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date the NCAA officials, media, teams and the National Association of Basketball Coaches Convention annually held in conjunction with the Final Four.
The competitive exuberance of potential host cities during recent years has prompted the committee to add certain other rules for the bid meetings regarding committee gifts and the size of delegations.
"It was getting out of hand," said NCAA spokesman Dave Cawood. "One city would hear another was bringing in 10 people, so they'd bring 11. And they would send dinner invitations far in advance, putting some of the committeemen in embarrassing positions." So the committee limited delegations to a maximum of five members, prohibited gifts and scheduled a single, all-encompassing social affair with the cost equally divided by the bidding delegations.
During the 1980 meeting at which this year's Final Four was awarded to Lexington, a rival delegation presented lavish gifts to the committee. "If that city had won the bid. I was really going to howl about the gifts." aughs Kentucky  Athletics  Director Cliff
Hagan. who led the Lexington task force to a successful effort in its second attempt to land the Final Four in Rupp Arena.
The Hagan group's first presentation  three years earlier when New Orleans won the bid  was punctuated by a stirring appeal from the late Adolph Rupp, himself. The immortal Wildcat coach rambled on about Kentucky basketball tradition and his own involvement in the early championships. "The next time." noted Hagan. "we used a multimedia presentation concentrating on our arena and hotel facilities."
Louisiana Superdome exec Bill Curl said his group's sales pitch was built around a videotape, oddly enough, from the worst seats in the house. "The only previous Final Four in a domed stadium was in Houston's Astrodome." Curl explained. "The court had been in the middle of the building and all seats were a long way from the court. In our basketball configuration, the court is at one side with temporary bleachers to give some intimacy. So we put together a film, shooting from the worst seat in various seating-capacity configurations ranging from 20,000 to
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45,000. 1 think the committee realized a person could see just fine."
In fact, the committee later opted for an even larger configuration. Attendance at the '82 Final Four was 61,612 and the event may have suddenly headed for an era when domed stadiums and major cities will dominate site selection.
"This may be the last time it will be held in a city the size of Lexington." says Hagan. "It became a happening in New Orleans and I think the NCAA now wants a happening each time."
Said Curl: "Some still prefer the intimacy of the campus atmosphere. But the event has grown in scope beyond that. I think we've turned the corner, giving the super building the advantage."
Says Cawood: "The committee has heard that talk and has discussed it in general terms. I think it is an issue that will be considered in more detail in the future. At this point in time, the committee has not made that determination, as evidenced last summer by the selection of Denver (McNichols Arena, 18.000 seats) along with Seattle."