National day sets stage for major campaign to save Title IX

While the 17th annual National Girls and Women in Sports Day was celebrated across the country February 5 with events large and small, it likely will be remembered as the year supporters of Title IX unveiled a national campaign to save it.

There always is a national event on Capitol Hill on National Girls and Women in Sports Day, and this year's event featured speakers who expressed concern for Title IX's future.

Former Sen. Birch Bayh and actress Holly Hunter announced the campaign, called "Save Title IX," which includes a Web site at www.SaveTitleIX.com.

The Women's Sports Foundation also presented its annual Flo Hyman Award, the most prestigious award given by the foundation, to Nawal El Moutawakel. A native of Morocco and a former student-athlete and graduate of Iowa State University, El Moutawakel won a gold medal in the 400-meter hurdles at the 1984 Olympics, becoming the first woman from an Islamic nation to win an Olympic medal and the first Moroccan of either gender to win the gold. She also was the NCAA 400-meter hurdles champion in 1984.

The organizations that sponsor National Girls and Women in Sport Day are: the Girls Scouts of the USA, Girls Incorporated, the National Association of Girls and Women in Sports and the YWCA.

CSTV launches with game, free preview

College Sports Television, the first 24-hour television network devoted exclusively to college sports, will sign on February 23 with a special live telecast of the women's basketball game between the University of Connecticut and the University of Notre Dame.

Notre Dame, the 2001 Division I women's champion, was the last team to defeat the Huskies, who took the 2002 title and had at press time an NCAA record 61-game winning streak.

The 2 p.m. Eastern time tipoff also will begin "Countdown to CSTV," a six-week free preview that will culminate with the official launch of the network Monday evening, April 7, immediately after the conclusion of the NCAA Men's Final Four (which is telecast on CBS).

CSTV will unscramble its signal for the Connecticut-Notre Dame game and throughout the six-week preview period, permitting cable and satellite operators to carry it for free.

CSTV will telecast live regular-season and conference championship games in more than 25 men's and women's intercollegiate sports. It has agreements with 27 athletics conferences and several national organizations, including the Women's Basketball Coaches Association.

'Price is Right' for New Paltz sophomore

Perhaps it was the college student's eye for bargains. Whatever it was, Stephanie Gianakos, a sophomore on the State University College at New Paltz basketball team, shone recently as a contestant on the game show "The Price is Right."

The entire team decided to attend a taping of the show while on a trip to California, thinking it would be a fun diversion. Gianakos was surprised when she was picked out of the audience and called down to contestants' row.

While there, Gianakos racked up $11,000 in cash and prizes.

The show aired February 12, and Gianakos' friends have decided to put her in charge of all team superstitions that have to do with luck.

-- Compiled by Kay Hawes

Number crunching

Looking back

Different time, same channel

Topics of importance five years ago that are relevant today:

Franklin and Marshall College Athletics Director William A. Marshall notes in a letter to The NCAA News that he was "saddened to see the three divisions of the Association go their separate ways (at the 1998 NCAA Convention, the first since the NCAA restructured its governance)."

"For years," Marshall wrote, "there was a spirited exchange of ideas, philosophies and information among the institutions, conferences and individuals from all divisions that many members looked forward to as decisions concerning the place and value of intercollegiate sport in higher education were debated. ...

"In the future, the NCAA leadership should look for ways to bring the entire membership together for events other than the opening business session and the Honors Dinner."

The Football Rules Committee decided during its February 1998 meeting to produce a second sportsmanship video to follow up new rules in that area implemented in 1995. "While we have seen significant improvement in sportsmanship since 1995, the rules committee believes it can be improved with continued educational efforts," said committee Chair Vince Dooley, director of athletics at the University of Georgia. "We want everyone associated with the college game -- players, coaches, administrators, officials and fans -- to understand how important 'team' celebration is to our game and that players who attempt to draw attention solely to themselves will be penalized."

The Division I Academics/Eligibility/Compliance Cabinet agrees to sponsor legislation that will change the spring and summer recruiting environment in men's basketball. Proposals include reducing the summer evaluation period and reducing the influence of individuals not involved in education on the entire process. "We want to send a strong message to some of those involved in summer camps that the high-school and college communities intend to be more fully engaged in the basketball recruiting process," said cabinet Chair Mike McGee, director of athletics at the University of South Carolina, Columbia.

* The Division III Championships Committee revises conference automatic-qualification requirements, including the establishment of Pools A, B and C for team selections. The changes are intended to provide access to championship opportunities for conference champions in all sports, as well as equitable access for independent institutions.