Drake Relays icon to retire

Ehrhart has announced that he will retire September 1, although he will remain a consultant for the 2001 Drake Relays.

During his 31 years as director, Ehrhart has seen the number of events at the relays grow from 49 to 97 while the number of participants has grown from 2,763 athletes in 1970 to a record 8,651 last year.

Also, 14 national collegiate marks, 13 American records and one world record have been set at the relays during Ehrhart's tenure as director. And he's also overseen 34 consecutive years of sellout crowds for the Saturday session -- the longest string of sellouts for any track meet in the world.

"The Drake Relays has always been a very special love for me, and I am happy to see the continual support given by the spectators who attend," Ehrhart said.

A native of Naperville, Illinois, and a 1954 graduate of Northwestern University, Ehrhart was a college coach for 31 years, and he coached 23 all-Americans -- 12 at Northwestern and 11 at Drake University.

Ehrhart was president of the United States Track Coaches Association from 1983 to 1985, and he received the Distinguished Service Medal, awarded by the United States Sports Academy, in 1999.

In 1992, Ehrhart was named the first full-time director of the Drake Relays, stepping down as Drake's head track coach.

During his time as director, Ehrhart incorporated a women's team division, switched all running events to metric in 1976 and oversaw the rebuilding of the track into a 400-meter oval in 1978 so all relay races could go metric.

His memorable moments include Bruce Jenner producing the highest decathlon score in the world in 1975 with 8,138 points; Steve Scott running the meet's first under-four-minute mile in 1979; and Texas A&M University, College Station, setting a world record in the 880-yard relay in 1970.

"We had many relays that provided record performances in all divisions, plus the exciting events where the athletes gave us much to remember," Ehrhart said, noting that his success was due to the work of many others.

"I'm just one single spoke in a wheel. We have a lot of people who volunteer. We have a lot of helpers. We couldn't do it without them. I will always cherish the many officials and volunteers that made it possible."

Sullivan is twice as nice

For the first time in its 70-year history, the Sullivan Award for the top U.S. amateur athlete has been given to a pair of athletes. Twin guards Coco and Kelly Miller, who led the University of Georgia women's basketball team to a 32-4 record and regional semifinal finish this season (the Bulldogs also reached the Final Four in 1999), have been chosen for the award. It is given annually by the Amateur Athletic Union.

Kelly, an all-American, was the Southeastern Conference player of the year, leading Georgia in scoring with an average of 15.4 points. Coco was next for Georgia with 15.3 points.

Both Millers are majoring in premedicine, and both have been selected as academic all-Americans the past two years.

"We were up against a quality group of individuals, and to be recognized as the top U.S. amateur athletes is a humbling experience. We can't really believe it yet," said Kelly Miller.

Other finalists included Heisman Trophy winner Ron Dayne of the University of Wisconsin, Madison; wrestler Stephen Neal of California State University, Bakersfield; softball player Stacey Nuveman of the University of California, Los Angeles; and diver Mark Ruiz from Orlando, Florida.

No Oscar, but new career

Jim Elworth, an NCAA enforcement representative who joined the staff in July 1999, had a real-life role in the drama that recently won Hilary Swank an Oscar for Best Actress.

Elworth was the lead prosecutor in the triple-murder case in Nebraska that was the basis of the movie, "Boys Don't Cry."

In the movie, Swank played Teena Brandon, a woman posing as a man. When her secret is discovered, she is raped and then killed.

In real life, Elworth earned convictions on the men who killed Brandon and two others. One murderer currently is on death row and the other is facing three consecutive life sentences. Elworth spent two years researching the case and prosecuting the killers.

Shortly after that, he chose to end his 13-year career as a prosecutor and went to work as the University of North Dakota's assistant athletics director for compliance. That position led to his current one with the NCAA.

"I can say that it's a lot more refreshing dealing with college sports infractions than it is to deal with killers, child abusers and drug dealers," Elworth said.

Number crunching

2000 NCAA DIVISION I SOFTBALL
MIDSEASON TRENDS

(Through games of April 9, 2000)

Average Number

of Games

Played Per Team 36.0 * 54.4 35.2* 54.4 (1999)

BATTING

Home Runs

Per Game 0.30 * 0.31 0.32* 0.31 (1999)

Stolen Bases

Per Game 1.06 1.07 1.11* 1.12 (1998)

PITCHING

Earned-Run

Average 2.70 2.65 2.57* 1.35 (1984)

Strikeouts Per

Seven Innings 4.49 * 4.45 4.69* 4.45 (1999)

FIELDING

Fielding

Percentage .945 .946 .948* .947 (1998)

Averages are per game and per team. * Record high.

*/* indicates up or down from 1999.

CONFERENCE LEADERS

Batting Average 1. Pacific-10 .309

2. Southern Atlantic Alliance .286

3. Sun Belt .285

Scoring 1. Southwestern Athletic 5.67

2. Pacific-10 5.45

3. Mid-Eastern Athletic 4.81

Home Runs Per Game 1. Pacific-10 0.78

2. Mountain West 0.52

3. Sun Belt 0.43

Stolen Bases Per Game 1. Southwestern Athletic 3.60

2. Sun Belt 2.19

3. Mid-Eastern 1.60

Earned-Run Average 1. Pacific-10 1.36

2. Big East 1.66

3. Southern 1.95

Strikeouts Per Seven Innings 1. Pacific-10 6.52

2. Conference USA 6.24

3. Big East 5.84

Fielding Percentage 1. Pacific-10 .969

2. Big 10 .960

3. Western Athletic .960

© 1998 National Collegiate Athletic Association