May 3 Notebook
May 03, 2005 11:38 AM | General
May 3, 2005
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – West Virginia University men’s basketball coach John Beilein is becoming a big attraction. The Mountaineers’ unexpected run to the Elite Eight of the NCAA tournament has made Beilein a popular draw on the banquet tour this spring.
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| Basketball coach John Beilein addresses the crowd at Sunday's Basketball Tribute Dinner, presented by the Mountaineer Athletic Club.
All-Pro Photography/Dale Sparks |
Last month Beilein helped attract more than 400 guests at the Mountaineer Athletic Club’s Charleston dinner on April 25.
Last Sunday, the coach pulled a doubleheader by accepting the Mickey Furfari State Coach of the Year Award at the West Virginia sportswriter’s association Victory Awards Dinner in Fairmont and then hopped in a car and presided over the basketball tribute dinner presented by the Mountaineer Athletic Club at the downtown Radisson Sunday night. An estimated 425 came out to see Beilein accept his award in Fairmont and a sellout crowd of more than 500 was on hand for the basketball team banquet.
Also honored at the Victory Awards Dinner was three-time national champion wrestler Greg Jones, who was presented the Shorty Hardman Award as the state’s amateur athlete of the year.
Congratulations to both.
For those of you wanting to catch Coach Beilein in person, he is scheduled to appear at MAC events in Logan (May 11), Bluefield (May 18) and Beckley (May 19) later this month.
Beilein and football coach Rich Rodriguez will also travel to Washington, D.C., and Baltimore on Thursday, May 26, for Mountaineer Athletic Club events. According to Whit Babcock, MAC executive director, it is the first time the Mountaineer Athletic Club has sponsored functions in those two cities.
“We’re excited about those two events and the possibility of entering some new markets,” said Babcock.
Those interested in participating in the Mountaineer Athletic Club Coaches Caravan tour can log onto the MAC web site by punching in www.mountaineerathleticclub.com or by calling toll-free 1-800-433-2072.
Briefly ...
The DVD will be available June 1 in time for Father’s Day and is priced at $19.95. The Mountaineer Ticket Office will accept advance orders now by calling 1-800-WVU GAME.
With early defections, transfers and graduations, Coach Rick Stansbury could lose as many as eight players off his roster for 2006. North Carolina coach Roy Williams is in a similar boat having his NCAA championship team completely gutted by early defections to the NBA.
Our condolences go out to his family.
Tell me, when was the last time West Virginia had more football players drafted than Pitt and Penn State combined -- if ever?
Tennessee is one of the country’s most prosperous athletic programs playing in one of the largest football stadiums in the nation in 104,000-seat Neyland Stadium. Last year the Volunteers took in about $67 million in revenue from everything from ticket sales to television money to concessions.
At the end of the year Tennessee showed just a $10,310 profit.
“We’re trying to plan and budget better so we have a little better margin,” Bill Myers, chief financial officer for the UT athletic department, recently told the Knoxville News. He also added that he thought it would be difficult for Tennessee to ever end the year with the $1.4 million needed to cover Peterson’s buyout.
Escalating coaching salaries and fewer state appropriated dollars have created this culture in collegiate athletics and the trend doesn’t appear to be ending any time soon.
The Atlantic Coast Conference, which raided Miami, Virginia Tech and Boston College from the Big East last year in order to establish a lucrative championship football game, was opposed to a 12th regular season game because it now means that two of its members will play a 14-game season when you also add in bowl games.
Several coaches in the Big 12 want to do away with its championship game.
“I’d like to see us do away with the title game if we’re going to have a 12th game,” Texas coach Mack Brown said last month.
Oklahoma coach Bob Stoops agrees, “I’m all for a 12th game providing we can drop the Big 12 title game.”
The Big 12 has been playing a football championship game since 1996 with sell-out crowds and high ratings bringing in millions in extra dollars for the conference.
And evidently schools like Tennessee, which is currently paying three men’s basketball coaches, can use the extra money.
Have a great week!
The views and opinions expressed here aren't neccessarily those shared by the WVU Athletic Department, the Mountaineer Sports Network or West Virginia University.
