The NCAA News - Briefly in the News

June 30, 1997

A football player at the University of Arizona may be the first partial qualifier to gain a fourth year of eligibility under legislation that was approved at the 1997 NCAA Convention.

Joe Salave'a, an all Pacific-10 Conference lineman, graduated in May, completing his degree requirements within four years of initial enrollment.

Until the 1997 Convention, partial qualifiers in Division I were eligible for only three years of competition, regardless of their academic performance in college. However, the most recent Convention approved a change that permits a fourth year of eligibility for partial qualifiers who graduate within four years of initial enrollment.

"In my family, it's a must," Salave'a told the Arizona Daily Wildcat, the university's student newspaper. "Without a degree, it's pointless to go on."

Salave'a put plans for a National Football League career on hold because of a 16-unit course load in the spring. The academic demands were such that he didn't have enough time to devote the necessary attention to the spring NFL combines.

Salave'a made his decision to graduate in May without the knowledge that it would result in an extra year of eligibility. Now, he's happy -- but perhaps not as happy as coach Dick Tomey.

"This is the best single piece of news we've had in 1997," Tomey told the Daily Wildcat. "It's a tribute to Joe for his hard work and academic focus."

Penn Pals

Joe Compagni, track and field coach at Monmouth University (New Jersey) reports on a community-service project that was especially meaningful for his 1997 team.

Set up by Anthony Bland of the National School and Community Corps, the program involved letter-writing, videotape exchange and finally face-to-face communication between members of the Monmouth track team and pupils at Alexander Wilson Elementary School in Philadelphia.

The program, called PENN-PALS (Pennsylvania Promotes Athletic Learning Support), first involved having the elementary-school students write to the track athletes, who then responded.

Next, Bland put together a video of the youngsters working on their track drills. At the end of the video, they had a series of questions they asked of the Monmouth athletes. The Monmouth athletes replied in kind with their own videotape, in which they demonstrated the drills they use (many of which were the same as those used by the elementary students) and answered the questions that had been put to them.

Finally, there was face-to-face interaction.

"A small group of our team members who were competing at the Penn Relays visited Alexander Wilson Elementary School on Wednesday, April 23," Compagni wrote. "I wish that all 50 of our team members could have made the trip, as it was a tremendous experience. Our student-athletes talked to the children about the importance of staying in school, how to be a positive role model and how being diligent in athletics and academics could be beneficial to them. The students then had an amazing volume of questions for us, ranging from what college was like to the importance of brushing your teeth, among other topics."

A group of children was chosen to represent Alexander Wilson in a 300-yard relay at the Penn Relays, and those students sat with the team throughout the meet, cheering for Monmouth, which set a school record in the women's 1,600-meter relay and won its first Penn Relays plaques.

Ultimately, the children and the athletes both benefited from the experience, Compagni said.

"The athletes felt like their Penn Pals really looked up to them," he wrote, "and seeing their enthusiasm about competing in the Penn Relays made our student-athletes appreciate the experience even more."

Overachiever

A pair of sports information directors recently inquired whether other SIDs knew of student-athletes who had made all-conference in three different sports.

Donna Ledwin, athletics director at the College of Notre Dame (Maryland), says that not only was Tinah Houck a three-sport, first-team all-conference athlete in the Atlantic
Women's Colleges Conference, she also was named most outstanding player in the conference in all three sports (field hockey, basketball and lacrosse) at some point in her career.

Houck was a senior this year.

-- Compiled by David Pickle

Sports sponsorship

Kent State University will add women's golf as an intercollegiate sport in fall 1998. Kent also is adding women's soccer, which will begin play this fall.

The University of Denver announced the discontinuation of its baseball program, effective with the end of the 1996-97 academic year. The university attributed the move to the lack of economic viability of collegiate baseball in Colorado and a projected increase in the amount of class time missed by student-athletes. The decision ends a 128-year Pioneer baseball tradition at Denver.

New Hampshire College will offer intercollegiate men's cross country beginning this fall. With the women's cross country program on solid ground, the addition of a men's team seemed a natural progression, college officials said. The Penmen will compete at the Division II level as a member of the New England Collegiate Athletic Conference.

George Mason University will add women's rowing and men's and women's swimming over the next four years. The sports were selected to increase participation and to take full advantage of the university's new aquatics center, scheduled for completion in fall 1998.

Men's and women's cross country will be added at Coker College with competition to begin in 1998-99 academic year.

State University College at Brockport will add intercollegiate women's golf beginning this fall. The addition gives Brockport State 23 varsity sports, 13 for women and 10 for men.

The State University of New York at Plattsburgh will add four intercollegiate sports beginning in spring 1998. Plans call for women's softball and men's lacrosse to begin as club sports and then be elevated to varsity status for spring 1999. Men's and women's golf will begin varsity play in fall 1998.

Bryant College will add five intercollegiate sports beginning in fall 1999, when football and field hockey will begin intercollegiate play. They will be followed by men's lacrosse in spring 2000, women's golf in spring 2001 and women's lacrosse in spring 2002.

Illinois College will add women's golf to its sports lineup this fall but will drop indoor track as an intercollegiate sport. The college plans to focus its efforts on its outdoor track program over the next five years.