Research reveals Division I most accountable to CEOs

Are presidents in charge of athletics at the institutional level? They are at least in Division I-A and I-AA, according to reporting lines in a study conducted by the associate dean of students at the University of Maine, Orono.

Calli Theisen Sanders surveyed 977 athletics directors in Divisions I, II and III and found that 85.2 percent of the responding Division I-A athletics directors reported directly to the institutional president or chancellor.

In Division I-AA, 70 percent of athletics directors respondents reported directly to the president, with 41.9 percent of Division I-AAA athletics directors reporting to the CEO.

In Division II, the figure was 46.1 percent, while in Division III, it dropped to 16.7 percent (40.4 percent reported to student affairs).

Student affairs was the next likely place for athletics to report after the president's office. That arrangement represented 30.3 percent of all NCAA institutions responding to the survey.

While no Division I-A institution reported having a direct line to student affairs, 37.3 percent of Division II athletics directors reported to student affairs, as did 20 percent of the Division I-AA athletics directors and 25.8 percent of the Division I-AAA athletics directors who responded.

Hearing held on wrestling lawsuit

A federal district judge in Washington, D.C., heard testimony earlier this month on a lawsuit filed against the U.S. Department of Education by the National Wrestling Coaches Association (NWCA) and the College Sports Council, an organization of coaching associations.

The NWCA, which filed the suit in January, is challenging the proportionality prong of Title IX. The suit blames a 1996 rule, which clarifies the 1972 federal statute, with prompting colleges and universities to discriminate against men's teams. In May, the Department of Justice, acting on the Department of Education's behalf, filed a motion to dismiss the suit.

Judge Emmet G. Sullivan heard oral arguments October 15 on that motion to dismiss.

The Department of Justice's mo- tion to dismiss argues that the coaches association lacks legal standing to sue the Department of Education and instead should sue individual institutions.

Coaching a family affair at Wheeling Jesuit

Two of the athletics teams at Wheeling Jesuit University this year have female head coaches and male assistant coaches -- who happen to be married to the head coach.

Carrie Hanna, the first-year head coach of the women's soccer team, is assisted by David Hanna, who also is an athletic trainer for the Wheeling Hospital physical therapy department.

"David has contributed greatly to the team's success this season," Carrie Hanna said. "His competitive yet positive and encouraging nature is contagious. He brings out the best in all those he interacts with, and I am truly blessed to have him as my life partner in work and play."

The Cardinals were 13-1 at press time, and the crowd cheering them on at games is likely to include three-month-old Graceylyn, the Hannas' daughter.

On the volleyball court, first-year women's head coach Christy Benner has joined her husband, Matt Benner, who also was an assistant for the Lady Cardinals last year when the team made its first trip to the NCAA Division II tournament.

Christy Benner has been a head coach on the high-school level, where her husband also has served as her assistant. At press time, the women's volleyball team was 24-8.

"Having Matt as my assistant (here) has helped in working with the team since he was at Wheeling Jesuit last season," Christy Benner said. "He is my assistant on the court as well as at home."

While the Hannas and the Benners might have a few extra challenges in their marriages --though a lack of common interests certainly isn't one of them -- it's a situation that seems to be working for everyone.

"It's a unique situation to find so much talent in two families," said Wheeling Jesuit Athletics Director Jay DeFruscio. "We're pleased to have both coaching teams in our department."

-- Compiled by Kay Hawes

Number crunching

Looking back

This Week In College Football History

October 27-November 2

October 28, 1950: Pat Brady, Nevada, had a punt of 99 yards against Loyola.

October 28, 1995: Wake Forest quarterback Rusty LaRue completed 55 passes against Duke.

October 29, 1921: Centre College upset Harvard, 6-0, handing Harvard its first loss since 1916.

October 29, 1960: Sixteen members of the Cal Poly San Luis Obispo football team were among the 22 people who died when an Arctic Pacific airplane crashed shortly after taking off from the Toledo, Ohio, airport.

October 30, 1993: John Walsh, Brigham Young, passed for 619 yards against Utah State.

October 31, 1998: Tee Martin of Tennessee completed a record 23 of 24 passes (95.8 percent) against South Carolina.

November 2, 1935: Notre Dame, trailing 13-0, rallied in the fourth quarter to beat Ohio State, 18-13.

November 2, 1990: Nevada, down 49-14 in the third quarter, rallied to beat Weber State, 55-49, culminating an NCAA-record comeback.

November 2, 1996: A.J. Pittorino of Hartwick rushed for 436 yards against Waynesboro.

This Week In College Football is researched and compiled by Pat Harmon, National Football Foundation historian, and is printed with permission from the National Football Foundation's College Football Hall of Fame.