I I M I i f 11 n
BASKETBALL PS
underdeveloped and work with it. But
that is the way it is."
Glory is not the only reason black
college basketball coaches are a <ous
to swim against the tide in an effort to ?
; " Teach the NCAA tourney.^
For those teams good enough and
lucky enough to reach the Final Four7a
check for more than $1 million awaits.
Even for teams such as Alcorn and
Nnrth f arnlina AJtrT u/hn hat/*
? v vmiM a | saw IU v *1 VU"
ble making it past the first round, there
is a check for $90,000, just for making
the field.
The money goes up from there.
Alcorn, with its five. NCAA tourney
games, figures to have made close to
$500,000. That's enough to fund most
black college budgets eight years or
more.
It is peanuts, though, compared with "
what the bigger schools spend.
While most Division I black colleges
operate with a budget of around
$60,000, bigger schools spend that
much on recruiting alone.
The University of North Carolina,
... u: ~u 1 -1 .
wmen won mc nauonai cnampionsnip
two years ago, operates^ with a budget
of around $1 million.
North Carolina State, which won the
title last year, has a budget of around
RITE PI E t^^rnnr'fTiilioii^|ri'niliiffiii(l1)TtiWiilii1i
Column Nei
To The Editor
In response to a column by Staff
Writer Jphn Slade in your November
1983 issue ("MEAC Review Promising,
If Not Polished"), its headline
could also apply to the writer's efforts
? especially where the words "not
polished" are concerned.
First of all, please advise Mr. Slade
that Sallie Hayes did not play football
at North Carolina Central University -one
of his sentences reads, "Both Sallie
Hayes and Maurice Spencer, - who
played football at North Carolina Central
University, look good on television."
Since Mr. Slade is a staff writer for
the Black College Sports Review, such
sentence structure does not make the
publication appear "promising," and
certainly not "polished."
A. C/v. tU. .... UP
fia iui me iiaicmcni, apencer, on
the other hand, leaves so much to be
desired that he is one of the show's biggest
liabilities," did Mr. Slade conduct
a survey to substantiate that observation?
I wasn't part of the survey if he
did.
Thus, either the survey participants
were randomly selected, or Mr. Slade
made a very ambiguous and downright
slanderous statement, ignorant of all
the contributions made by Spencer on
and off the tube to the "MEAC
Pane 14-Dpcember, 1983SSS5SSS
t < l Itv
tE VIEW '83-64
$500,000. While that pales in con
parison to what its sister school spend:
it ain't exactly peanuts, either.
"It all comes down to the money,
says Winston-Salem's Gaines. "Qi
teams can't afford to do all the thinj
the bigger schools do. We can't affoi
to have a coach follow a kid aroun
from the time he is in the ninth grade.
So> what's the answer?
"You just have to prepare a plan,
says Florida A&M's Tony Fields. *
have no problems with bdng in Div
sion 1. 1 don't think being here is
dream. If you can develop a plan ar
develop your personnel, then you ct
find yourself moving up the ladde
One thing you have got to keep in mir
is that all the white schools that are
Division I aren't doing that well eithc
1 think the black schools can succeed
A.B. Williamson, head coach
Howard, has a startling idea.
He figures many black schoc
should get rid of football, and put i
their resources into basketball.
"A lot of white schools have do
this," he says. "Medium-range wh
conferences have cut out football l
put more money into basketball.!"
It is not likely that Williamson's suj
gestion will ever be taken seriousl;
liner rromi
Review."
Can Mr. Slade name the coach
who have been 1'embarrassed**
Spencer? Where and how did the wril
receive confessions from coaches
this effect?
I*m sure he must have had the fac
since the Black College Sport Revi<
wouldn't publish anything withe
concrete data.
Why doesn't Mr. Slade conti
Sallie Hayes, Maurice Spencer and t
"MEAC Review** staff and becoi
educated about the Droduction of i
program, then wrke^ an 4nt*Uigi
negative or positive article?
I realize Mr. Slade expressed his o
nions based on what he saw on 1
television screen. But his ability to
terpret what he was looking at a
publish it in an article should have,
my opinion, been kept under the n
His article revealed a great lack
knowledge involving TV producti
and a negative picture of his abilitu
I have known and followed b<
Sallie Hayes and Maurice Spencer fc
number of vears. Neither deserves t
kind of publicity, nor does
"MEAC Review'* staff.
If John Slade is interested in
"MEAC Review" in a positive w
why doesn't he contact the "ME
Review" office and offer positive s
gestions and financial support?
%
?T k ' v : ,' *r-- \- --?
* 1 ^
\ continued
\- though. Black college football is a
s, tradition at most schools, and an often
lucrative one as well, and is unlikely
" ever to be scrapped.
ir V-;
is In the meantime, most black college
_ ff^ f _ _ t a. i *
d lh vision i oasKetMUi taunt urn year
td will finish with losing records.
?? And the odds are that those two
black teams that advance to the
" playoffs will be beaten in the first
v "It all comes down to the money
|d things the bigger schools do. We ^
m a kid around from the time he L
r.
id ^
in
i. round.
Is it worth it?
at "I think Division I is good for some
black colleges/* says Williamson. "I
>ls think some black institutions will proall
fit because there is no money to be
made in Division II or Division III,
ne even if you win the championships,
ite And, with the kind of money problems
everybody is having now, that has to be
lo, a positive factor."
Of course, all colie&e teams cong.
stantfy search for new ways to make
money. But the only black college
y, basketball teams that seem to have
sing Nor Poll
tl- n 1 n?
i lie iu uwic, ivicrtv rvcvicw riuics
mising, If Not Polished," made the
by Black College Sports Review
ter something I read in the past-for want
to of something better. I am cancelling
my subscription.
ts,
ew N.G. Liggins
>ut Greensboro, N.C.
act Editor's note: We appreciate you/
he comments. However, we'd like tc
me make some points of clarification: thi
he Winston-Salem Chronicle, which
znl publishes-the- Black College Sports
Review, has featured a profile on thi
pi- "MEAC Review" in its regular edi
the tion, including a front-page photo anc
in- interviews with Sal lie Hayes, Mauria
ind t
A"
B Write Field ~
rs.
ath
>r a We welcomc letters from Black
his signed and should be m> more tha
the right to edit all letters for brevity ai
way alter its content. Letters shoul
the ed to: Allen H. Johnson, Editor,
ay, Box 3154, Winston-Salem, N.C. 1
AC
ug
"V '
. *
found the answer are those in the Central
Intercollegiate Athletic Association
- a Division I! league.
Those teams play to packed houses,
?with one of them*-NorfolkStater
?among the leaders in Division II attendance
last year with an average of more
than 5,000 fans per game..
And tickets forthe CIAA tourna
ment in Norfolk are often very difficult"
\ Our teams can 7 afford to all the
can 7 afford to have a coach follow ^
s in the ninth grade. "
? ' 'Bighouse' * Gaines
to come by. Last year's tourney attracted
a record 45,452 fans over four
days
So, while some black schools wallow
in the big, uncertain sea of Division 1,
hoping to reach the pot of gold that is
the Division 1 Final Four, others go a
different route.
Who's right and who's wrong?
There's no way to say. Besides, there
also is that chance- that one day a
Howard or a Florida will land
the next Abdul-Jabbar.
i nen, tnat pot or gold won't seem so
far away.
ished ~
Spencer and producer Stuart Davis.
That article preceded John S/ade's
column, which was a review and,
therefore, is his opinion of what he
saw, not an article based on surveys or
interviews.
r?.,_ _u.. ?i- - ? i ?
rmutiy, we wnoienearieaiy support
i the "MEAC Review" and wish it continued
success and growth in the
future.
Part of that success hinges on the
) ability of its staff to take criticism con?
structively.
]
i As for the cancellation of your ?
? subscription, we find that difficult to
do, since our records indicate that you
i are not a subscriber nor have you ever
? been.
i
ungual" ^ T (iinnnAnniin" UOT wiuiftin iiiTWM*itu\MUi)jujaiJi.WMWit
College Sports fans. Letters must be
n 300 words in length. We reserve the
nd clarity. However, we will not in any
d be typed or neatly printed and mailBlack
College Sports Review, P.O.
17101. (919) 722-8624.