Task force working to identify, raise money for numerous
at-risk events The NCAA and U.S. Olympic committees are
studying ways to preserve traditional Olympic sports at colleges. A
task force of the two organizations identified 11 non-revenue
sports from the 39 NCAA championships it considered at high or
moderate risk. Women’s and men’s gymnastics (61 and 17
Division I teams, respectively) and five other men’s sports
““ fencing (21), rifle (27), volleyball (23), water polo (21)
and wrestling (85) ““ were on the high-risk list. The figures
were based on a 14-year period. “We truly believe in the
value of all these sports,” said St. Louis athletic director
Cheryl Levick, a task force member and former gymnastics and
synchronized swimming coach. “While there is value in
participating, you still have to pay for it. … Costs are up,
dollars are down. How to pay for it, that’s the
question.” Under an initiative created in the mid-1990s, an
$8 million fund was established and distributed over two years to
such programs. Task force chairman Jack Swarbrick said the goal
this time is a long-term solution. “We want to protect and
expand opportunities for American athletes and coaches to realize
the benefits associated with participation in college athletic
programs in sports traditionally included in the Olympics,”
said Swarbrick, a lawyer. “It’s not enough in the
Committee’s mind to stop the bleeding, but to heal the
wounds.” The 15-member task force, formed last May, met for
the third time at the NCAA convention this weekend. Members will
meet in April in Colorado and plan to issue a final report by Sept.
30. The task force is receiving input from 43 national governing
sports bodies. Swarbrick said they will concentrate on raising
money and ways to manage, regulate and market sports. Hawaii
athletic director and USOC vice president Herman Frazier, a 1976
Olympic gold and bronze medalist in track, said 85 of the 103
medals won by Americans at the Athens Games were by athletes from
NCAA schools, either currently or in the past. “At a time
when we have ever-changing rules, we still fill most (Olympic)
teams with athletes out of NCAA schools,” Frazier said.
“Little did I know then how it would change my focus when I
won the medals. I can’t begin to tell you how important the
Olympics are.”
BASEBALL: College baseball teams would have to
conform to specific dates for starting practice and games under an
NCAA proposal that also would push the College World Series into
July for some years. In a report Monday at the NCAA convention, the
Division I Baseball Issues Committee said a uniform calendar would
address some competitive equality questions. Some teams in Florida,
California and other warm-weather areas are already practicing and
begin their seasons the first week of February. Teams in areas like
the Northeast can’t even practice outside at that time
because of extreme cold. The committee is proposing Feb. 1 as the
first practice date, with games to start around March 1. To
accommodate that without changing the maximum 56 games allowed, the
NCAA tournament and College World Series would begin a week later.
Based on the proposal, the College World Series would end in July
three times from 2007-2011. The proposal can’t be considered
by the NCAA Management Council until next January. If approved, the
earliest it could be implemented is the 2007 season.
SOCCER: Danny O’Rourke of Indiana and
Portland’s Christine Sinclair received the Hermann Trophy on
Friday, given to college soccer players of the year. Presented by
the Missouri Athletic Club, the Hermann Trophy is the top honor in
Division 1 college soccer. The winners were selected through a vote
by current National Soccer Coaches Association of America (NSCAA)
Division 1 coaches.
MEN’S BASKETBALL: Arizona State’s
Ike Diogu, the Pac-10’s leading scorer and rebounder, was
named conference player of the week on Monday. Diogu, a power
forward, led the Sun Devils to their first road sweep of Stanford
and Cal since 1985 this past weekend. He averaged 26.5 points and
11.5 rebounds in the two games. This marks the third weekly honor
for Diogu in his career. Arizona State (13-2, 2-1 Pac-10) will host
UCLA on Thursday in Tempe, Ariz.
WOMEN’S BASKETBALL: Stanford guard
Candice Wiggins was named the Pac-10 Women’s Basketball
Player of the Week on Monday. The freshman helped the eighth-ranked
Cardinal to a road sweep of the Arizona schools, scoring 31 points
in Tempe and 28 points in Tucson. Wiggins leads Stanford in scoring
and steals this season.
HOCKEY: The UCLA club ice hockey team will face
crosstown rival USC on Thursday at the Arrowhead Pond of Anaheim.
The Bruins (10-3) have won two of their three matchups with the
Trojans this season, and will look to clinch the Crosstown Cup, a
trophy awarded annually to whichever team wins the best-of-five
series between the two schools each season. USC defeated UCLA 5-3
in their last meeting in December.
From Bruin staff and wire services.