National Collegiate Athletic Association
NCAA News Archive - 2009
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In the ZoneTOP POST
OK, what's better - arguing about football in November or basketball in February?
Each is an annual affair. In November and early December, pundits prattle on about the fallacies of the Bowl Championship Series and how an undefeated Utah, Brigham Young, Boise State or Hawaii can be left out of the Big Game.
In February and early March, those same pundits pontificate whether Davidson, Siena or Penn State deserves to be in the Big Dance.
What's more satisfying?
IN THE ZONE
Happy Presidents Day from the Double-A Zone. Ok, we know we're bias, but our favorite president is Teddy Roosevelt. Without number 26, there would be no NCAA. But according to a panel of 65 historians conducted by C-SPAN, Teddy is number four. The top spot? Ol' Abe. Who's your favorite president?
Xenia Stewart a senior on the Pittsburgh women's basketball team wrote a column on the New York Time's The Quad blog advising incoming freshman what to expect in their first year on campus." The No. 1 thing you need is good time management," wrote Stewart. "If that is a challenge for you, it will definitely cause problems in the long run." She tells new student-athletes to make sure to include ample time for studying. "...there will likely be team rules about missing classes, being late for practice and workouts, etc. It would be wise not to try to squeeze things in at the last minute."
Teammates of Maddy Loftus paid tribute to her memory in a hockey game over the weekend. Loftus was on her way to Buffalo for a reunion of the women's ice hockey team when her plane crashed. She was one of 50 killed in the accident, including two other former student-athletes. The Buffalo News aired a very compelling video of the game.
USA Today reports that coaches and other athletics staff are being asked to participate in voluntary furlough programs, designed to alleviate pressure at cash strapped universities. According to the paper, Arizona State, Clemson, Maryland and Utah State are in the midst of furloughs, which impact university and athletics personnel alike. "The furlough rules are being carried out in different ways -- for example, coaches are not always being forced to stay away from the workplace while on a furlough day -- but each is resulting in salary losses for athletics employees as the universities attempt to make up for large budget shortfalls or cuts in state funding." Is your university involved in furloughs? Do you think this is practical for athletics personnel?