Calendar

NCAA STAFF

Dempsey announces plan to retire at end of year

NCAA President Cedric W. Dempsey has announced that he will retire when his contract expires January 1, 2003.

The NCAA Executive Committee has announced it will form a succession plan to replace Dempsey, who became executive director in January 1994. His title was changed to "president" in 1998. Bob Lawless, president of the University of Tulsa and chair of the NCAA Executive Committee, will lead the search committee for a new president.

CHOICES

Deadline approaching for alcohol-awareness grants

Institutions interested in developing programming that emphasizes alcohol education and awareness have an opportunity to receive funding assistance from the NCAA through the CHOICES grant program. CHOICES grants provide up to $30,000 over three years for projects that implement promising alcohol-education and alcohol abuse-prevention programs.

The program has been in place since 1991. Almost $2 million in grants have been awarded during that time. Applications for the 2002 program were mailed to member institutions in October. The deadline to submit a proposal for the 2002 awards is February 15, 2002.

For more information on the 2002 CHOICES program and grant guidelines, go to NCAA Online at www.ncaa.org/sports_sciences/education.

Staff contact: Mary Wilfert -- mwilfert@ncaa.org

REGIONAL SEMINARS

Information to be sent regarding 2002 schedule

A mailing will be sent February 1 to Divisions I, II and III compliance coordinators, conference commissioners, directors of athletics, faculty athletics representatives and senior woman administrators containing registration materials for the 2002 NCAA Regional Rules-Compliance Seminars. The mailing also will be sent to those individuals who attended a seminar last year but do not fall under the five institutional categories. The seminar dates and sites are: May 1-3, Indianapolis; May 15-17, Phoenix; and May 29-31, Atlanta. More information about the seminars can be found on the NCAA Online under the Membership section. Beginning March 1, a list of current seminar attendees (listed by site) will appear on the Web.

Staff contacts: Mira Colman -- mcolman@ncaa.org and Lisa Auten (registration) -- lauten@ncaa.org

FOOTBALL

Jump in Division I-A crowds leads to attendance record

Led by Division I-A crowds, NCAA college football home attendance surpassed the 40 million mark for the first time in 2001. NCAA teams totaled 40.4 million fans for all four divisions.

Staff contacts: Rick Campbell -- rcampbell@ncaa.org