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News Nuggets, 01.19.05
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Compiled from staff reports and electronic dispatches

NCAA looking for answers to financial pressures

The NCAA is forming a task force of university presidents to help athletic departments cope with soaring costs.

NCAA president Myles Brand announced the initiative last week during a speech before the City Club of Cleveland.

The price of college sports was a key element of Brand's speech Jan. 9 at the NCAA convention in Grapevine, TX. He has said that price is increasing at twice the rate of average university expenses, and winning teams do not significantly increase donations or revenue.

"The competition for student recruits, especially in the two revenue sports, has led to excesses of the kind that have played out on the headlines," Brand said in his Cleveland speech. "The competition for good coaches has resulted in a market that yields compensation packages for a selected few that puts them in the rarified air of celebrities and professional sports coaches, and at odds with faculty and others on campus."

Wally Renfro, a spokesman for Brand, said the task force would work to find solutions for universities whose athletic departments aren't self-sustaining.

"What the issue here is that there should be a deeper integration between athletics and the university," Renfro said.

Peter Likins, president of the University of Arizona, will be chairman of the group, which is expected to complete its work in one and a half to two years, the NCAA said. Likins also is a member of the Knight Commission on Intercollegiate Athletics, a privately funded group composed mostly of college presidents.

The task force does not intend to form a policy or in any way limit compensation to coaches. Brand and Likins said doing so would violate antitrust law.

C-USA, Carolinas players on Cousy Award list

One Conference USA star and three players from Carolinas schools made the cut as finalists for one of college basketball's most prestigious individual awards.

Travis Diener of Marquette, Chris Paul of Wake Forest and Raymond Felton of North Carolina were among six repeat finalists and Julius Hodge of N.C. State was on the list for the first time as the contenders for the Bob Cousy Award were announced last week.

Chris Hernandez of Stanford, Josh Mueller of South Dakota and Chris Thomas of Notre Dame are also finalists for a second straight season.

The honor is given to the outstanding point guard in college basketball and is presented by the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame in Springfield, MA.

A total of 18 finalists from all three divisions were selected. The inaugural award was presented last year to Jameer Nelson of Saint Joseph's.

The other finalists for 2005 were: Jose Juan Barea of Northeastern, J.D. Byers of Lebanon Valley, Tim Forbes of Bentley, Tom Harrington of Baldwin-Wallace, Jarrett Jack of Georgia Tech, Erik Jackson of Macalester, Carl Krauser of Pittsburgh, Dave Logan of Indianapolis, Aaron Miles of Kansas, Rob Monroe of Quinnipiac, C.J. Watson of Tennessee and Deron Williams of Illinois.

The award, named for the Hall of Fame guard for the Boston Celtics, will be presented in St. Louis on April 4.

News Nuggets are compiled periodically based on material supplied by staff members; data published by ECU, Conference USA and its member schools; and reports from Associated Press and other sources. Copyright 2005 Bonesville.net and other publishers. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

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