The Student Newspaper Of The University Of North Carolina At tjharlatte
f April 11, 1978
Volume XIII; Number 24 j
Rose Goes: Pratt Takes Ov^r
By James Braswell
No doubt you’ve heard. He’s gone.
Lee Rose, the man mainly responsible
for UNCC’s athletic success, has left UNCC
to become head basketball coach at Purdue
University in West Lafayette, Indiana.
And as the three year Rose era at
UNCC ends, the Mike Pratt era begins.
Pratt, one of Rose’s two assistants at
UNCC, was named head coach Friday
morning at the same press conference used
to announce Rose was leaving.
Assistant Coach Everett Bass, who
played for Rose at Transylvania, (Ky.)
College in the early 70’s, mulled job offers
from UNCC and Purdue all weekend before
opting Sunday to go with Rose. No
replacement had been named late Monday.
In Indiana Friday, Rose read a
prepared statement that said in part: “My s
association with UNCC has been one of the *
most gratifying experiences in my coaching
career. More important than coaching has
been the cultivation of friends who have
helped me in this phase of UNCC’s young
athletic prograra
“The decision to go to Purdue has not
been without great and thoughtful
deliberation. Purdue offers a different type
of challenge and one in which,
professionally, I feel 1 should take on.
“Those in Charlotte, the University
and surrounding communities who have
been touched by our accomplishments will
always remain very close to our hearts.
Their understanding and sensitivity toward
,this change makes a difficult transition
easier.
“There are still many challenges and
opportunities that face UNCC, and I call on
all loyal supporters to rally behind it, the
Rose after First Union Tournament.
(photo by Geary Clarke)
athletic program, and your new head
coach, Mike Pratt.”
Rose was also Athletic Director at
UNCC, a position now filled on an interim
basis by forlnef assistant athletic director:
Dave Taylor. Taylor asked not to be
considered among the candidates for the;
permanent position because that he felt he i
lacked experience.
Taylor, a UNCC alumnus, became|
assistant athletic director last fall, and was|
previously sports information director. He
said Friday that the new athletic director;
would not be chosen from the UNCC staff.
So, with a deep breath, UNCC takes!
Mike Pratt as its new head basketball
coach. At the press conference, Pratt was*
introduced to a standing ovation.
“This kind of warm welcome,” said
Pratt, “makes it a little easier to try to fill:
the shoes that Lee left, which we know are
very large.”
Pratt said he felt he could cope with
the pressure of the job; in fact, he said he
didn’t think there was any pressure. “I
went to Kentucky and you’ve all read how'
much pressure there is there, and I’ve
played in the ABA (American Basketball
Association) championship which went to
seven games. I think where I’ve been and
,what I’ve been involved in shows the kind
of pressure I have to deal with. I feel there
is no pressure (here).”
Pratt said he had the opportunity in
the past to leave UNCC but chose not to
New head coach Mike Pratt.
(photo b^Li
fcangg).
leave. “I think that shows what we (Pratt
and his wife) think of Charlotte.”
; The new head coach was optimistic
about recruiting, despite the coaching '
change, and said he and Rose would work
together on advising which players that
they had contacted to go to which school.
Pratt talked about next year’s schedule
and said that UNCC’s home schedule would
be larger. He said the 49ers would open
against Mississippi and Texas Tech at home.
Pratt also said that Rose had told him
Purdue would play UNCC as soon as there
was room in the BoileriMkers schedule.
About That
Headline
•••
By Brad Rich ,
You try so hard, but things still don’t work out.
We worked two extra days on the newspaper last week,
honestly trying to put out an issue that would have eight pages'
of hwxx and four pages of reality - and a mistake at our
printer turned one of the “serious” pages into a joke as well.
You see, the machine that prints our headlines had gone
on the blink for the umpteen millionth time, and we had to
write the headlines above the articles and ask the printer to
fill them in. Most of ’em they did all right, but the crucial
one, the lead article on the real front page (the back page)
was a disaster.
It should have read "Springs to Face Hall in Runoff,”
but somehow it got mangled into “Springs Runoff To Face
Hace Hall In.”
N’,
To Jeff Hall and Larry Springs, the two presidential
candidates who obviously had an interest in the articles, we
are very sorry. Hopefully, both of you guys, who we regard
as good friends, realize that we weren’t trying to make you
look like idiots. We’ve got a lot of respect for both of you
and would never make fun of your efforts to win the
presidency.
Colvard Trapped^ Roasted
In Cone Center:
By Nancy Davis
It was a meeting of friends, colleagues
and wit as over 200 people gathered to pay
tribute to Chancellor D.W. Colvard with a
roast. Sponsored by the UNCC Kappa
Sigma fraternity, the roast was originally
planned just to honor Colvard, but with his
retirement announcement, the plans,for the
roast became even more appropriate.
Starting things off on a “roasting” note
was Colvard’s hour spent stuck in the
.elevator of the Cone University Center.
With an array of mechanics and other
lending hands, television cameras gathered
to cover the escape of the chancellor. He
received a standing ovation as he entered
the Lucas Room where the guests were
already eating.
Master of Ceremonies Ty Boyd
introduced the first roaster, UNCC Board
of Trustees Chairman C.C. Cameron.
Cameron told the audience they were
present to honor a man highly respected by
the faculty, staff, students, alumni and
community but was sorry Terry Sanford
couldn’t come. He also said that when
asked whether it bothered her that
Colvard was often heard to chase after the
girls on campus, Martha Colvard answered
that her dogs chased cars, too, but they
couldn’t drive them
With that, student roaster Nancy Davis
began her roast by saving, “Well, I’m here
to tell you that man can drive,” and went
on to kid Colvard about his relationships
with the girls on campus. Lois Lies,
personnel employee in the Chancellor’s
office had a heyday with Colvard. She said
that once she heard UNC President William
Friday ask Colvard, “Give me the ratio of
your staff broken up by sex” to which
Colvard replied, “I can’t, alcoholism is our
problem.”
The night was full of laughter and good
jokes on the chancellor. Other speakers
were Dr. Alfred O. Cannon, president of
Queens College; Harry Dalton; Dr. Loy H.
Witherspoon, Chase W. Idol; past Charlotte
Mayor John Belk; David Taylor; Dr. Dan L.
Morrill, and Mayor Ken Harris.
There were jokes about his golf game,
his playing second fiddle to the basketball
team, and his wife, Martha. But throughout
the entire evening, the chancellor laughed
with it all. Even though he was able to get
even at the end of the roast, the chancellor
instead took time to show his appreciation
to those who came to honor him
Proceeds from the fund raising dinner
■will be given to the Colvard M.erit
Scholarship Fund. High praise from the
chancellor, participants, and other UNCC
-officials was given to Marc Isaacs,
coordinator of the roast and to the Kappa
Sigma fraternity for their fine idea and
hard work.
Larry
Springs
Elects
Pres.
X^ote:
Springs 369
HaU
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