Facilities: The University of South Carolina, Columbia, broke ground on an 18,000-seat basketball arena April 25. The new USC Arena will be the 10th largest on-campus basketball facility in the country. The total cost of the project is estimated at $70 million, $28 million of which is coming from athletics department bonds. The project should be completed by November 2002. "We're committed to building an outstanding facility that is a showcase for the university and the community, and is fan-friendly and cost-efficient," said South Carolina Athletics Director Mike McGee. The arena also will host community and regional events, and will serve as a minor-league ice hockey venue.

Sports sponsorship: The University of Georgia announced the addition of women's equestrian to its athletics programs, making it the school's 21st varsity sport overall and 12th for women. Competition will begin in the 2002-03 academic year, but Georgia will begin developing the program immediately, launching a search for a head coach and proceeding with the transition from the club-sport level. "Adding equestrian is another step in the direction we have been traveling toward meeting the ultimate test of Title IX, which is proportionality -- a proportion of female student-athletes comparable to the percentage of female students on campus," said Georgia Athletics Director Vince Dooley. "We have a history of adding women's sports in recent years, and I think that equestrian, which already is strongly supported by the student body and the community, will be received enthusiastically." Home competitions will be held at the recently completed Animal Science Arena. The University of South Carolina, Columbia, currently is the only Southeastern Conference school whose equestrian team has varsity status. Auburn University will add the sport next year. A minimum of four league schools must be represented in any sport for the SEC to sponsor a conference championship.

Miscellaneous: St. Francis University (Pennsylvania) has introduced a new athletics logo. "Our goal was to develop a logo that reflects the tradition and excellence of our Division I athletics program, while reflecting the school's new university status," said St. Francis Director of Athletics Jeff Eisen.

-- Compiled by Gary T. Brown