Ole Miss Will Meet Financial Obligation To UK Says Alford
Ole Miss athletics director Warner Alford said last week the University of Mississippi will meet its financial obligation to the University of Kentucky for its SEC football game in Jackson this past season.
In the wake of an NCAA investigation which has placed the Ole Miss football program on probation and stripped the university of almost $ 1 million in bowl money and television revenure, the Memphis (Term.) Commercial-Appeal recently said Ole Miss had been unable to meet financial committments to both Memphis State and Kentucky.
The story, in part, painted a bleak picture of Ole Miss' financial stability which has been strained in recent years, and indicated the NCAA ruling could have a heavy impact on the future of Ole Miss' athletics program..
Some say it could lead to the financial death of Rebel sports and a big loss this year.
"Wrong," said Alford. "There simply is no way to tell how we're going to finish up our year financially in November when our fiscal year doesn't end until July 1, 1987.
"That article in the Memphis paper made no sense to me at all," he told an Oxford newspaper. "We have to split the gate with Memphis State 50-50 anyway. We are going to pay our guarantees in the other games (Kentucky) as well, so the implication in the article that we would not be able to pay the guarantees to visiting teams is just not true."
Part of Ole Miss' problems arose in over estimating 1986 ticket sales last spring.
Ole Miss compiled a glowing 8-3 record under fifth year coach Billy Brewer and wilj participate in the Independence Bowl. Ole Miss officials hopes the paycheck there will help pick up the balance sheet.
But another blow is just around the corner when the school goes on probation. SEC rules prohibit a member from receiving any league bowl or television money through its sharing plan when that particular school is on probation.
Part of the probation calls for no television and no bowl participation next season as well as a cutback of 20 scholarships.
Some Ole Miss officials pointed to SuperStation WTBS as one of the reasons why ticket sales did not live up to preseason estimates because WTBS games are moved two hours earlier and fans often sit at home and watch the games.
In "The Spirit"
You might say the Ole Miss Spirit is in the spirit of things as the Ole Miss football program faces a tough road ahead in money matters.
The Spirit is a weekly sports publication which specializes in covering University of Mississippi sports. Last week, the newspaper urged all 3,000 of its subscribers to help come to the aid of Ole Miss sports by mailing in a tax-deductible contribution of $25 to help right a sinking financial ship.
The Ole Miss program was hit with NCAA probation recently and part of the penalty will strip almost $1 million from the athetlic fund over the next year.
Said the newspaper, "while it may be too early yet to determine exactly how the Rebel budget will fare this year, it will likely be a question of how big the loss is, not whether there will be one."
Continued the newspaper plea, "there is something we all could do to try to offset the potential loss. Contribute money."
The newspaper printed a coupon and the columnist (tabbed Colonel Rebel) concluded by saying he was sending in his check that very day.
Three-Point Basket Is Here To Stay
NIT Now Nation's Best Preseason Tourney
Easily the most discussed subject of the new college basketball season is the three-point play. A majority of the coaches still seem opposed to the rule, but even the staunehest proponents acknowledge the line may be too close. As I suggested previously, no rule change has ever been more impactive, save the decision to cut the bottom out of the peach basket.
One common misconception, however, is the notion that the unusually high scores to date are a product of the shot itself. In truth, the additional point totals via the shot have been eight to 10 per game, but what's happening is the defense has been more spread
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	Larry Donald Cats' Pause Columnist
	
out leading to greater scoring efficiency from every area of the floor.
Today's player is definitely more sophisticated on the offensive end and what the new rule does is take away the cheating, gim-micking defenses used so cleverly by coaches in the past. It's my prediction the rule is here to stay, but you can anticipate it being moved back another foot or so. . .
And, take this to the bank: No team will make it to New Orleans (for the Final Four) without one or two effective three-point shooters. . .
Evidence seems to be mounting that the toughest of the preseason tournaments is the Coca-Cola NIT Classic. This year's winner, Nevada-Las Vegas, had to beat Arizona. Oklahoma. Temple and Western Kentucky to win the title and if the Rebels make it to the Final Four they won't face a more difficult task. . This group looms as one of coach Jerry Tarkanian's deepest and most flexible teams. I also have to wonder how those who chose the All-Bomb squad (three-point shooters) could have omitted Freddie Banks?. . .
Mentioning the NIT, look for a dramatic announcement soon that all of the preseason tournament will be played on the road at the home sites of the highest seeded (and best drawing) teams. Despite two nights of outstanding basketball this year, Madison Square Garden never threatened 50 percent of capacity. The M.I.B.A., a committee of athletic directors from five New York schools, will reach that conclusion, voting for the potential of additional revenues plus the probable interest from network television over the tradition of playing in New York. . This year's finale would have filled Vegas' Thomas & Mack Arena and would have been a nice showcase game for television. . .
Legislation will be introduced at the January NCAA Convention to limit appearances in these preseason events to one every four years. That won't hurt the NIT much since teams can only be invited here once every three years anyway. It's a bad suggestion since tournaments are wrapped around the holidays and a minimum of missed class time results. If the NCAA cared about streamlining the schedules they'd throw out the postseason conference tournaments. . .
Indiana coach Bob Knight has now skipped the last three Big Ten preseason media days, apparently in protest of the way things are run in his conference. It is an embarrassment to the league, his university and Big Ten commissioner Wayne Duke. Even worse, there are no repercussions as officials meekly cave in to Knight, enabling him to live with one set of rules while everyone else abides by another. In my view they are far more to blame than Knight for this situation. . .
I might be wrong, but I don't think Western Kentucky's guards are strong enough to carry the Hilltoppers into the Final Four. . .Memphis State freshman Sylvester Gray is certainly one of the nation's 10 best newcomers. . .Al McGuire tells me if he were still coaching and had shooters like he did at Marquette (Allie McGuire, Earl Tatum, et. al) his first play every time down would be the three-point shot. "Every time," he says, "every time.". . .
Did you know that Chicago Bear coach Mike Ditka was a reserve for two seasons for the Pitt Panther basketball team? A power forward, I presume. . OK, maybe the three foreign players at Marist did deserve to be declared ineligible, but why did the NCAA Committee on Eligibility wait until the season's eve to make the announcement when months have passed since we put the basketballs away in the spring? I always come away with suspicions about this organization's integrity because they make so many grandstand plays. . .
Mark this one down: The No. 1 draft choice next spring will be Navy's David Robinson. I am convince a deal was cut with Robinson and his family last year to waive the five-year service requirement following his graduation from the academy-  .And after looking at the bigger, stronger version of Robinson. 1 think his potential is greater than ever. . .
Losing the recruiting battle for Texas prep star LaBradford Smith was a bad blow for the University of Texas and coach Bob Wetlich. He's weathered some stormy times and needed Smith to move the Horns' program up a notch or so. . .An interesting sidelight to the story of Smith's recruitment is that one of Louisville's early contacts with the youngster came through his sisters, both players on Texas' national championship women's team. The Lady Horns were at the White House to visit Ronald Reagan at the same time as the Cardinals. Reports say U of L coaches spent a lot of time visiting with the Smith sisters. . .Brother. . .
One pro scout came away rather underwhelmed with Oklahoma's team. "If they're No. 10, then I'm No. 2." he said. And yes. Dickie V.. Sooner coach Billy Tubbs knows his team has to play defense, but they also better be an exciting offensive team to keep those football conscious folks in Norman filling up the arena. . .
An early score which interested me was Florida State's win over Florida. FSU coach Pat Kennedy has some pretty good talent left over from the Joe Williams era and he's recruited well.
RobinsonTop Pick Of '87 Class
This is program which could move up in years ahead. . .Gary Grant is running up some big numbers at Michigan, but he'll be more valuable to the Wolverines when he starts playing within a team concept. . .
A report out of the Providence basketball camp says that Indiana transfer Delray Brooks is the Friars' best defensive player. Now remember, at IU he wasn't effective in the man-to-man, but PC plays a pressure zone and with his long arms he's an effective performer. Right player, right school. It's important. . .
All the insiders tell me that Kentucky and North Carolina State had the best recruiting harvests this fall. We'll look deeper in the next issue, but understand this: I'm one who believes recruiting classes can only be correctly rated after two or three years have passed. . .