High-scoring Division III hoops foes net national exposure

A men's basketball rivalry between high-scoring Division III foes goes prime-time when Grinnell College hosts Beloit College in a nationally televised contest next month.

The teams will play in Grinnell's new Darby Gymnasium at 9 p.m. EST February 3 on ESPN2.

"I'm excited to know that our style of play will be seen by millions of basketball fans who have never seen us play before," said Grinnell head coach David Arseneault, whose team established an an NCAA all-divisions scoring record of 126.2 points per game last season and was averaging 120.5 points per game through late December this season.

"Our men's team has an excellent and exciting system that uses a large number of players and that is what Division III athletics should aim for," Grinnell President Russell Osgood said. "Appearing on ESPN2 will also provide us with a wonderful opportunity to showcase our new facility to the rest of the country, our trustees, and other donors who made it possible."

Osgood's counterpart at Beloit, President John Burris, also expressed enthusiasm for the national exposure for the participating schools. "We look forward to a great game and the opportunity to share it with graduates and other members of the extended Beloit College family around the United States," he said. "The Beloit-Grinnell rivalry has always produced a fast-paced and high-scoring competition. Perhaps this will inspire ESPN to televise other Division III games in the future."

The Midwest Conference rivals combined for 293 points in their game last year -- a 155-138 Grinnell victory. In 2003, Beloit prevailed by a 120-108 score.

An ESPN executive said Grinnell's high-flying offense attracted the cable network's interest.

"Grinnell's unique offensive style of play will make for an interesting and compelling telecast," said Burke Magnus, vice-president and general manager of ESPNU. "We are consistently looking for opportunities to showcase all forms of college basketball and look forward to featuring this high-scoring team to our national audience."

Nebraska bowler strikes gold in world competition

Last year, Shannon Pluhowsky played a key role in helping the University of Nebraska, Lincoln, capture the inaugural NCAA National Collegiate Women's Bowling Championship.

Last month, the three-time all-American showcased her skills on a world stage when she laid claim to the 2004 AMF Bowling World Cup contested in Singapore.

The AMF Bowling World Cup is the world's largest annual international sports championship in terms of number of participating counties

Pluhowsky defeated the 2003 defending champion, Kerrie Ryan-Ciach of Canada, to collect the win.

As it happens, winning the World Cup is not unfamiliar territory for Pluhowsky. She won the competition in 2002 and was runner-up the following year. With her most recent victory, she became just the third woman in the history of the event to win the title two times.

Pluhowsky, a three-time U.S. Amateur champion and a Pam Am Games gold medalist, is heading into her senior season of bowling at Nebraska.

Inclusive staff puts school in exclusive company

Columbia University was recognized for its diverse campus in the 2005 edition of U.S. News and World Report's America's Best Colleges. The school ranked in the top 60 in the nation and second in the Ivy Group in campus diversity.

But with the fall additions of M. Dianne Murphy as director of athletics and physical education and Traci Waites as head women's basketball coach, Columbia is tops among NCAA Division I non-historically black colleges and universities (HBCU) across the nation as the only school to have a female athletics director and an ethnic minority leading the men's and women's basketball programs concurrently.

Three other Division I schools -- Howard University, Morgan State University and South Carolina State University -- that mirror the same characteristics are classified as HBCUs.

Waites and head men's coach Joe Jones become the first African-American head basketball coaches to lead programs at the same time at an Ivy Group school. The duo is producing impressive results so far, too. Through early January, the teams were a combined 13-9.

Murphy is the first female director of athletics in school history.

-- Compiled by Leilana McKindra

Number crunching

Streak frozen

The University of Minnesota, Twin Cities, saw the nation's longest home winning streak -- and the seventh-longest in NCAA history -- come to an end on January 8 with a 3-2 loss to Colorado College. The Gophers, who had not lost on their home ice since falling to the University of North Dakota on January 23, 2004, entered the game as the top-ranked team in Division I men's ice hockey. But the second-ranked Tigers scored early in the third period to tie the game, then won it on a goal 2:43 into overtime to end the longest home winning streak in Division I men's ice hockey in more than 20 years.

Here is a look at the longest home winning streaks in NCAA Division I men's ice hockey history.

Looking back

Conventions past

A look back at some of the many historic moments from previous NCAA Conventions:

• During the 1961 Convention, delegates vote to discontinue the National Collegiate Boxing Championships and adopt legislation that requires student-athletes to finish their seasons of eligibility within five years of the date they matriculated into college. In addition, legislation governing how high-school all-star games meet NCAA requirements and be certified is adopted.

• Three years later, during the 1964 Convention, delegates vote that all NCAA meets and tournaments be played under NCAA playing rules.

• The now-traditional NCAA Honors Dinner makes its debut as a luncheon during the 1966 Convention as a way of celebrating the Association's 60th anniversary. At the first luncheon, 50 distinguished members of the federal government's executive and legislative branches, all of whom were former letter-winners at NCAA institutions, are recognized. The group includes three Cabinet members, 17 Senators and 30 Congressmen.

• Former U.S. President Dwight D. Eisenhower is named as the first recipient of the Theodore Roosevelt Award at the 1967 NCAA Convention. Along with Eisenhower, the Association recognizes 12 NASA astronauts, who also were former NCAA student-athletes, with honor awards. Among the recipients are Maj. Edwin E. Aldrin, Capt. Alan B. Shepard, Col. Edward H. White and Capt. Alfred M. Worden.

• During the 1970 Convention, delegates vote to increase the number of regular-season football games by one. Previously, schools were limited to playing 10 contests annually. Eight years later, at the 1978 Convention, the realignment of Division I football is approved, creating Division I-A and Division I-AA.