National Collegiate Athletic Association
NCAA News Archive - 2000
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Opinions
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Jim Calhoun, men's basketball coach
University of Connecticut
Hartford Courant
Discussing whether it would be worth it for Connecticut to give up two home games to go an overseas tournament if proposed NCAA legislation would make the three games count on the schedule:
"The reason Connecticut couldn't, probably, is about $600,000. (But) it would be absolutely ludicrous for (the NCAA) to pass (the proposal to eliminate exempted events). I don't know why the NCAA does not want to expose the great game of college basketball to the American public. They are the ones that are eventually going to benefit at the end of the season to the tune of $6.2 billion [amount of CBS contract with the NCAA tournament]. There are 143 schools participating in these tournaments.
"It's really, really good for everybody. I have to scratch my head why they don't want to introduce the game of basketball into people's living rooms. These games are all nationally televised. It's free advertisement for college basketball.
"I don't think the University of Connecticut needs the money that bad that we can't help the sport of basketball."
John Chaney, men's basketball coach
Temple University
New York Daily News
"Athletics directors are very selfish. (The preseason NIT) is a great tournament, it has a history and it has tradition. Usually the guys that end up here end up in the NCAAs. This speaks well of what this tournament does for young people. I want to make it very clear the coaches are against ending tournaments like this. The coaches like tournaments like this. And when we're invited, you can bet I'll be there."
Tim Welsh, men's basketball coach
Providence College
Philadelphia Inquirer
"I don't know if you can find one coach that doesn't like these tournaments. The word is it favors the power conferences, but as they continue to grow, you'll see more of the type that we're at now. I mean, Toledo, UMKC, Southeast Missouri? It's great for these schools.
"People have no idea how difficult it is to schedule. All I know is I didn't turn anyone down this year. I would play anybody but it's tough to get good games. With major schools, you're looking for TV and if we can't offer that, they'll look to another opponent that can."
Steve Cobb, athletics director
University of Alaska Anchorage
St. Louis Post-Dispatch
"Conferences feel like they're losing out. If they get rid of (tournaments like the Great Alaska Shootout), they can just schedule home games and make $300,000-$400,000. And if two teams make it to the final here, let's say Kentucky and Duke, the Southeastern Conference and the ACC feel like they should share in the earnings."
20-hour rule
Joe Whitt, student-athlete
Auburn University
Scripps Howard News Service
"We're willing to (practice) more than 20 hours if we have to, but if you're going to have a 20-hour rule, have a 20-hour rule. It's like, if we get in the car and you say we're going to Pensacola and we go to Miami, we're going to run out of gas."