The NCAA News - Briefly in the News

June 15, 1997

March 24, 1998, started like any other day for Michael Hunter, a 12-year-old from Little Hocking, Ohio, but it didn't stay that way for long.

Hunter has a form of cancer called rhabdomyosarcoma, and he had just received his final scheduled chemotherapy treatment only two weeks before.

Hunter was behaving himself at Little Hocking Middle School, where he is a sixth grader, when in walked Ohio University head men's basketball coach Larry Hunter (a second cousin to Michael), Ohio Lt. Gov. Nancy Hollister and several Make-a-Wish volunteers.

Once young Hunter recovered from that shock, he learned that he was the recipient of a surprise trip to the NCAA Final Four in San Antonio.

Hunter is an avid basketball player and fan, and he had always said he wanted to go to the Final Four and meet some of his idols. His dream was about to come true.

The next day, more than 400 people, including the Warren High School Jazz Band, saw Hunter off. He took a limousine ride to the airport and then a flight to San Antonio.

Once he arrived at the San Antonio airport, he met with Norm Stewart, head men's basketball coach at the University of Missouri, Columbia, and chief spokesman for Coaches vs. Cancer.

On Thursday, Hunter enjoyed a walk along the San Antonio Riverwalk, where he met players from his favorite team, the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill.

Later that day, Hunter met with TV announcer Dick Vitale, the Make-a-Wish Man of the Year, and even toured the Alamo.

On Friday, Hunter watched the Final Four teams practice, and he also got to meet one of his idols, retired Tar Heels coach Dean Smith. The legendary coach urged Hunter to persevere against his illness and presented him with an autographed basketball.

On Saturday night at the semifinals, Hunter sat just six rows behind the Tar Heels bench. After the game, he got the chance to chat with former University of California, Los Angeles, coach John Wooden.

The next day Hunter visited Sea World of Texas. On Sunday he had lunch at the Hard Rock Cafe with former DePaul University coach Ray Meyer.

After spending several hours at the NCAA Hoop City (an interactive basketball experience), Hunter attended a basketball clinic held by University of Illinois, Champaign, coach Lon Kruger before attending the championship game.

Hunter concluded his trip the next day with some shopping and a complimentary lunch at Planet Hollywood, then flew back to Columbus and returned to his home in a limousine.

"It was great to see Michael so excited," said his mother, Donna Hunter. "He has been so courageous during his illness that it was nice to see him rewarded with something that means so much to him."

"It was really fun working with Michael," said Susan McConnell of the Make-a-Wish Foundation.

"Because of the community support and the volunteers, we were able to make this a truly incredible experience for Michael."

Seeing double?

Twin sisters Anna and Catherine Wright became the first student-athletes from the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga to compete in the NCAA Division I Women's Outdoor Track and Field Championships.

Even more interesting is the fact that the twins qualified in the same event -- the 10,000-meter run -- in which neither of them competed in during the regular season.

Catherine, the Southern Conference cross country freshman of the year, took fourth in the NCAA championships.

Anna, the Southern Conference freshman of the year for indoor track, took 10th.

The Wright twins are from St. Louis, and each completed the academic year with a 4.000 cumulative grade-point average.

--Compiled by Kay Hawes

Division II notes

Conferences: The Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference (NSIC) board of directors has accepted the membership applications of Wayne State College (Nebraska); Concordia University (Minnesota); and the University of Minnesota, Crookston, pending the approval of their boards. The new institutions will be eligible to compete for NSIC championships in 1999-2000. Other members are Bemidji State University; the University of Minnesota, Duluth; the University of Minnesota, Morris; Moorhead State University; Northern State University; Southwest State University; and Winona State University.

Sports sponsorship: Barry College announced the creation of a women's golf program, starting in fall 1998.

Milestones: Charles "Buddy" Bolding, Longwood College, 500 career wins in baseball ... Sheilah Gulas, Ashland University, 300 career wins in women's softball ... Mike Sansing, Kennesaw State University, 400 career wins in baseball. Sansing also won his 300th game as coach of Kennesaw State.

Division III notes

Conferences: The Indiana Collegiate Athletic Conference (ICAC) has changed its name to the Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference (HCAC). The change, brought about by the addition of three Ohio institutions to the conference, is effective immediately. Last September, DePauw University and Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology announced plans to join the Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference, effective June 1. In November, the ICAC announced the addition of Bluffton College, the College of Mount Saint Joseph and Wilmington College (Ohio) to form an eight-school athletics conference for the 1998-99 academic year. The HCAC will recognize all existing ICAC records into the next year of competition.

Milestones: Dale Yoder, Albright College, 200 career wins in tennis.

-- Compiled by David Pickle