NCAA earns its own spotlight with 'On Campus' program

For the first time, the NCAA has its own television show.

The NCAA, CBS and Fox Sports Net have joined efforts to produce a monthly program called "NCAA On Campus."

"The CBS bundled-rights agreement has provided the NCAA with a number of tremendous new platforms to showcase the Association, one of which is the monthly show," said Dennis Cryder, NCAA vice-president for branding, broadcasting and promotions. "There are a number of public misconceptions about who the NCAA is and what role it serves as an Association. 'NCAA On Campus' will help us illustrate, through the voices and faces of NCAA student-athletes, how the collegiate academic and athletics opportunities prepare these talented individuals for life."

The show will feature student-athletes -- from all three divisions -- and their outstanding achievements on and off the field. The show also will educate the public on all aspects of the NCAA and provide additional exposure for NCAA member institutions.

"NCAA On Campus" will air on Fox Sports Net each month. Viewers should check local listings for specific broadcast dates and times or contact their local Fox affiliate. CBS subcontracted with Fox Sports Net to produce the show, which is targeted to teens and young adults.

The lead host of "NCAA On Campus" is Patrick O'Neal, anchor of Fox Sports Net's Headline News Service and "One Show," a combination of regional and national sports newscasts seen in select Fox Sports Net regions.

Big Green teams make a brief splash on eBay

Savvy shoppers can buy all kinds of unusual items on eBay, but a collegiate team?

For a couple of days in early December, eBay had a listing
offering the Dartmouth College men's and women's swimming and diving teams.

For a mere $211,999.99, shoppers could bring home something nobody would expect under the Christmas tree.

Jenny Kunkel, a sophomore swimmer at Dartmouth, and her boyfriend, Jon Lenihan, a student at Xavier University, posted the listing, which attracted several bidders in the few days it was online.

"We had no idea we'd get so many hits or that we'd ever get an offer," she told the New York Times.

The listing on eBay came down shortly after Dartmouth officials learned of it. The company removed the listing, an eBay spokesperson said, when it became clear that the person posting it did not own the item to be sold.

Dartmouth officials had announced just before Thanksgiving that the school was eliminating men's and women's swimming and diving next year as part of university-wide budget cuts caused by the decline of the economy and a 5.7 percent net investment loss on Dartmouth's endowment last year.

Even with the elimination of men's and women's swimming and diving, Dartmouth will continue to offer 32 varsity sports with opportunities for more than 900 student-athletes out of Dartmouth's student body of 4,300.

"We have determined that it is better to eliminate one program than to ask all of our other intercollegiate teams to make sacrifices in their programs," said JoAnn Harper, Dartmouth's director of athletics and recreation. "By devoting our resources to a smaller number of programs, we will be better able to provide quality experiences for our athletes and teams."

Coach wins victory over lung cancer

When Lee McKinney, athletics director and men's basketball coach at Fontbonne University returned to campus October 15 to start his 41st basketball season in his career, it also was his first day on campus after a successful battle with lung cancer.

This was McKinney's second victory over a familiar opponent. Several years ago, he fought and won against colon cancer, becoming a major supporter of the Coaches vs. Cancer program.

"As a coach, you ask your athletes to play each game as if it were their last," he said. "Now I'm practicing what I've preached, living each day as if it were the last."

McKinney also is president of the St. Louis Intercollegiate Athletic Conference.

Number crunching

Looking back

Inaugural valor

In 1974, two individuals and an entire team become the first recipients of the NCAA's newly created Award of Valor. The NCAA gives the inaugural honor to University of Maryland, College Park, men's basketball coach Charles "Lefty" Driesell, University of Texas at Arlington football player Jeff Miller and the entire Ursinus College men's basketball team.

Driesell is honored for saving the lives of at least 10 children from burning buildings in July 12 fire. He and two other men were in Bethany Beach, Delaware, when they spotted flames shooting from a townhouse complex. Driesell broke down a door and began getting children out as the fire consumed and destroyed four dwellings. Judge Samuel Melroy called Driesell a hero. "There were no injuries, and it was a miracle because firemen didn't come for at least 30 minutes," Melroy said.

Miller's heroics came during an incident at a munitions plant in Cleburne, Texas, when a fire broke out and began setting off hand grenades that had been in an assembly process. Miller made four trips into the assembly room, carrying injured co-workers to safety and then administering first aid to some of the victims. Four persons were killed in the blasts, but Miller saved four lives with disregard for his own safety.

The Ursinus basketball team faced danger after a January 12 game against Juniata College in Huntingdon, Pennsylvania. The squad had finished lunch the next day and was preparing to travel to Dickinson College for another game when a blast occurred in the motel restaurant the team had just left. A waitress was killed and 12 persons were injured, but every member of the team entered the burning building and rescued 14 persons, using doors and table tops as stretchers to carry people out. The explosion was caused by a gas leak and only part of one wall was left standing. Three cars also were destroyed.

The Award of Valor honorees were recognized at the 1975 NCAA Convention in San Francisco,