National Collegiate Athletic Association

The NCAA News - Briefly in the News

September 16, 1996

Torrential rain damages track

Just two months after thousands of screaming fans witnessed the 1996 NCAA Division III Men's and Women's Outdoor Track and Field Championships at North Central College, flood waters as deep as six feet dragged pole vault and high jumps pits and hurdles to the other side of the track at the championships site.

North Central, home of the track championships eight times in the past 17 years, saw Kroehler Field become "Kroehler Lake" when Mother Nature released more than 10 inches of rain on Naperville, Illinois, in a 24-hour period ending late the morning of July 18.

The field, which lies along the banks of the DuPage River near downtown Naperville, has been flooded before, but never this deep.

Naperville was one of many Chicago suburbs that suffered flood damage. Just to the west, Aurora received 16.9 inches of rainfall during the same period -- said to be the second-largest amount recorded in the U.S. in so short a time.

"The area of Kroehler Field is actually engineered to collect runoff from the higher elevations of Naperville," said Walter J. Johnson, director of athletics, "and the storm drain system handles 'normal' heavy rainfalls very effectively. But nothing could handle this volume."

The rocks that were a major part of the foundation for the stadium bleachers were forced from underneath many of the scaffoldings and onto the track. The boiler room and pool filter room in Merner Fieldhouse filled with five feet of water, and at least parts of the boilers and water heaters need to be replaced.

Engineers are evaluating whether the track can be repaired or will need to be replaced and whether that can happen before the spring track schedule. Johnson said the Cardinals will be able to play football on the field but the safety of the bleachers is being investigated. Temporary seats may be brought in to accommodate the four home dates.

Some costs may be covered by insurance, said Paul Loscheider, North Central's vice-president for business affairs, but the college will bear some expense.

"Compared with the losses sustained by many Naperville homeowners and businesses (estimated at $33 million), the college was very fortunate. But we still have a big, expensive job ahead of us," Loscheider said.

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Goodwill tour to Japan

The Pacific-10 Conference, in a goodwill gesture to Japan, formed two all-star basketball teams that traveled during the summer to play Japanese national teams.

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Men's and women's basketball teams, each including a student-athlete from each conference school, spent 10 days in Japan touring, competing and conducting clinics.

The men's team, coached by Kevin Eastman of Washington State University, finished the tour with a 4-0 record while the women's team, coached by Joan M. Bonvicini of the University of Arizona, was 3-1.

The teams competed in double-headers in Fukuoka, Hiroshima, Kobe and Fukui. In each city except Hiroshima, the teams conducted clinics at junior high schools.

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Teaching citizenship

A citizenship curriculum that will be taught through athletics and activity programs in the nation's high schools is being developed by the National Federation of State High School Associations.

"Citizenship Through Sports and Fine Arts" is an initiative approved by the federation to provide high schools with materials to teach skills of citizenship as a part of their daily sport or activity practice schedules.

Members of the federation, which is the national service and administrative organization for high-school athletics and fine arts programs, further demonstrated their support of the citizenship initiative through the establishment of the National Federation Foundation, which is intended to serve and protect the integrity of high-school sports and activities for years to come.

High schools across the country will receive a set of materials prepared by the federation as part of the citizenship curriculum. Materials will contain specific examples of teachable moments for coaches and advisers, with a general theme of respect for self and for others.

The curriculum will help students learn how to be loyal teammates, how to do their best and give maximum effort, how to respect their opponents' efforts as well as their own, and how to be honest and forthright with themselves and others.

"It should be the objective of every high school in this country to teach participants not only to throw a curve ball or shoot a basketball but essential skills of citizenship that will provide for a lifetime of contributions to their community, state, nation and the world as a whole," said Robert F. Kanaby, executive director of the federation.

"Sports and activities provide not only the opportunity to teach and learn respect for self and respect for others, they also place participants in a unique context -- competition -- that can further instill and hone values necessary for the development of respect for self and respect for others."

In addition to materials for coaches and advisors, it is anticipated that citizenship curriculum booklets will be prepared for athletes/fine arts participants, parents and guardians, athletics administrators and principals, and superintendents and boards of education.

The foundation, which was established during the federation's recent annual meeting, will sponsor meetings, publications and leadership activities that benefit secondary school participants, federation members and related professional groups in the promotion of the educational values of high-school sports and activities.

-- Compiled by Sally Huggins

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News quiz

1. Bruce R. Baumgartner, flag-bearer for the United States team at the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta, is head wrestling coach at which NCAA institution: (a) Iowa State University; (b) Edinboro University of Pennsylvania; (c) Slippery Rock University of Pennsylvania; (d) University of Iowa.

2. True or false: The Rose Bowl would be part of a tentative "super alliance" bowl arrangement designed to assure a championship game between the top Division I-A football teams beginning at the end of the 1998 season.

3. Which Final Four has attracted the most applications for tickets from the general public? (a) Lexington, Kentucky, 1985; (b) Indianapolis, 1991; (c) Indianapolis, 1997; (d) Charlotte, North Carolina, 1994.

4. In which year does the Association's lease on the national office building in Overland Park, Kansas, expire? (a) 1998; (b) 2000; (c) 2002; (d) 2004.

5. True or false: Two graduates of each of two NCAA institutions -- St. Augustine's College and Shaw University -- are recipients of this year's ethnic-minority enhancement program postgraduate scholarships.

6. The NCAA Executive Committee approved which city as the site of the 2001 NCAA Convention? (a) Orlando, Florida; (b) Nashville, Tennessee; (c) San Diego, California; (d) San Antonio, Texas.

News Quiz Answers -- 1-b, 2-True, 3-d, 4-b, 5-True, 6-a.

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Sports sponsorship

After a decade in hiatus, women's volleyball has returned as a varsity sport at Wake Forest University.

Women's equestrian has become the 20th intercollegiate sport at California State University, Fresno. The elevation of the equestrian team, which has operated at the club level for more than 20 years, is possible through a joint effort of the athletics department and the department of animal sciences and agricultural education at Fresno State.

The University of Evansville has upgraded women's golf to varsity status, effective with the 1997-98 season.

Canisius College will add women's lacrosse, effective in 1998. The team will compete on the club level in spring 1997.

Duquesne University will sponsor women's lacrosse, beginning with the spring 1997 season.