Florida passes law extending protection to sports officials

Florida Gov. Jeb Bush recently signed a bill that extends added protection from assaults to more than 10,000 sports officals overseeing all levels of competition within the state.

According to the National Association of Sports Officials (NASO), Florida is the 18th state overall and the second state this year to pass legislation protecting sports officials. Illinois also recently instituted a similar law shielding sports officials from assaults.

The new law, which goes into effect October 1, provides enhanced penalties for assault, battery, aggravated assault or aggravated battery against sports officials. Such crimes could now result in fines up to $10,000 and three years in jail.

The bill adds sports officials to an existing provision that protects other public servants such as elected officials, teachers and Department of Children and Family Services employees.

Barry Mano, president of NASO, said that while each of the state laws protecting sports officials is different, defining sports officials as a special class is one of two familiar themes tying all the laws together.

"We're defining them as a special class and with that classification comes additional penalties if you assault these people," he said. "The other theme is to increase the penalties such that a statement is made that if you do this you're going to suffer more severely."

Mano said four or five other states currently are considering legislation protecting sports officials.

Kansas student-athletes hawk recipes for charity

Members of the Student-Athlete Advisory Committee at the University of Kansas have cooked up a unique fund-raiser benefitting the American Cancer Society.

The group assembled nearly 150 recipes submitted by Kansas Hall of Fame student-athletes to create a cookbook called "Rock Chalk Recipes". The cookbook features culinary favorites of such Jayhawks as Nick Collison, Danny Manning, Clyde Lovellette and Lynette Woodard.

The SAAC hopes to sell all 5,000 cookbooks printed, which would, after expenses, translate into a hefty $50,000 donation to the American Cancer Society. The books sell for $15 each.

Phillip Lowcock, director of student-athlete life skills and student support services at Kansas, said the group sent requests for recipes to about 60 Kansas all-Americans thought to be recognizable and who represented different sports, genders and time periods.

"A week later we started getting things back in the mail. It was kind of scary how well it went," Lowcock said.

So far, the SAAC has sold about 500 books. It expects to sell out during football season.

"Everybody who hears about it has been like 'wow, what a great idea. I want to send two of those to relatives who graduated from KU.' The people who hear about it have been very, very positive," Lowcock said.

Gift horse brings winner's legacy to Georgia program

Meghan Boenig, head equestrian coach at the University of Georgia, frequently fields offers of donations of horses for the Bulldogs' three-year-old program. But few rival the one she received this past October from Georgia alumnus Roy Dorsey.

Dorsey donated his horse, Level Sands, a thoroughbred whose linage includes Triple Crown winner Secretariat.

Although Level Sands had been used strictly for stud after his racing career in the 1990s, the school had other ideas.

Using the State University of New York at Mooresville as an example, Georgia not only expects Level Sands to sire horses for use in many equestrian disciplines, but also hopes to integrate the thoroughbred's offspring into the Bulldog program while using stud fees to generate revenue for the breeding and equestrian programs.

"I think this is a really unique program in the sense that we're teaching riders about equine and sports, we're competing with them and we're also able to introduce this quality breeding program to be able to ride future champions we've bred and trained ourselves," Boenig said.

Level Sands, named the 2003 stallion of the year by the Georgia Thoroughbred Owners and Breeders Association, was sired by Storm Cat, the grandson of Secretariat.

-- Compiled by Leilana McKindra

Number crunching

Looking back

10 years ago

Here's what was happening within the Association in July 1994:

As the NCAA Executive Committee prepares to meet, the budget is the top item on the agenda. Projected operating revenue for the Association for 1994-95 is about $190 million. Of that, about $152 million will come from the television contract with CBS Sports. The coming year will be the fifth of that contract.

NCAA institutions and conferences submit 94 proposals for the 1995 NCAA Convention. Among the proposals is one sponsored by the College Football Association that would realign Division I-A by creating a Division IV.

The University of Notre Dame announces it will join the Big East Conference in all sports, except football, in 1995. The school had been a member of the Midwestern Collegiate Conference, a non-football conference, in every sport except basketball. The decision to join the Big East means the Fighting Irish will give up their independence in basketball for the first time.

Basketball attendance reports show a slight decrease in attendance at men's basketball games during the 1993-94 season. In games involving a Division I team, total attendance nationally was down by 46,497 fans. That number takes into account 130,968 fewer people attending the NCAA tournament in 1994, principally because of smaller arenas at the game sites.

Division II football student-athletes will be subject to year-round drug testing beginning in fall 1994. The program is similar to one implemented for football student-athletes in Division I-A and I-AA in 1990 and Division I track and field student-athletes in 1992.

After compiling a 212-166 record during 12 seasons as head men's basketball coach at Seton Hall University, P. J. Carlesimo announces he will become the head coach of the NBA's Portland Trail Blazers. He had led Seton Hall to the 1989 Men's Final Four championship game.