Former NCAA standouts featured in anti-doping campaign

Three former NCAA student-athletes are among seven 2004 Olympic hopefuls taking part in a U.S. Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) campaign encouraging clean sport.

Entitled "My health. My sport. My victory. I compete clean," the public service announcement campaign features former University of California, Los Angeles, track and field student-athlete John Godina, former Colorado College women's soccer student-athlete Tara Nott Cunningham and former University of Arizona softball student-athlete Jennie Finch.

The PSAs were distributed nationally to television networks and cable operators in January. The series also is available on the USADA's Web site.

Terry Madden, chief executive officer at the USADA, said the athletes were chosen after discussions with other athletes, coaches and administrators about possible candidates to appear in the PSAs.

"The U.S. Anti-Doping Agency is confident in the athletes who participated in the PSA campaign and their abilities to carry the message of clean sport to all athletes," Madden said. "The vast majority of athletes compete clean and believe in fair play and hard work. It is time to put the spotlight on this group rather than the athletes who dope to win."

Godina, a two-time Olympic medalist, captured NCAA national championships in the shot put and discus for UCLA in 1994 and 1995. Cunningham was a member of Colorado College women's soccer squads that appeared in the 1990 and 1991 Division I championships. In 2000, she became the first women's Olympic gold medalist in weight lifting. Finch, who set an NCAA record for consecutive victories with 60, helped lead the Arizona softball squad to the 2001 Women's College World Series title. She is competing in her first Olympic Games in 2004.

Smith sports bloomers to make hoops points

Smith College used peach baskets and bloomers to celebrate National Girls and Women in Sport Day (NGWSD) this year.

The school re-enacted the very first

women's college basketball game, which took place on the campus March 22, 1893. The re-enactment also helped mark the 350th anniversary of the city of Northampton, Massachusetts, where Smith is located.

Kimberly J. Allen, associate athletics director at the school, said although the first game has been re-enacted before, it was a good way to commemorate both occasions. In addition to the game, Smith also hosted sports clinics for young girls in honor of NGWSD.

Allen said the crowd, which numbered between 400 and 500, was a mix of sports clinic participants and townspeople.

A script for the game was developed based on information from Smith's archives. The uniforms, which were designed from archival photos, were modified from previous uses.

"Our women got to be a part of basketball history," Allen said. "They got to know more about it, they were excited about it and they enjoyed it."

Cleveland State plan puts fanfare at forefront

Fans are an undeniably important part of what makes college sports so exciting. Thanks to a unique endowment, Cleveland State University has a chance to honor those who support the Vikings.

Longtime public address announcer Joe Jastrzemski recently created an endowment in memory of his father Edward, who loved to attend Cleveland State basketball games.

"My father was the quintessential Viking fan," Joe explained.

Beginning next fall, the gift will be used to help fund an annual preseason gathering for men's basketball season ticket holders.

Edward, who attended his first Cleveland State basketball game during the 1983-84 season, enjoyed everything about the games, from the pep band to the roar of the crowd. He especially enjoyed the camaraderie among the fans. The Cleveland native's appreciation of the game grew so much that he became a season ticket holder in 1988 until his death in August 2002.

Since word of the endowment has spread, other fans have begun to add to the initial gift of $10,000.

-- Compiled by Leilana McKindra

Number crunching

Looking back

Top five, last 10

According to the Associated Press' Top 25 men's basketball poll for the week of February 16, 2004, the following teams were ranked one through five: Stanford, Saint Joseph's, Duke, Mississippi State and Pittsburgh.

Here's a look at the top five teams, according to AP, at this time in the season (the third week in February) for the past 10 years and the eventual winner of the championship that year:

2002-03: Arizona, Kentucky, Texas, Louisville, Oklahoma. Syracuse won the national championship.

2001-02: Kansas, Maryland, Duke, Cincinnati, Alabama. Maryland won the national championship.

2000-01: Stanford, North Carolina, Illinois, Duke, Michigan State. Duke won the national championship.

1999-00: Stanford, Duke, Cincinnati, Arizona, Michigan State. Michigan State won the national championship.

1998-99: Duke, Connecticut, Auburn, Michigan State, Maryland. Connecticut won the national championship.

1997-98: North Carolina, Duke, Arizona, Kansas, Purdue. Kentucky won the national championship.

1996-97: Kansas, Minnesota, Kentucky, Wake Forest, Utah. Arizona won the national championship.

1995-96: Massachusetts, Kentucky, Connecticut, Villanova, Kansas. Kentucky won the national championship.

1994-95: Kansas, UCLA, North Carolina, Connecticut, Massachusetts. UCLA won the national championship.

1993-94: Arkansas, Duke, Michigan, North Carolina, Connecticut. Arkansas won the national championship.