Billings attorney Cliff Edwards has scheduled a press conference for 1:30 p.m. today regarding the termination of Montana State University head football coach Mike Kramer.

Kramer lost in job amid drug and academic problems at MSU.

Edwards said the crux of the case would revolve around the fact that seven of the eight players connected to drug allegations were no longer members of the football team and that Kramer was deeply involved in addressing future academic concerns surrounding his team.

Edwards, who is the father of former University of Montana star quarterback John Edwards, indicated that Kramer and his wife, Sandy, would be on hand from his Billings office for the press conference.

Edwards is recognized as one of the top lawyers in Montana. According to his Web site he was voted Best Trial Lawyer in Montana in 1995.

He's one of just 500 members of the International Academy of Trial Lawyers and his firm, Edwards, Frickle, Anner-Hughes and Culver, is recognized for being in the top 5 percent for 20 years running in terms of competence and ethics by the Martindale-Hubbell law directory.

John Edwards led Montana to the 2001 NCAA Division I-AA football championship, but the elder Edwards said school colors are not at issue, noting that his brother played football for MSU and he has been a longtime acquaintance of Kramer's.

Meanwhile, MSU is in the final stages of hiring a new football coach. Helena's Mike Van Diest of Carroll College, North Dakota State University head coach Dale Lennon, Drake University head coach Rob Ash, and Duke University assistant coach Larry Kerr are all scheduled to interview this week, beginning today with Ash.