By Michael Bradwell

Business editor

mbradwell@observer-reporter.com

PITTSBURGH - National Football League Commissioner Roger Goodell and Pittsburgh Steelers Chairman Dan Rooney have the highest respect for each other, acknowledging that they speak by phone almost every day about league matters.

They also admitted Wednesday, during Rooney's receipt of Washington & Jefferson College's Entrepreneur of the Year Award, that while they sometimes disagree about the business of football, neither man allows a difference of opinion to draw his moral compass off course.

On at least one occasion, Goodell's decision to stand pat on principle cost Rooney a $25,000 fine.

During a banquet at the Westin William Penn attended by more than 100 W&J alumni as well as students enrolled in the school's Entrepreneurial Studies program, W&J President Tori Haring-Smith noted that Rooney, now in his 45th year in the Steelers organization and a central figure in NFL operations for the past 26 years, exemplifies an entrepreneur.

Describing him as someone who has guided a model professional sports franchise with success and integrity, Haring-Smith said, "With his guidance, the Pittsburgh Steelers have provided economic stimulus to the city and infused it with pride."

Goodell, who graduated from W&J in 1981, started as an intern at the NFL and worked his way up to commissioner in September 2006. He said he arrived at college with a great appreciation for football, but as a Washington Redskins fan.

"I admired Dan from afar, but it took going to work for the NFL to see how much Dan Rooney means to the NFL," Goodell said. "He's been a voice of reason" in the league. In addition to his work in helping the league add new franchises in Seattle and Tampa Bay, Rooney has chaired the league's negotiating committee for a collective bargaining agreement for the NFL and the players' association. Both Goodell and Haring-Smith noted that their guest of honor is known in the league for his "Rooney Rule," which requires teams to give minority candidates the opportunity to apply for head coaching positions.

It was Rooney, Goodell said, who as co-chairman of the search committee to find a successor to previous commissioner Paul Tagliabue, informed Goodell that he was the league's choice.

But at his first meeting as chairman of the league in New Orleans, Goodell said, Rooney greeted him with a copy of the morning's newspaper that included an article quoting Rooney as criticizing officiating in some of the league's games.

"Dan Rooney was rapping our officials," Goodell said, adding that the league forbids public criticism of officials by teams.

He told Rooney he would have to fine him $25,000, and received a check from the Steelers chairman.

"He still criticizes officials, but he calls them in private," Goodell said, drawing laughter from the audience.

Noting that Rooney's father, Art Rooney, founded the Steelers 75 years ago in 1933, Goodell said, "It's hard to imagine it was questioned if they'd be successful." He credited Rooney and his son, Dan Rooney II, with continuing the build the Steelers into one of pro football's most successful franchises.

"They do it with class and make sure they represent Pittsburgh in the right way," he said.

In accepting the award, Rooney said he admires Goodell for his ability to run the NFL whether the news is good or bad.

"I've seen him under pressure," Rooney said. "The thing that really holds up with him is integrity. When he tells you something, you know he's sincere."

Joe Hardy, founder of 84 Lumber Co. and provider of creative and financial support for W&J's Entrepreneurial Studies program, noted that with the Steelers, Rooney has built a brand that is recognized well beyond Western Pennsylvania.

"I travel the world, and I'm always asked about the Steelers," Hardy said. "It's become a phenomenon, really, what he's done. It's awesome; it really is."

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