National Collegiate Athletic Association |
The NCAA News - Briefly in the NewsJanuary 27, 1997
Harvard helps with celebrationKyoto University in Japan this year is celebrating its 100th anniversary and also the 50th anniversary of the Kyoto University Football Club. So the school did the natural thing and scheduled a big game to help commemorate the landmark occasions. On March 29, the Harvard University Crimson will come calling at the conclusion of an eight-day spring-break trip. The game will be played at Kyoto's Nishi Kyogoku Stadium (capacity 22,000) according to NCAA rules and will be televised nationally. As it happens, Kyoto is the sister city of Boston and Kyoto University, like Harvard, is among its nation's most respected colleges. Neither institution offers football scholarships. And Harvard even has a previous link with Japanese football. In 1993, Harvard Stadium hosted a game between Keio University and Waseda University, the first football game between Japanese universities ever played in the United States. Kyoto is the powerhouse football program in Japan, by the way. It has won five national championships and was competing for a sixth this year. Super statIn case you were wondering, there will be more players from Pacific-10 Conference institutions participating in Super Bowl XXXI than from any other conference competing in Division I-A football. Using current alignments, this is how representation among the Green Bay Packers and New England Patriots works out, according to the Pac-10: Pacific-10 Conference -- 15. Atlantic Coast Conference -- 13. Big Ten Conference -- 13. Big Twelve Conference -- 12. Big East Conference -- 9. Southeastern Conference -- 4. Western Athletic Conference -- 4. Conference USA -- 3. Mid-American Athletic Conference -- 2. Of course, those numbers represent only two teams. Conference-by-conference representation throughout the National Football League would be very different. Just BulldogsTruman State University is the latest to join the trend toward eliminating the "Lady" from the name for its women's athletics team. Effective with the beginning of the new year, all Truman State teams, both men and women, will be known simply as the "Bulldogs." 'Back at the Ranch'Those who have been around intercollegiate athletics a long time almost certainly are familiar with Ray Franks, longtime owner of Ray Franks Publishing Ranch in Amarillo, Texas. The "publishing ranch" had a longstanding relationship with the National Association of Collegiate Directors of Athletics to produce the National Directory of Collegiate Athletics. For years, that publication has been a primary source of directory information for college athletics. In a new book called "Meanwhile Back at the Ranch," Franks describes the development of the directory in 1968 and also provides countless anecdotes about personalities in intercollegiate athletics. Those who are interested may contact the Ray Franks Publishing Ranch at P.O. Box 7068, Amarillo, Texas 79114.
Ken Weller, former president of Central College (Iowa), recently wrote a significant article for The Intercollegiate Athletic Forum, edited by former Division III Vice-President Al Van Wie.
The article, "Division III Philosophy: Relic or Reality," appears in the December 1996 issue and examines the development of the frequently cited Division III philosophy statement, along with its current relevance.
Weller cites a series of questions relating to the current climate in Division III and then concludes: "Although these illustrative questions and others like them stemming from philosophical considerations will be answered in different ways and produce conflicting conclusions among our members, we would be at great peril to ignore them."
The article should appeal to those interested in the Division III environment.
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