National Collegiate Athletic Association

The NCAA News - Briefly in the News

August 16, 1999

Purdue mourns athlete's death

Tiffany Young, who would have been a senior guard on the Purdue University women's basketball team this fall, won't get a chance to help the Boilermakers as they try to repeat last year's national championship season.

Young was killed last month by a drunk driver in Gary, Indiana. She was a passenger in a car driven by her boyfriend, Neil Sinclair, also a Purdue student, and had just returned from visiting his family in Gary. Sinclair was seriously injured as well.

The driver of the car that killed Young reportedly had a blood-alcohol content of .30 and is in police custody. His two passengers sustained serious injuries.

Young, who was a physical-therapy major, will be missed for her contributions to Purdue -- both on and off the court.

"Tiffany, from day one at Purdue, was the epitome of a Purdue student-athlete," said Purdue athletics director Morgan Burke.

"She was bright, articulate, compassionate and competitive. This sudden and tragic event at this time of her young life is indescribable and leaves the Purdue family in shock."

Young was named academic all-Big Ten last season, and she averaged 3.3 points and 1.5 rebounds in her three-year career, starting all 33 games during the 1997-98 season.

A standout at East Lawrence High School in Alabama, Young was a first-team all-state selection and named one of the top five female basketball players in Alabama following her senior season. Young finished her prep career with 2,611 points, and she also competed in track and field, setting four Alabama Class 4A state records in the high jump and triple jump.

"I am deeply saddened by the news, and I would like to extend my thoughts and prayers to the Young family," said former Purdue coach Carolyn Peck, now coach of the WNBA's Orlando Miracle. "We are a very tight Purdue family and this is a devastating loss. Tiffany's smile could brighten up a room, and she will be physically missed, but she will always be a part of me."

The John Purdue Club, whose members' contributions account for all of Purdue's athletics scholarships, has established a women's basketball scholarship in Young's name.

Those interested in making donations should make a check payable to the Purdue Foundation and indicate that the funds are in memory of Tiffany Young. Donations may be sent to the John Purdue Club at 1790 Mackey Arena, Room 60, West Lafayette, Indiana 47907.

Honoring scholar-athletes

Twenty scholar-athletes from eight different countries were inducted into the International Scholar-Athlete Hall of Fame, which opened this summer on the campus of the University of Rhode Island.

Those inducted included tennis legend Arthur Ashe; James Naismith, the inventor of basketball; former U.S. Sen. Bill Bradley; renowned singer and actor Paul Robeson; Donna Lopiano, executive director of the Women's Sports Foundation; Japanese volleyball coach Yasutaka Matsudaira, who is credited with revolutionizing volleyball; and former Supreme Court justice Byron White.

The inductees were selected for their distinguished achievements in sports, academics and contributions to society.

Calling all sports artists

The United States Sports Academy is inviting artists to participate in the U.S. Olympic Committee's art competition. Winners may be recognized at the International Olympic Committee Museum competition in Switzerland and ultimately at the 2000 Olympic Games in Sydney, Australia.

There are two categories, sculpture and graphic art, and the theme must be sports. There are no restrictions on either age of participants or choice of technique.

For more information, see the academy's Web site at www.sport.ussa.edu/special/iorules.htm.

Legal eagles flock to DePaul

The 11th annual conference on Legal Issues in Intercollegiate Athletics will take place October 5 at the new DePaul Center, located next to the DePaul University law school in downtown Chicago.

This year's conference will feature sessions on gambling, athletics equipment safety, the relationship of business to athletics, student-athletes with disabilities, and the conduct of coaches and student-athletes. Also included will be a discussion of the future of the NCAA, led by Robin J. Green, NCAA assistant chief of staff for Division I.

Norm Van Lier, formerly of the Chicago Bulls and currently a radio and television commentator, will be the keynote speaker.

For more registration information, contact DePaul at 312/362-8152 or on the Web at www.
law.depaul.edu/sportslaw.

Looking back

5 years ago: College football prepares for a season in which a new penalty system for fighting has been implemented to prevent altercations from becoming full-scale skirmishes. The new penalties, adopted by the Football Rules Committee in January, call for players who fight while involved in play to be disqualified for the rest of the half in which the fight occurred and for the team's next half of play. Players who leave the bench to join an altercation are disqualified for the remainder of that game as well as the team's next game. (The NCAA News, August 17, 1994)

10 years ago: A report issued as part of the National Study of Intercollegiate Athletes conducted by the American Institutes for Research details experiences of women athletes at Division I institutions. The study, requested by the NCAA Presidents Commission, indicates that women basketball players spend about the same amount of time on their sport as do men basketball players but spend more time -- about five hours per week -- in class and preparing for class. Also, the report shows that women tend to have higher high-school grade-point averages than men and significantly higher grade-point averages in college than do men. (The NCAA News, August 16, 1989)

15 years ago: The NCAA Executive Committee approves a record $41 million budget for the 1984-85 fiscal year. Major adjustments were made in budget planning due to the net loss of $4.2 million in anticipated revenue from the 1984 portion of the 1982-85 Football Television Plan, which was struck down by the U.S. Supreme Court. (The NCAA News, August 15, 1984)