The NCAA News - Briefly in the News

February 15, 1999

A delegation of college athletics administrators used sports as a means for cultural exchange on a recent trip to South Africa.

The delegation included Vince Dooley, director of athletics at the University of Georgia; Maureen Harty, director of athletics at Dominican University; Richard Laskowski, dean of physical education and athletics at State University of New York at Stony Brook; Milton Richards, director of athletics at State University of New York at Albany; and Virgil Thiesfled, faculty athletics representative at the University of Wisconsin, Stevens Point.

The delegation traveled to South Africa as part of the People to People Ambassador Program, which began in 1959 as a way for countries to exchange ideas and share expertise in various disciplines, including sports.

"We were a small group, but nevertheless one that was committed to exchanging philosophies, ideas and concepts about sport with our South African counterparts," Dooley said. "One reason we went to South Africa is because of the adjustment they are making in their new government. There has been such an incredible change from the past."

During their two-week stint in the country, the delegates saw a nation that is healing after nearly 50 years of apartheid, a policy of apartness in which whites had absolute control of the political, economic and social systems of the country.

For many years, nations around the world imposed economic sanctions against South Africa as a means of voicing their disdain for racial discrimination. Sports also were used to bring about change, as many countries refused to compete against South Africa under apartheid, which ended in 1994 with the democratic election of Nelson Mandela as president.

During their trip, delegates met with South African officials from high schools and universities to discuss several issues, including the monitoring of student-athletes' academics, fund-raising projects, ethics in sports, gender equity and the economic realities of college athletics.

The delegates visited Soweto and toured Mandela's former home. During the tour, Dooley noticed a book of letters written to Mandela after he became president. One of the letters was from Charles Knapp, former president at Georgia.

The Mandela home tour guide, who had been staring at Dooley, saw him reading the letter and realized he was the Bulldogs' former head coach.

"Right away, he said, 'How are the Bulldogs going to be this year?' " Dooley said. "It shocked me at first, but then I found out that he had gone to a small college near Chattanooga in the early 1980s, and he had kept up with Georgia football. So he in turn introduced us to Winnie Mandela, who happened to be there. We enjoyed our brief visit with her, talking sports and taking pictures."

Sometimes sport makes the world a smaller place.

Call 1-800-VICTORY

When history calls Elizabethtown College's women's basketball program later this season, it will be with an 800 number.

Already the winningest program in the history of NCAA women's basketball with 797 victories through January 30, the Blue Jays need only three more wins to become the first program in all divisions of NCAA women's basketball to record 800 victories. The University of Tennessee, Knoxville, is second on the victory list with 776 victories through January 31.

With the record in their sights, the Blue Jays are chasing the mark in style, having won 14 in a row en route to a 16-1 start, their best in more than a decade.

Scholarship awarded

Eight student journalists have been awarded $3,000 scholarships through a program administered by the NCAA Foundation and the Freedom Forum.

Those selected were: Ryan Gutschenritter, Wichita State University; Shannon Heffelfinger and Darren Ivy, University of Nebraska, Lincoln; Kanda Leahey, Hawaii Pacific University; Bryan Lee, Harvard University; Matthew May, University of Kentucky; Ashley Michael, Samford University; and Andrew Schoppe, Texas Tech University.

Can you top this?

Coker College senior pitcher Missy Paterson is going for an unusual record this year. Paterson has been named the Carolinas-Virginia Athletics Conference Softball Player of the Year and Most Valuable Player of the conference tournament in her freshman, sophomore and junior years.

If she wins both awards this year, she would be a four-time conference player of the year and conference tournament MVP.

Tim Griggs, director of athletics at Coker College, would like to hear from any school in any division that has ever had a student-athlete win conference player of the year and/or conference tournament MVP honors in all four years. Contact Griggs at tgriggs@pascal.coker.edu or 843/383-8073.

-- Compiled by Kay Hawes