CAA turns sideline view into professional development

Fifteen student broadcast reporters recently got a dose of real-world experience, thanks to a creative new program administered by the Colonial Athletic Association (CAA).

Through the Student Sideline Reporters program, participating students were offered the chance to be a part of live telecasts, which were available to as many as 25 million households in some cases.

As part of its 2004 basketball programming initiative, the CAA used the student sideline reporters as part of the league's SunTrust Bank CAA Game of the Week basketball television package. With a conference footprint that stretches from the shadow of the Statue of Liberty to the beaches of North Carolina, the aspiring broadcasters received exposure in some of the nation's largest media markets, including New York, Philadelphia and Baltimore/Washington, D.C.

The program was the brainchild of the CAA television committee and representatives from Comcast SportsNet Mid-Atlantic who conceived the idea last summer. Students were nominated by each institution's communications department.

The CAA forfeited one of its customary media timeouts to create a 90-second in-game break specifically geared for the student sideline report. In preparation, budding student broadcasters visited with coaches and players during game week and developed talking points for each telecast. The ideas were fine-tuned at pre-production meetings as well as during day-of-game rehearsals.

Old Dominion University student Jason Bryant, who helped the CAA debut the program on January 3, said being a sideline reporter and receiving television time made his very own highlight show.

"It was definitely the highlight of my broadcasting career," he said. "As a result of that experience, I also had an opportunity to do play-by-play for one of ODU's women's games because of the sideline reporting gig."

The CAA plans to continue the program next season.

Title IX video provides online education

The NCAA is continuing its educational efforts on the Title IX front with the creation of a new video.

The 10-minute video, which explains what Title IX is and how institutions can develop gender-equity plans, may be viewed directly on the computer by going to ncaa.org and clicking on the Title IX Seminar link.

The format includes NCAA President Myles Brand fielding questions about Title IX from student-athletes, and Judy Sweet, senior vice-president for championships and national senior woman administrator, discussing gender-equity plans.

Rosie Stallman, NCAA director of education outreach, said she hopes other videos on Title IX issues can be added in the future.

"The topics covered in the video are some of the frequently asked questions, and the video aspires to build a foundation of understanding of Title IX and gender issues," Stallman said. "As we add topics, one of our challenges will be to provide information that continually meets the needs of our membership."

Wisconsin school offers Pointers on success

Fans of University of Wisconsin, Stevens Point, athletics have had plenty to cheer about this season. Three of the school's teams -- men's and women's basketball and women's ice hockey -- earned berths in the national semifinals for their respective sports this year.

The men's basketball squad went on to win the Division III national championship March 20 with an 84-82 victory over Williams (see championship story, page 20). The win came on a fallaway jumper at the buzzer, continuing a series of last-second heroics. The Pointers advanced from the sectional final on a two-pointer by junior Eric Maus with just five seconds left in overtime to defeat Lawrence, 82-81.

The women's basketball and women's ice hockey squads, however, came up short in their title bids. In women's basketball, the Pointers lost their semifinal game to Bowdoin, 64-59. The women's ice hockey team advanced to the final after surviving two double-overtime games, first against Wisconsin-Superior for the conference championship and second against Gustavus Adolphus in the national semifinals. The Pointers lost the championship game to Middlebury, 2-1 (see championship story, page 23).

-- Compiled by Leilana McKindra

Number crunching

Looking back

10 years ago

Fast past facts

This year's Women's Final Four is April 4 and 6 in New Orleans. Here's a look back at some interesting facts from past championships:

The only time the national-championship game went into overtime was in 1991 when Tennessee defeated Virginia, 70-67, in one extra session.

Arkansas is the lowest-seeded team to advance to the Women's Final Four, having reached in 1998 as the West region's ninth seed.

Mississippi has appeared in the most regionals without ever advancing to the Final Four. The school has had nine regional appearances (1983-90 and 1992).

The state of California has hosted more regional games than any other state in tournament history. The Golden State has played host to 39 games.

Four teams made their first NCAA tournament appearance last year: Alabama State, Boston University, Charlotte and Valparaiso.

ESPN has been televising Division I Women's Basketball Championship games since 1985, when they broadcast three games live. By 1996, the network was broadcasting 24 games live. In 2003, ESPN showed all 63 games live.

Jennifer Rizzotti has been to the tournament as both a player and a coach. In 1995, she was a student-athlete on the Connecticut team that won the championship with a perfect record, and in 2002, she guided Hartford to its first NCAA tournament berth.

Three coaches have led their alma maters to the Women's Final Four: Leon Barmore and Sonja Hogg of Louisiana Tech and Wendy Larry of Old Dominion.

Six cities have hosted the Final Four more than once, including New Orleans (1991, 2004). The others are Atlanta (1993, 2003); Austin, Texas (1985, 1987); Los Angeles (1984, 1992); Norfolk, Virginia (1982-83); and Tacoma, Washington (1987-88).