National Collegiate Athletic Association

The NCAA News - Briefly in the News

January 20, 1997

'You can never give too much'

In a touching tribute to his mother, the former Spartan basketball student-athlete announced January 6 that he will donate $2.5 million to Michigan State to help student-athletes receive the support and encouragement they need to accomplish their academic goals.

The gift by Smith, who currently plays for the Atlanta Hawks, is the largest known gift to a university by a current professional athlete. It will be used to build an academic center for student-athletes, which will be called the Clara Bell Smith Student-Athlete Academic Center. A plaque on the building will say: "Named by Steve Smith in loving memory of his mother."

The gift also will fund the Steve Smith Scholarship for Detroit Pershing High School, an endowment that will help fund deserving students from the school who want to attend Michigan State.

Smith is Michigan State's second-leading all-time scorer with 2,263 points. His mother died of cancer in 1992 during his NBA rookie season.

"She is the inspiration behind the gift," Smith said at the announcement ceremony. "Without her, there would be no news conference today. You can never give too much; that's something she taught me when I was very young.

"I consider this her gift to education, given through me."

Streak ends

After four years, the men's basketball team for Rutgers, the State University of New Jersey (Camden), recently got to experience how the other half lives.

The Division III Pioneers defeated Bloomfield College, 77-72, January 7, putting an end to an NCAA-record 117-game losing streak.

"It's just the beginning," coach Roy Pace said. "We've been through some tough times. I knew it was just a matter of time, and I don't want any credit for this. It was all the players."

Rutgers-Camden could have won a game by forfeit in the 1994-95 season after the New Jersey Athletic Conference determined that an opponent had used an ineligible player. Instead of taking the win, then-coach Wilbur "Pony" Wilson decided to keep Rutgers-Camden's record winless. "I'd rather beat a team on the court," he said.

At one point during the streak, the university provost announced that the school was eliminating the program, but student leaders and alumni changed his mind a few days later.

As for Bloomfield, coach Mike Mancino put the loss in perspective. "If this is the worst thing that happens to you," he told his players after the game, "you've got a pretty good life. It's only basketball."

Nominations sought

The United States Olympic Committee is seeking nominations for the 1996-97 USOC Jack Kelly Fair Play Award.

The award, which is administered and directed by the USOC's Education Committee, is for athletes, coaches, officials and organizations that meet the following criteria: "an exceptional gesture of fair play carried out during the year by an athlete, a team member or the spectating public; a sports career that has consistently shown a spirit of fair play and has been extended into commendable activities at the service of sport or society, and for the fruitful and lasting endeavors of an athlete, leader, instructor or organization to promote fair play; or the promotion of fair play and the campaign against violence associated with sport by an organization."

The nomination deadline is March 1. Any USOC member organization, such as the NCAA, may make nominations. For more information, contact Sheila Walker of the USOC staff at 719/578-4746.

Lobo mania

The University of New Mexico women's basketball team drew a Western Athletic Conference and school-record crowd of 17,213 to its January 4 game against the University of Utah. It was the largest crowd in the nation so far this season for a women's basketball game.

The previous WAC record was 12,187, set in 1993, when Utah hosted Brigham Young University. The old New Mexico record was 10,698 against the University of Wyoming, set last year.

-- Compiled by David Pickle

Facilities

The new Bennett Athletic and Recreation Center at Gordon College was dedicated last fall. Named for the parents of trustee board chair Peter C. Bennett, whose family gave generously to the college, the center contains three basketball courts, three racquetball courts, a collegiate-competition swimming pool, a rock-climbing wall and various fitness facilities.

Abilene Christian University announced that construction of a $3.5 million special events center will begin early this year. The Teague Special Events Center is being funded through anonymous donors and is named in honor of Chancellor William J. Teague and his wife, Margaret. The 43,500-square-foot building will include a multipurpose room that will seat up to 1,500 people; offices for the director of athletics and coaching staff; conference and meeting rooms; and locker rooms and training facilities for football, men's and women's track, women's softball, and men's and women's tennis.

The University of Maryland, Baltimore County, has completed its stadium track/artificial turf project at UMBC Stadium. The project, part of Maryland-Baltimore County's $8.5 million facility renovation plan, cost approximately $2.3 million. The new 400-meter track is an ISS 2000 surface with eight 42-inch lanes and areas for all field events. The school is hosting the 1997 Big South Conference Track and Field Championships at the new track. Maryland-Baltimore County also replaced its grass stadium field with 90,000 square feet of polypropylene Deso-Turf from Holland installed on a rubber E-layer in a loose-layed system. The turf is lined for men's and women's soccer and men's and women's lacrosse and can be lined for field hockey and football.

Construction is expected to begin in February on a track and field complex at McNeese State University. The 4,500-square-foot complex will include three offices, a meeting room, a storage area, and dressing rooms for men's and women's track teams.

Also at McNeese State, the Lake Area Pinch Hitters Club deeded to the university the 9,847-square-foot Cowboy baseball complex. The Pinch Hitters recently retired the debt on the complex and awarded the $300,000 building to the university.