The Morning Dish – Wednesday, September 10th
Bracket Buster: ESPN has announced the field for the second “Bracket Buster” Saturday, scheduled for February 21st. The field, which features teams from 11 mid-major and smaller conferences, more than doubled in size to 46 teams competing in 23 games, up from 18 schools and nine games last season. Five games will be televised on the network nationally. Notables include Butler, Wisconsin-Milwaukee, Kent State, Southern Illinois, Fresno State, Tulsa, Creighton, and Western Kentucky, all of whom had NCAA tournament aspirations last season. Virtually the entire Horizon, Mid-American and Missouri Valley Conferences will be participating. Home and away teams have been determined, but the matchups won’t be finalized until February 1st. Each of the home teams for this season’s event will play a “return” game at their opponent in the 2004-05 season to create a “home-and-home” series.
No Confidence: Five Baylor University regents yesterday called for the firing of university president Robert Sloan, who has presided over the Patrick Dennehy tragedy and the subsequent Dave Bliss scandal, and has also instituted a controversial 10-year plan, called “Baylor 2012”, to make Baylor a top academic and research institution with a strong Christian slant. The five regents called for the entire board of regents, number 36 members, to vote to immediately terminate Sloan’s contract. Meanwhile, the Baylor faculty senate passed a “no confidence” vote yesterday against Sloan, its most severe form of criticism. The motion passed 26-6 after a three-hour session. However, student senate president Jeff Leach announced that Sloan still has the support of the school’s 14,000 students.
G’town Transfer: The College of Charleston has announced that former Georgetown point guard Drew Hall has transferred to the Cougars. Hall, who averaged 3.5 points, 2 boards and 3 assists last season, will have to sit out a year under NCAA transfer rules. He will have two years of eligibility remaining when he starts play again for the 2004-05 season. Last week Hall was denied admission to Gonzaga for failing to meet academic requirements.
Wildcat on the Road: Kansas State senior guard Jarrett Hart was arrested this past weekend for a DUI offense. Hart, who was arrested by Riley County police, was released on $1,500 bond. This is the second DUI arrest in the past year for Hart, who averaged 7.5 points and 3.4 boards per game last season. A Kansas State official stated that any disciplinary measures would be handled internally after Hart’s court process is completed.
Vandy Restructuring: Vanderbilt has announced that they will eliminate the school’s athletic department. We’re not kidding. The move, which flies in the face of big-time athletics, will not affect the Commodore product on the intercollegiate playing field, at least not immediately. In essence, the shakeup merges both intramural and intercollegiate athletics under the same department under the university administration. The position of athletic director will be eliminated, and current AD Todd Turner has been offered the position of “special assistant to the chancellor for athletic and academic reform” – fit that on a business card. Vanderbilt Chancellor Gordon Gee stated, “There is a wrong culture in athletics, and I’m declaring war on it. Let there be no misunderstanding of our intention: Vanderbilt is committed to competing at the highest levels in the Southeastern Conference and the NCAA, but we intend on competing consistent with the values of a world-class university.” Gee, who presides over one of the cleanest athletics programs in the nation, used to be the president at Ohio State, which is having issues this week with running back Maurice Clarett. Said Gee, “If I did this at Ohio State I’d be pumping gas.”
