The NCAA News - Briefly in the News

February 10, 1997

And you thought philosophy professors were stodgy.

Years from now, when Monmouth University (New Jersey) students are singing "Fight for Dear Old Monmouth," they will be able to thank Gilbert Fell, professor of philosophy and winner of a recent campuswide contest for a new fight song.

Calling his song the work of The Muse, Fell said he first hummed the tune in the shower and then played it by ear on an electric organ. Since he cannot read or write music, he turned to a colleague in the music school, William Wollman, to transcribe the music (at right) and then submitted it to the fight song committee.

Fell admits that Wollman "probably thought it was the most ridiculous thing he had ever heard."

The professor's song was selected in a university-wide competition from six entries and debuted February 3 at the men's basketball game against Wagner College. Fell was recognized at half time and received a $250 prize, which he donated to the pep band.

A member of the Monmouth faculty since 1964, Fell said this is his first copyrighted effort, though he often writes special songs for family occasions such as the birth of a grandchild. He noted that the arrival of triplets in 1996 inspired a "tremendous effort."

One for the books

After Southern Methodist University defeated Texas Christian University, 127-125, in a four-overtime game January 25, it was time to dust off the record book.

The 252 total points was an NCAA Division I women's record for most points scored in a game, surpassing the previous mark of 243 points set in 1991 in a game between the University of Virginia and North Carolina State University.

Also, Texas Christian's 125 points set a Division I women's record for most points by a losing team, eclipsing the 114 points scored by Georgetown University in a loss to Providence College in 1991.

The four overtimes also tied the Division I record, the most recent occurring in a 1995 game between the University of Alabama, Tuscaloosa, and Duke University.

DC drops athletics program

The University of the District of Columbia has announced that it will abolish its athletics department to help close an $18.2 million budget deficit at the institution.

The action will save the school approximately $450,000.

The acting university president, Julius Nimmons Jr., said District of Columbia will honor approximately 70 athletics scholarships for the remainder of the academic year. The institution competes as an independent in eight NCAA Division II sports.

Cyber guard

Longwood University's Jason Outlaw is a computer-science major who just happens to play basketball.

And although he plays basketball well, the game takes a backseat to his real love: computers.

Last year, for instance, he qualified for a summer internship program with the National Aeronautics and Space Administration at Langley Research Center in Virginia.

He worked with Mike Goode, the head of NASA's Systems Integration Branch, to find ways to make a spreadsheet program forecast the cost of future NASA projects.

"Jason did well," Goode said. "He actually gave me a couple of different ways of looking at it so I could choose."

Outlaw also has done well on the court, averaging about 11 points per game and leading the team in steals and blocked shots (unusual for a guard). He is also the team's No. 2 rebounder.