NCAA's Hall of Champions exhibits its 'Game Face'

An exhibition that drew 650,000 visitors at the Smithsonian Institution this year will be at the NCAA Hall of Champions through December 1.

"Game Face: What does a female athlete look like?" is a collection of photographs celebrating sports and physical daring in the lives of girls and women.

This critically acclaimed collection consists of 139 color and black-and-white photographs and a video with stories from women about how sports have shaped their identity.

In addition to its stint at the Smithsonian, the exhibition also was at Salt Lake City for the 2002 Olympic Winter Games. It's all part of a five-year national tour.

Jane Gottesman, a former reporter, and Geoffrey Biddle, a photographer and educator, are the co-curators of the exhibit. They're also authors of the book, "Game Face," which is published by Random House.

The Game Face education program is endorsed by the Girl Scouts, which has developed a Game Face patch program; the YWCA; and the National Coalition of Girls' Schools, along with the NCAA.

The NCAA Hall of Champions, located in the White River State Park in downtown Indianapolis next to the Association's national office, will sponsor several special events surrounding the exhibit.

October 12 will be "Many Looks of a Champion," a day to show the diversity of female athletes; and November 9 will be "Celebration of Change," a day to honor the past and celebrate the future of women's athletics.

North Carolina wins judgment against site

The University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, has won a judgment against the operator of a pornographic Web site, UNCGirls.com, that featured the institution's trademarks on the site as well as in part of the domain name.

A federal district court judge recently awarded North Carolina damages in the case totaling $325,521, which included statutory damages, attorney's fees and other legal costs. The court ruling prohibits the Web site operator from using the site and from registering or using any other domain name containing "UNC" or any similar mark.

"This action illustrates our commitment to protecting the university's image, as symbolized by its valuable trademarks," said Rutledge Tufts, North Carolina's director of trademarks and licensing.

North Carolina worked closely with the state attorney general's office and the Collegiate Licensing Company (CLC), which serves as the university's licensing agent, in the lawsuit.

"The Internet is an important tool when used for positive purposes," said Roy Cooper, attorney general for the state of North Carolina. "But sometimes it is used illegally to exploit. With this action, we're sending the message that we will stop people from using UNC's name for their own gain."

WBCA sings new deal with Kodak

The Women's Basketball Coaches Association recently announced that it has renewed its partnership with the Eastman Kodak Company through 2004.

That means the 2002-03 Kodak/
WBCA All-America Team will mark the 29th time the company has selected top players at the highest level of women's basketball. The 30 years since Kodak first signed as sponsor of the prestigious team marks the longest running sponsorship in women's college athletics.

The Kodak All-America Team is composed of the top 10 players each in categories for NCAA Division I, Division II, Division III, NAIA and junior college/community college each season.

Of the 28 previous NCAA Division I Kodak/WBCA All-America Teams, there have been just five players selected in all four years of their collegiate careers: Ann Meyers, University of California, Los Angeles (1975-78); Lynette Woodard, University of Kansas (1978-81); Cheryl Miller, University of Southern California (1983-86); Chamique Holdsclaw, University of Tennessee, Knoxville (1996-99); and Tamika Catchings, Tennessee (1995-98).

-- Compiled by Kay Hawes

Number crunching

Looking back

Constant comment

A look at opinions regarding race- and gender-equity issues over the years:

5 years ago

Kathleen LaRose, senior associate athletics director at the University of Arizona, quoted in the Arizona Republic in 1997 about cost factors that complicate comparisons on spending by gender:

"It costs over $1,000 to equip a football player. It's top-of-the-line stuff. We do the same thing for a (female) volleyball player. But we're talking about kneepads. We're providing the best darn kneepads we can find, but they cost a heck of a lot less than helmets and shoulder pads."

10 years ago

San Francisco State University professor Roberta S. Bennett, who wrote to The NCAA News in 1992 in response to a previous letter in the News from a college baseball coach who cited women's programs as the cause for inequities for baseball players and coaches:

"You are experiencing what women have experienced for years -- the pain of being treated as a relatively less important part of the intercollegiate sport scene. Rather than blaming the women for this (since your letter seems clearly to imply that you might have more if the women didn't get so much), perhaps you might make common cause with women to bring about more equity in sport for all people.

"How is it that you make no mention of the numbers of scholarships and sizes of coaching staffs for those men's teams that get more than baseball? Why are only the women's teams responsible for your plight?"

15 years ago

Ron Dickerson, assistant football coach at Pennsylvania State University, quoted in the Kansas City Star in 1987 about a potential boycott over the lack of minority coaches in football:

"Obviously, there is a concern; because last year, 25 jobs opened up and not one black coach was hired, and we have lots who are qualified. I think maybe in the past there was a concern by alumni about Blacks. But now, I think a Black can go anywhere in the nation and be accepted."