts, Iowa's Steve Alford and Washington's Lorenzo Romar inadvertently stumbled into the sports pages. A basketball program generating headlines at the dawn of football season better have landed a commitment from some top 100 hotshot. Otherwise, there is no good news.

Alford received a powerfully negative public reaction following the transfer of redshirt freshman Marcellus Sommerville days before classes were to begin. That capped a summer in which two players were arrested (Brody Boyd and Sean Sonderleiter) and another became ineligible (Erek Hansen).

Washington, which hired Romar in April, reportedly is under investigation by the NCAA and Pacific-10 Conference for possible rules violations regarding contact and observation of prospective recruits.

These circumstances are the freshest examples of how an epidemic of impatience is delaying many programs' pursuit of success needlessly.

Washington is seeking to reassert dominance over a recruiting territory the previous regime ceded to outsiders and rising power Gonzaga. At least one Huskies staff member is alleged to have watched prospects beyond the permitted time frame. In addition, according to the Seattle Times, assistant coach Cameron Dollar allegedly had a 45-minute conversation with the mother of Marvin Williams, one of the nation's top junior prospects, during an off-limits period.

Romar has a sterling reputation. Protocol dictates that Romar not address the specific charges, but he says he looks forward to Washington telling its side of the story. Only those involved know whether Washington was being overly aggressive in recruiting. The case is not as significant as some accusers are construing it to be, but the charges suggest sloppiness, the kind that can result from moving too quickly to meet expectations generated by fans and administrators.

Since arriving at Iowa, Alford has committed errors. In part because predecessor Tom Davis' lame-duck status cost the Hawkeyes a year of recruiting when Kansas seniors Nick Collison and Kirk Hinrich were in-state stars, Alford gambled on marginal prospects, notably Boyd, an undersized guard, and forward Cortney Scott, who has transferred to Oakland. Alford misjudged the talents of power forward Reggie Evans, whom he tried to feature on offense even though Evans had no scoring moves. When Evans and guard Luke Recker struggled on a sinking team, Alford ripped the two veterans through the media.