NCAA Title IX Seminar makes first-time appearance in D.C.

Registration still is possible for this year's NCAA Title IX Seminar, which will be conducted May 9-10 in the Washington, D.C., area.

The luncheon program will feature Patsy Mink, a U.S. Congresswoman from Hawaii, and Marcia Greenberger, the founder of the National Women's Law Center.

It is expected that many of the speakers will address the state of Title IX in 2002, 30 years after its adoption as federal legislation.

Also presenting during the seminar will be Marnie Shaul from the federal General Accounting Office. Shaul will be the first representative from the GAO to have presented at an NCAA Title IX Seminar.

Other speakers include Donna Lopiano, executive director of the Women's Sports Foundation, who will present a session on the history of women in sport, and Christine Grant, former longtime director of women's athletics at the University of Iowa, who will present, in conjunction with Shaul, on the difficulties of "Keeping up with the Joneses."

Other new sessions include "Sexual Orientation: What Athletics Administrators Need to Know" and "Increasing Your Fan Base and Generating Funds for Women's Athletics."

The division sessions this year will focus on how to develop gender-equity plans. Other sessions will include those on Equity in Athletics Disclosure Act (EADA) compliance, Title IX basics, roster management and emerging sports.

The seminar will be conducted at the Hyatt Regency Crystal City in Arlington, Virginia, which is only a five- to 10-minute drive or subway ride from downtown. It is the first time the event has been conducted near Washington, D.C.

The registration deadline has been extended from April 15 to April 19, though late registrants may not be able to book at the seminar hotel.

The seminar is free to NCAA member institution staff members and conference administrators. Others are welcome to attend. The cost is $25 for students, $75 for employees of the federal government and $150 for members of the general public.

For more information about the seminar or seminar registration, see www.ncaa.org or call Matthew Stach at the NCAA national office (317/917-6222).

All three divisions, one school -- priceless

Andrew Verkey, a graduate student at State University of New York at Binghamton, has accomplished a most unusual feat. He has participated in athletics in all three NCAA divisions -- at the same school.

When Verkey came to Binghamton for his freshman year in 1997, he played basketball. He knew the then-Division III Bearcats would be moving to Division II in 1998, his sophomore season. What he didn't know was that the school's president, Lois B. DeFleur, would announce in 1999 that the school would begin complying with NCAA rules for Division I, setting the stage for Binghamton to become a Division I member in September 2001.

"It was quite an experience because as we moved up, they kept bringing in better players. I had to really work to keep my playing time," Verkey said.

Verkey was captain of the basketball team for two years as it finished up its Division II status, sometimes playing Division I schools.

"I never expected to be playing in places like Providence or Florida State, where they have 13,000 fans per game."

Verkey earned his degree and enrolled in the school's MBA program. He discovered that although his basketball eligibility had been used up, he could play another sport in his fifth year. Verkey had excelled in lacrosse in high school, and Binghamton -- now Division I -- was adding lacrosse. He tried out, made the team and was named captain.

When Binghamton's lacrosse team began play in the America East Conference in March, Verkey became Binghamton's -- and perhaps the NCAA's -- first all-divisions student-athlete.

Not something you see every day.

The athletics administrators at Binghamton are trying to determine just how rare Verkey's feat is. If you have relevant information, please contact John Hartrick, assistant athletics director for communications at Binghamton, at 607/777-6800.

-- Compiled by Kay Hawes

Number crunching

Looking back

All-around dominance

In men's gymnastics, perhaps no name rings more of a bell than Minnesota's John Roethlisberger.

The man with the 14-letter last name filled a lot of headlines from 1991 through 1993 when he won three consecutive all-round titles in National Collegiate Men's Gymnastics Championships competition.

As a sophomore in 1991, Roethlisberger overcame a virus to win his first all-around crown. In doing so, Roethlisberger became the first Minnesota gymnast since 1942 to claim the all-around title and the first champion his father, Fred, had mentored in 20 years of coaching at Minnesota.

"I had problems breathing," Roethlisberger said of his illness afterward, "but you don't realize it when you're competing. My dad's never had an NCAA champion, so it makes me feel good to be able to help him out."

Roethlisberger edged UCLA's Scott Keswick for the all-around title. Those two would go head to head again in 1992, when Roethlisberger again came out on top to become the first gymnast since 1984 to win back-to-back all-around crowns.

Roethlisberger culminated his career with a third straight all-around title in 1993, this time over a different UCLA opponent, Chainey Umphrey. Roethlisberger's three consecutive titles matched another competitor with a lengthy last name -- Joe Giallombardo -- who won three straight all-arounds in the first three years of the championships (1938-40).

"I felt a lot of pressure because I am a senior and because of all the success I have had in the past," Roethlisberger said after the third win. "People had a lot of expectations of me. I could not have expected any more of myself."

Roethlisberger went on to be recognized as an NCAA Today's Top VI recipient and an NCAA postgraduate scholar. He also received the prestigious Nissen award, presented to the top senior gymnast for athletics and academic excellence. Roethlisberger also competed in the 1992 Olympic Games.