Page 6
The Voice
April 16, 1985
SPORTS
Lady Bronco Softball Digest
Educational Betrayal
The Student-Athlete Scandal
By Marion Crowe
Lady Broncos 9, N.C. A&T 4
N.C. A&T 14, Lady Broncos 4
Renee Ford went 2 for 3 as she
led the Lady Broncos to a 9-4 win
over North Carolina A&T
University, Friday, March 16. The
Lady Broncos were held to five hits
and committed four errors, but
managed to outscore the visiting
A&T team in the third and fourth
innings, four and three runs,
respectively, to take the win. Ford
was the winning pitcher, giving
up seven hits.
In the second game of the
doubleheader, the Lady Broncos
committed ten miscues and fell 14-
4 to A&T, Leading hitter for the
Lady Broncos, who only managed
three hits, was Terry Wingate. She
was 2 for 2 with one run batted in
(RBI). Losing pitcher was Renee
Ford, giving up nine hits.
North Carolina A&T de
feated the Bronco netters 6-3,
Wednesday, April 3, 1985.
Results of the singles and
doubles matches are Singles:
Fenner (A&T) defeated Smith
(FSU) 6-1, 6-1; Williams (FSU)
defeated Berry (A&T) 6-4, 6-1;
Thompson (A&T) defeated
Wade (FSU) 6-0, 6-2; Bryant
(A&T) defeated Bullock (FSU)
Lady Broncos 10, VA State 4
Lady Broncos 9, Shaw U. 8
The Lady Broncos' defense
kept the pressure on, and
Renee Ford went 3 for 3 as
Fayetteville State knocked off
Virginia State 10-4, Saturday,
March 30. The Lady Broncos
put the game out of reach in
the first inning, scoring six
runs behind the hitting of Ford
and Frankie McDonald.
The Lady Broncos combined
for 16 hits in posting their
second win of the season.
Frankie McDonald's RBI
single in the top of the seventh
inning gave the Lady Broncos
a 9-8 win over Shaw University
in their second game on
Saturday. The Lady Broncos,
who won their second game in
a row, struck for two runs in
6-3, 6-3; Butlet (A&T) defeated
Wingate (FSU) 6-1, 6-2; and
Vaughn (FSU) won by forfeit.
Doubles: Fenner-Bryant (A&T)
defeated Williams-Wade (FSU)
10-4; Berry-Thompson (A&T)
defeated Bullock-Wingate
(FSU) 10-0; and Vaughn-
Johnson (FSU) won by forfeit.
The loss dropped the Bronco
netters to 4-3 for the season.
the first inning and held a 5-2
advantage until the sixth when
Shaw rallied to tie the score.
Leading batters for the Lady
Broncos, who are 1-0 in
conference play and 3-3 overall,
were Frankie McDonald, 2 for
3; Sharon Johnson, 2 for 4;
Terry Wingate, 2 for 4; and
Renee Ford, 2 for 4.
Lady Broncos 25, N.C.C.U. 13
Lady Broncos 0, N.C.C.U. 5
The Lady Broncos exploded
for 16 runs in the first and
second innings to roll past
North Carolina Central 25-13,
Friday, April 5, as Renee Ford
recorded her fifth win of the
season. Leading batters for the
Lady Broncos, who collected 17
hits, were Sharon Johnson, 3
for 5, triple; Terry Wingate, 2
for 4; Sandra McQueen, 3 for
5, double; and Grace Frye, 3
for 5, double.
In the second game, Marie
Lewis limited the Lady Broncos
to two hits in a shortened
game, and the Lady Eagles
won the second game of the
doubleheader 5-0.
Young
But
Promising
By Marion Crowe
The 1985 season for Coach Leon
Moore will be a rebuilding year
and a new experience for him and
many of his players.
The Lady Broncos lost the
nucleus of the team that won two
straight ClAA (Central
Intercollegiate Athletic Associa
tion) titles and who finished third
in last year's tournament. Not only
did graduation take several key
players, but several players who
were expected to return did not
show up for practice.
Sharon Johnson, all-CIAA at
shortstop, turned her back on
softball to concentrate on
graduation. Left fielder, all
conference Sharon Jones and
standout firstbasewoman
Bridgett Haire are not in school
this year and will be missed by the
team.
If all this sounds bad, don't stop.
The CIAA, at one time, was
thinking about dropping slow-
pitch softball for fast pitch;
however, at their last meeting and
on the recommendations of the
coaches, fast pitch is delayed for at
least one year.
Sports
Questions
By Marion Crowe
1. Who is golf's “The Golden
Bear?”
2. Name the harness horse that
won $1,414,313 in one year (1980)?
3. Name the only man to win
summer and winter Olympic gold
medals.
4. What countries have won
soccer's World Cup three times?
Answers
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By Richard E. Lapchick
The Los Angeles Times
Take a close look at the
academic background of many
of today's college athletes, and
it quickly becomes clear that
the very university system that
is supposed to be the keeper of
our moral values has been the
source of the betrayal of some
of those values. The revelation
of each new case raises the
specter of scandal, as well as a
sense of outrage. We should
have been outraged for
decades.
It starts with an admission
process that sometimes ignores
high-school records. A few
months ago it was revealed
that North Carolina State
admitted Chris Washburn, a
high-school star who had a
combined College Board score
of 470 (70 points above the
lowest possible score out of a
potential 1,600 points) and
mostly Ds and Fs in his first
three years of high school. Yet
we can't single out N.C. State,
since it competed with some
200 universities for Washburn's
services. As a professor there
commented: ‘"Every coach in
the Atlantic Coast Conference
knows they cannot win the
conference championship
without recruiting people who
are incapable of graduating
from a four-year college.”
A highly placed athletic
administrator at a major
college recently told me that if
the National Collegiate
Athletic Association initiated a
requirement that all college
athletes needed to have a
combined College Board score
of 900 (approximately the
national average for all entering
freshmen), then 75 percent of
the starters on the top 20
teams in basketball would
suddenly disappear from the
playing arenas.
Only the naive or uninform
ed assume that universities with
big-time programs give scholar
ships to men (and increasingly
to women) so that they may be
true student athletes. On too
many campuses the athletes are
there to play their sports and
stay eligible. Shockingly, only
30 percent of all athletes, and
20 percent of all black athletes,
who obtain an athletic
scholarship in a revenue-
producing sport ever graduate.
And, although they may bring
glory and income to their
universities, once their eligibility
has expired, too many heroes
become un-prepared and
suddenly dispensable people.
Eligibility is not the same as
education. It is maintained by
a system of cheating and
cutting corners. The actors
include university administra
tors, alumni, coaches, and the
athletes themselves.
Each group has its own
reasons. Universities and their
alumni see . the . incredible.
benefits of major athletic
programs: Visibility, prestige,
increased enrollments and huge
revenues. The phenomenon of
Doug Flutie netted Boston
College close to $10 million
and increased admissipn
applications nearly 25 percent.
The lesson is not lost on
schools struggling with
declining budgets and shrinking
enrollments.
Coaches know that they must
either win or seek employment
elsewhere. Bill Wall, former
president of the National
Association of Basketball
Coaches, notes, “I know some
coaches who couldn't stop
cheating if they wanted to,
because their alumni and
boosters wouldn't let them."
Some coaches, under tremen
dous pressure, do everything
possible to procure star players
and keep them eligible.
Perhaps the worst part of
the scandal is that some
universities join in perpetuating
the myth that sports is the way
to escape poverty. It is natural
that thousands of high-school
athletes, following the hype,
want to be just like Kareem or
“Dr. J,” Julius Erving. Hoping
to realize the dream of a pro
career, they cut academic
corners to remain eligible.
What they don't know is
that the odds are 12,000-to-l
that they won't even be a
fringe player in the pros, let
alone the next Abdul-Jabbar.
The odds are better for a black
high-school student to become
a physician or an attorneV than
a professional basketball player.
Moreover, 49 out of 50 high-
school athletes won't get a
scholarship to play in college.
Because of the emphasis on
eligibility over academic
preparation, many must bitterly
(and hopelessly) face the real
world at an all-too-early age.
Cynics would have us believe
that universities have to cut
corners to be big winners. The
implication is that excellent
athletic programs are incompat
ible with programs where
athletes get good educations.
On the surface that may sound
true, yet look at the last two
national champions in basket
ball; North Carolina graduates
nearly 100 percent of its
players, and Georgetown
graduates 94 percent. St.
John's, which was No. 1 for
a time this year, graduates 92
percent of its players. Signs are
encouraging at some powerhouse
schools, but not many.
The NCAA may be too big
a bureaucracy, with too much
self-interest in the product, to
effect serious reform. It is time
for our university leaders to set
examples at their own institu
tions by implementing policies
that will ensure the education
of their student athletes.
Athletes . with .th£ stature of
(continued on page 8)
Members of the 1985 Bronco tennis team: left to right, back row: Alex
Wade, Phillip Johnson, Barry Bullock, Duane Clark, and Coach Bobby
Henderson; left to right, front row: Terry Wingate, Dennis Williams, and
Joyce Vaughn. (Photo by John B. Henderson)
Co-captains for the 1985 softball season: Left to right: 3rd baseman,
Terry Wingate (14) of Bishopville, South Carolina, and centerfielder,
Vickie Warren (17) of Rembert, South Carolina. (Photo by John
Henderson)
Tennis Update