The NCAA --,February 9,1983, Volume 20 Number 6 Oftkial Publication of th ational Collegiate Athletic Association Three-pointer has coaches up in the air A nightmare to some; a necessituJ to others By James A. Sheldon Grant, the defensive wizard at thcrc is a coach who is all in favor of The NCAA News Staff Frcsno State, was an unusual victim of making the three-pomt play a pcrma- Dick Versace and Boyd Grant can the three-pomt experiment being used nent part of the NCAA men’s basket- tell a story or two about three-pomt in the Pacific Coast Athletic Associa- ball rules. North Carolina’s Dean plays. tion. His squad had just tied a tense Smith is one-he has defended the Versace, whose Bradley teams have panic with Callfornla-Irvine on a much-criticized l7-foot, mnc-Inch ncvcr been known for reluctance to put three-pointer with 14 seconds to go. shot used this year in the Atlantic the ball up, was a surprised victim of But it seemed the scoreboard operator Coast Confcrcncc. the Missouri Valley Conference’s was a littlc slow with the button-nly “If you got out 20 or 21 feet, it three-pomt rule in a recent game with two of the points were posted as time won’t become part of your offense,” Illinois State. Trailing by three points was running down. Fresno State’s Smith said recently. “It will just bc a with two seconds left, his Braves went Tyrone Bradlcy glanced at the score- last-ditch attempt like it 1s in the pro for and converted a layin instead of board and, in desperation, fouled Cal- game.” going for the three-point shot and a Irvine’s Ben McDonald. McDonald The same holds true for the various chance to tie. hit both free throws, and what could shot&clock experiments being con- “I was the most surprised man have been an overtime game was a ductcd this season. Dcpcnding on the around,” said Versace of Rosey Davi- three-point victory for the Anteaters. source, it is the savior or the ruin of son’s choice of a layup instead of a But for every coach who has had to collcgc basketball. You can get an ear- three-pointer. IIVC through a nightmare like that, ful on either topic, pro or con, whcr- ever you turn. What it all adds up to, however, is Spring sports previews begin; not what happened in a particular game, but what the sum effect is after a full season of experimentation. That IS baseball’s popularity growing exactly what the NCAA M&n’s Bas- Spring has yet to arrive in most parts ers selected in the annual professional ketball Rules Committee is waiting to of the country, but spring sports sea- draft shows that more college players discover. sons soon will be here. As those sea- and fewer high school players arc “At this point in the season, the jury sons approach, The NCAA News will being selected. Scvcral years ago, the is still out,” said Edward S. Steitz, scc- resume its series of season previews opposite was true. retary-editor of the rules committee. for all sports in which the Association Next week’s preview will highlight “Until we have the data before us, conducts championship competition. the top teams in college baseball for we’re not about to destroy the delicate The first spring season previews the 1083 season. It will take a brief balance between offense and defense. appear in this issue of the News as the look at whether the Umversity of That is what makes college basketlball upcoming tennis, golf and men’s vol- Miami (Florida): the University of the great game that it is _” leyball seasons arc featured. The Feb- California, Riverside, and Eastern When the committee meets April 5- ruary I6 issue of the News will feature Connecticut State College are likely to 7 in Albuquerque, New Mexico, it will a preview of one of the fastest-growing repeat as the NCAA’s three division have the benefit of a full season of college sports: baseball. champions. data, opinions, feedback and theories. An increase in annual attendance of In addition, a feature story will The committee will examine input more than six million during the past, explore the pros and cons of the alumi- from two major sou~ccs: the results of three years and the popularity of the num bat, a popular piece of equipment its own rules questionnaire and the sta- Entertainment and Sports Program- that appears to be increasing the tistical information compiled by each ming Network’s coverage of the Cal- offense in today’s game, yet might be a conference on its particular experi- lege World Series are just two indica- potential cause of injuries. ments. (Note to conference officials: tions of baseball’s increased stature. As part of its ongoing coverage, the Experimental data should be for- In addition, the News repotted last News already has reported develop- warded promptly at the end of the reg- summer that a study of baseball play- See Spring. page I2 ular season to Steitz at Springfield Cal- lege or Kenneth Stibler at Biscayne College.) See Three-pointer, page I2 North Carolina’s Michael Jordan takes long-distance shot NCAA officers clarify limitations on Division I-A coaching staffs Acting for the Association’s Coun- Proposal No. I25 for the purpose of football coaches in other paragraphs) cil, the NCAA Administrative Com- adding one assistant coach in Division should take precedence over the subse- mittee has reviewed the application of I-A football and eliminating part-time quent vote on Proposal No. 127. Proposal No. 125 adopted at the 1983 assistants. Accordingly, it would not be per- Convention to amend legislation gov- A note included in the 1983 Con- missible (subsequent to August I, eming Division I-A football coaching vention Program regarding the intent 1983) for a Division I-A member insti- staff limitations. of Proposal No. 125 indicated that net- tution to utilize additional part-time In considering the application of cssary editorial changes would be coaches in football on the basis of the this proposal (which becomes effec- made to dclctc refcrcnces to part-time provisions of Bylaw 7- I-(g). tivc August I, 1983), the committee coaches m other paragraphs of NCAA The committee noted that adoption noted that the Division 1-A member legislation. The apphcatlon of the note of Parts A and B of Proposal No. 125 instltutlons adopted Parts A and B of concerning editorial changes was would eliminate part-time assistant questioned, however, when Division coaches only in Division 1-A football, 1-A member institutions failed to adopt and the previous coaching staff limita- Court date set Part C of Proposal No. 127. tions would continue to apply to DIvi- Final arguments will be heard Feb- Part C of Proposal No. 127 would sion I-AA football and Division I bas- ruary I7 in the antitrust lawsuit filed have deleted the reference in Bylaw 7- ketball. against the NCAA by the Association 1-(g) to the utilization of two addi- for Intercollegiate Athletics for tional part-time coaches in football. Women When this proposal was not adopted, In the News Testimony in the suit ended October several member institutions ques- Letters to the Editor . .2 29. after which both parties were given tioned the effect the Division I-A Basketball notes and statistics in all 45 days to file their final proposed membership’s adoption of Proposal men’s and women’s divisions .3-5 findings of fact in the case. No. 125 would have on the application Judge Thomas P. Jackson of the of Bylaw 7-l-(g). Fiive persons who received prison U.S. District Court for the District of The Administrative Committee con- terms were denied appeals of their con- Columbia set the date for closing argu- cluded that the action of Division 1-A victions in the Boston College point- ments last week. There is no indication members in adopting Parts A and B of shaving case . .I2 when a decision in the case will be Proposal No. 125 (for the express pur- TVintheNews... 12 announced. pose of deleting references to part-time 2 February 9,1983 I The NCAA Commen t Four bowls to experiment with later date By Verne Boatner ner, is because, ” Prior to the last couple of years, toward the end market Arizona Republic of the season the strong teams won and the weak teams lost. “If you draw a link down the middle of the United States, I3 The four New Year’s Day bowls free to invite participants (the “But the big difference now is that there are not the strong and percent of TV sets are in the West, 87 percent in the East. New Rose Bowl is locked in to the Pacific-10 and Big Ten champions) weak anymore. Because of parity (brought on by the 30-95 schol- York City has eight percent of the sets in the country, Los Angeles are poised to embark on an interesting experiment. arship limitation rule), a lot of teams are close to each other (in 5.1 percent. Los Angeles and San Francisco make up eight of that They have decided this year not to invite teams until November strength). 13 percent in the West.” 27-28-a full week after the permissible date set by the NCAA. In “There were more upsets on bid day last year than ever before.