The NCAA News - Briefly in the News

March 9, 1997

When University of Connecticut women's basketball coach Geno Auriemma called his friend Harry Perretta, Villanova University's women's basketball coach, Auriemma had no idea that his good intentions would set off such a spirited debate.

Auriemma and Perretta arranged for injured senior forward Nykesha Sales to have a chance February 24 to break Connecticut's all-time scoring record in the Connecticut-Villanova game. It was the last regular-season game of the year and Sales' last collegiate contest.

Sales was only one point shy of the mark set by Kerry Bascom-Poliquim, now an assistant coach at the University of New Hampshire.

Sales scored her 2,178th point on an uncontested layup right after the opening tip. Villanova players stood and watched as Sales, hobbled by a brace on the Achilles tendon she had torn in the previous game, made the layup.

Auriemma called a 20-second timeout and Sales left the floor to an ovation by the Villanova crowd. The Huskies remained in the huddle and allowed Villanova to score an uncontested basket. The Huskies went on to win the game, 75-71 in overtime.

In the controversy that followed Sales' record-breaking basket, sports columnists from small papers in New England to those on national online services reacted, many with dismay and anger.

Readers had the opposite reaction. In an unscientific survey on ESPN SportsZone, a sports website, 60 percent of the 34,000 readers who responded supported the move.

ESPN also reported that at the Norwich (Connecticut) Bulletin, columnist Ken Peters was the target of a tide of early-morning letters to the editor calling him an "all-around jerk" for writing that the shot cheapened the record.

Most of the coaches who were interviewed, including Bascom-Poliquim, supported Auriemma, citing Sales' efforts in her career at Connecticut and how close she was to the record.

Rick Pitino, now head coach of the Boston Celtics, also supported the move. When he was at the University of Kentucky, Pitino allowed the injured Derek Anderson to shoot two technical free throws in the NCAA championship game after Anderson had sat out the entire tournament with a knee injury.

"I thought it was a wonderful gesture of sportsmanship," Pitino told The Associated Press, referring to Sales' basket. "It didn't affect the outcome of the game."

The NCAA has fielded quite a few calls from members of the media asking if any rules were violated and whether the basket counts statistically.

"The bottom line is that it was an official game and the statistics count," said NCAA Director of Statistics Jim Wright.

"If the rules of the game were followed, and in this case they were, we count the statistics."

What if it had been an NCAA record rather than an institutional record? It still would have counted, Wright said.

"In this case all parties -- the coaches, the officials, the players, the conference -- all agreed that this was the way the game was going to take place," he said. "And, it did not affect the outcome of the game. As statisticians, we do not have the authority to make judgments on the way a game was played."

Wright points out that there was a statistical downside for Sales. "By playing in the game and scoring only two points, she lowered her per-game average for steals and scoring."

Utah coaches hit mark

It's not often that two coaches at the same school, in the same sport, will reach the 300-win mark at any time in their careers.

University of Utah's men's basketball coach Rick Majerus and Ute women's basketball coach Elaine Elliott both arrived at that impressive milestone recently, and they did it on the same day, against the same opponent.

Elliott's 300th career victory came Saturday, February 14, when her Utes defeated Colorado State University, 67-53, in Salt Lake City.

Majerus' 300th career victory came later that day when his Utes won, 60-48, at Colorado State.

Elliott, who has spent her entire career as the Utes' head coach, has a career record of 300-130 in her 15th year. Her winning percentage is .698.

Majerus has a career record of 300-109. He's been a head coach for 14 years, the last nine at Utah. His winning percentage is .733.

Both Utah teams are ranked in the top 25.

-- Compiled by Kay Hawes

Division I notes

Facilities: The Kansas Board of Regents has approved plans to proceed with a $12.8 million plan that would include adding 7,000 seats to the Kansas State University football stadium. If approved by the state legislature, the changes would bring the capacity for the stadium to about 46,000 .... The University of Nebraska, Lincoln, has named Memorial Stadium's playing field "Tom Osborne Field" .... A public review process is underway for a new sports complex at the University of Rhode Island. The facility would house the Ram basketball teams and might allow the university to compete in ice hockey .... Wichita State University has announced plans to upgrade Tyler Field at Eck Stadium. The $6 million project would enhance the seating quality for fans attending Wichita State baseball games .... The University of Washington has entered an eight-year marketing partnership with Action Sports Media, Inc., which includes a new video scoreboard in Husky Stadium and other new scoreboards at Washington's baseball, softball and soccer stadiums.

Milestones: Coaches -- Peter Brown, Pennsylvania State University, 100 wins in men's swimming and diving .... Dick Davey, Santa Clara University, 100 wins in men's basketball .... Elaine Elliott, University of Utah, 300 wins in women's basketball .... Don Haskins, University of Texas at El Paso, 700 wins in men's basketball .... Rich Hill, University of San Francisco, 300 wins in baseball .... Steve Kittrell, University of South Alabama, 600 wins in baseball .... Bob Lindsay, Kent State University, 150 wins in women's basketball .... Rick Majerus, University of Utah, 300 wins in men's basketball .... Speedy Morris, La Salle University, 200 wins in men's basketball. Teams -- University of Richmond, 1,000 wins in men's basketball .... Tennessee Technological University, 600 wins in women's basketball.

Miscellaneous -- Harvard University alumnus Robert Ziff has endowed the Crimson men's ice hockey coach position with a $2 million gift.

-- Compiled by David Pickle