National Collegiate Athletic Association

The NCAA News - Briefly in the News

January 12, 1998

By-the-minute gambling online

From the Caribbean comes word of an ugly marriage between gambling and the speculative side of the stock market.

According to the Atlanta Journal, two former traders from the Pacific Stock Exchange have set up an interactive futures market in which bettors can "buy" or "sell" teams while a game is in progress.

One of the originators said he came upon the concept of "two-sided markets" while administering an office pool last year. "We found people on our (stock) exchange were trading (teams) more than they were trading stocks," Steve Schillinger told the Journal.

Investors may not be heartened by that news.

Likewise, individuals following the effects of sports gambling on intercollegiate athletics may be distressed by the fact that there is something new under the sun.

Under the concept -- administered from Antigua, a legal haven for this sort of activity -- the managers of the game quote a "price" at the beginning of the game. After the game begins, the price fluctuates wildly, "just like the value of a stock goes up or down."

According to the Journal, 77 customers punched in almost $50,000 in bets during the recent Southeastern Conference football championship game.

Police Academy II

Men's basketball players at St. Joseph's College (New York) are on the wanted list of the New York City Police Department.

For the second time in three seasons, St. Joseph's lost a player to the New York City Police Academy. Team co-captain and starting point guard Brendan Costello got the invitation in mid-December and decided that he had to accept it. Two seasons ago, team most valuable player George Politis decided to forgo his senior season after earning an invitation to the police academy.

"This is a tough way to build a program," said coach Joe Maniaci. "We miss George Politis and will miss Brendan just as much. I'm just hoping Mayor Giulani doesn't need any more of my players for the next few years."

Family affair

When nationally syndicated CBS Radio sports anchor/producer Bill Schweizer signed on to do play-by-play for Quinnipiac College this fall, the professor in the mass communications department planned to use the games as an opportunity for his students to gain experience in commercial broadcasting.

When no students were available to partner with him for the Braves' broadcast November 22, Schweizer looked closer to home for a color analyst. While listeners probably were unaware, Schweizer and his wife Diane Ricketts, a former basketball player, coach and administrator, spent an afternoon of quality time at courtside as play-by-play announcer and color analyst. A third member of the family, two-year-old Matthew, slept silently on Diane's lap.

The unique family approach ran so smoothly that the Schweizer clan, minus a tired toddler, hit the road for a broadcast three days later. The husband-wife team will continue their on-air conversations throughout the year.

Running to glory

For the second straight season, the Big 12 Conference featured the top two Division I-A rushers. Ricky Williams of the University of Texas at Austin totaled 1,893 yards while Ahman Green of the University of Nebraska, Lincoln, amassed 1,877 yards. Last year, Troy Davis of Iowa State University and Byron Hanspard of Texas Tech University finished one-two.

-- Compiled by David Pickle

Division I notes

Facilities: The University of Connecticut will construct a new on-campus ice arena as part of UConn 2000, a commitment by the state of Connecticut to rebuild, renew and enhance the campuses of the university. It will serve as the home for the Huskies' varsity ice hockey program. The enclosed, year-round facility is scheduled to be completed by October 1998. Seating capacity will be about 2,000 and the ice surface will be 200 feet by 83 feet ... Construction is to begin soon on renovation of the University of Montana's Harry Adams Field House. Initial construction will begin with an auxiliary gym, a 20,000-square-foot structure that will provide practice space for Grizzly athletes. Construction is scheduled to begin in July 1998 and to be complete by October 1999. The updated facility will be named the Harry Adams Event Center, and the basketball court will continue to be known as Dahlberg Arena ... The St. John's University (New York) football field was renamed DaSilva Memorial Field in honor of John DaSilva, a former varsity ice hockey star who was killed in a car accident in 1981.

Conferences: Arkansas State University has been formally invited to join the Big West Conference in football. The Arkansas State Board of Trustees had previously voted to accept admission to the conference if an invitation were offered. Current Big West football members are Boise State University, the University of Idaho, New Mexico State University, the University of Nevada, the University of North Texas and Utah State University.

Milestones: Coaches -- Jim Calhoun, University of Connecticut, 500 victories in men's basketball. Calhoun also has won 250 games at two institutions -- Connecticut and Northeastern University -- making him the only active coach to achieve that feat ... Gale Catlett, West Virginia University, 500 victories in men's basketball ... Jody Conradt, University of Texas at Austin, 700 victories in women's basketball ... Norm Stewart, University of Missouri, Columbia, 700 victories in men's basketball ... Billy Tubbs, Texas Christian University, 500 victories in men's basketball. Institution -- Davidson College, 1,000 victories in men's basketball.