National Collegiate Athletic Association

The NCAA News - Briefly in the News

March 2, 1997

The puck stops here

Ice hockey is their game. Combined, they have won more than 1,500 college hockey games and competed in postseason playoffs 47 times in 33 years, winning 15 national championships.

This year, their teams are both ranked second in their respective divisions in national polls.

R. H. "Bob" Peters, men's ice hockey coach at Bemidji State University, a Division II team, and Ron Mason, men's ice hockey coach at Michigan State University, a Division I team, have made smashing records their business.

This season, Peters coached his 1,000th game, and he also celebrated his 700th career victory. Peters has won 13 national championships and 15 conference titles on his way to a career record of 709-252-44 in 33 years as a head coach.

Peters guided the Beavers to national crowns in 1993, 1994, 1995 and 1997, and he is the only college coach to lead a team to the final four of competition in NCAA Divisions I, II and III and in the NAIA.

Mason, who recently marked his 800th career victory, has won 11 Central Collegiate Hockey Association titles along with two national championships on his way to an 800-347-63 record in 32 years as a head coach.

Mason has also taken his teams to the NCAA Division I ice hockey tournament a record 17 times.

While it's unlikely that Peters and Mason will face each other on the ice any time soon, the two met early and often in their respective careers, often making history in the process.

While Mason was coaching at Lake Superior State University, his team handed Peters and Bemidji State four straight regular-season losses in 1967-68 before the Beavers avenged the losses with a thrilling 5-4 overtime victory in the first NAIA ice hockey championship.

Teams led by Peters and Mason met 29 times in seven years, including two more battles to decide the NAIA championship. The overall series record between these two titans of the ice is not surprising -- 14 wins each, 14 losses each and one tie.

If the Bemidji State Beavers continue to hold their position near the top of Division II, Peters may coach his team in its fifth championship appearance in this decade.

If Michigan State holds its position near the top of Division I, Mason will coach a team in the national playoffs for the 15th time in the last 17 years.

Different careers, different divisions and different states, but the story always ends the same -- with record-breaking success on the ice.

Head of the class

All five starters on the women's basketball team at Montana State University-Billings have been selected for the Pacific West Conference's all-academic squad.

Those chosen were senior forward Megan Dickerson, an elementary education major; senior forward Tami Fleek, an elementary education major; senior guard Shiloh Schwab, a special education and elementary education major; junior center Alicia Cahill, an information systems major; and junior guard Amy Winslow, a health and physical education major.

A day for good sports

The eighth annual National Sportsmanship Day will be celebrated March 3.

Colleges and universities will join more than 10,000 elementary, middle and high schools in all 50 states and more than 100 countries in events marking the day.

The National Sportsmanship Day "Dare to Play Fair" program is administered by the Institute for International Sport at the University of Rhode Island.

Those interested in participating next year can call 800/843-9724 for more information.

Lacrosse lovers, take note

If you love lacrosse, you'll want to put this event on your calendar.

The grand opening of the newly renovated Lacrosse Museum and National Hall of Fame will be March 14 in Baltimore.

Visitors attending the grand opening will be treated to stick-making demonstrations, story-telling and autograph sessions.

The event will coincide with a men's lacrosse double-header at neighboring Homewood Field featuring Nazareth College vs. Washington College (Maryland) and Syracuse University vs. Johns Hopkins.

-- Compiled by Kay Hawes

Looking back

5 years ago: The NCAA and the Division I-A Athletics Directors Association join in developing a life-skills program designed to provide systematic personal development for student-athletes. "This is an all-encompassing way of developing life skills for student-athletes, one that can replace or enhance existing programs," said NCAA Executive Director Richard D. Schultz. The program will focus on the individual as the whole person -- academically, athletically and emotionally -- and will emphasize the changing needs and skills of the individual in the years during college and after graduation. Pilot programs are planned to begin in fall 1994. The programs will be evaluated and then made available to the membership. (The NCAA News, March 17, 1993)

10 years ago: The new NCAA Council Subcommittee on Bylaw 5-1-(j) Exceptions gives itself leeway to determine whether it will hear requests for waivers of the initial-eligibility legislation that previously would have been rejected automatically. With the action, the subcommittee opens the possibility that it will hear waiver requests that fall short of meeting previously established "threshold criteria." The subcommittee took the action after Division I conference commissioners expressed concerns about the rigidity of the requirements. Among the threshold criteria used by the subcommittee are minimum grade-point averages for student-athletes who meet standardized-test requirements but fall short on core-course requirements, or vice versa. (The NCAA News, March 23, 1988)

15 years ago: The U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee hears testimony from representatives of the collegiate sports community, including NCAA President John L. Toner, regarding a proposed bill to grant a limited antitrust exemption allowing professional leagues to adopt rules against the signing of underclassmen without being sued by the player. Toner told the committee that the problem is not sufficient to "warrant the adoption of a national policy to prevent an individual from having that choice." But football coaches Bo Schembechler of the University of Michigan and Joe Paterno of Pennsylvania State University spoke in favor of the bill. Schembechler, representing the American Football Coaches Association, said that by permitting signings of underclassmen, "we are opening the door to unscrupulous agents." (The NCAA News, March 23, 1983)