NCAA

INDIANAPOLIS, Tuesday, June 3, 2008 -- The NCAA has invited 28 football coaches to its 2008 NCAA Expert Coaches Academy, which takes place June 5-7 in Dallas, Texas.

The Expert Coaches Academy is an NCAA program that addresses the critical shortage of ethnic minorities in head coaching positions in the sport of college football, primarily at the Division I level. Though the NCAA National Office does not have hiring authority over its member colleges and universities, the office is able to provide programming that better prepares coaches for many of the issues they will experience at the head coaching level through program sessions and networking opportunities with current head coaches.

Programming covers:    » read more »

June 3, 2008 -- Several college football matchups have been determined involving SEC and ACC teams for telecasts in 2008 on ABC, ESPN, ESPN2, ESPNU and ESPN360.com. Highlights include:

* Saturday Night Football on ABC, the first weekly college football primetime series on broadcast television, will kick off its third season with Alabama vs. Clemson at the Georgia Dome in Atlanta on August 30 at 8 p.m. ET. The showdown between SEC and ACC power programs will mark the first meeting between the schools since 1975. Another Saturday Night Football telecast will pit defending SEC East Champion Georgia at Arizona State, coming off a 10-3 season and a Holiday Bowl appearance, on September 20 at 8 p.m.    » read more »

June 3, 2008 -- THE PRESIDENT: Please sit down. Welcome. It's an honor to welcome the 2008 NCAA Men's Basketball champs, the Kansas Jayhawks. So when Kansas fans come to the Rose Garden, they don't come to admire the flowers. They come to "wave the wheat." I just wish Big Jay and Baby Jay could have come with you. Barney was looking forward to meeting them.

George W. Bush smirks: White House photo

I want to congratulate this team. You brought new glory to one of our nation's most storied basketball programs, and you gave your fans all across America one more reason to chant: Rock Chalk, Jayhawk!    » read more »

Coverage Begins May 29

May 27, 2008 -- ESPN’s coverage of the entire Women’s College World Series – up to 17 games on ESPN, ESPN2 and ESPN360.com beginning Thursday, May 29 – will feature ESPN’s John Kruk as a game analyst on 10 games, including the best-of-three Championship. Kruk, an analyst on ESPN’s Baseball Tonight studio show and select MLB games, will work with Beth Mowins and analyst Jessica Mendoza, a 2004 Olympic Gold Medalist and member of the U.S. team headed for the 2008 Olympics in Beijing.    » read more »

May 26, 2008 -- THE PRESIDENT: I just welcomed five of our nation's university coaches to the Oval Office to thank them for going overseas to boost the morale of our troops. It was very interesting listening to them -- Charlie Weis is going to say a few comments about what they saw and heard. But I wanted them to know how much I appreciate going to say to these young men and women "thanks for what you're doing."

George W. Bush meets NCAA coaches: White House photo by Chris Greenberg    » read more »

INDIANAPOLIS, Monday, May 19, 2008 -- Ticket applications for the 2009 NCAA Men’s and Women’s Final Fours will be available online through May 31, 2008.

The 2009 Men’s Final Four will be held at Ford Field in Detroit. The all-session ticket prices are $170 for upper-level sideline, and $140 for upper-level behind the basket, and will admit the bearer to the national semifinals Saturday, April 4 and the national championship game Monday, April 6. The 2009 Women’s Final Four will be held at the Scottrade Center in St. Louis. The all-session ticket price of $162 will admit the bearer to the national semifinals Sunday, April 5 and the national championship game Tuesday, April 7.    » read more »

INDIANAPOLIS, Tuesday, May 13, 2008 -- A year ago, a new three-point line dominated discussions at the NCAA Men’s and Women’s Basketball Rules Committee meetings. This year, the committee’s meetings produced relatively few changes, which committee leaders view as a positive step for the game overall.

“Our game and our rules are in really great shape,” said Ronda Seagraves, chair of the women’s rules committee and associate athletic director at Southwestern University (Texas). “We entertained approximately 50 rules proposals, and in the end only approved minor changes to the rules book.”    » read more »

April 30, 2008 -- ESPN Regional Television (ERT) today announced that the Papajohns.com Bowl in Birmingham, Ala., will host a matchup between the BIG EAST Conference and the Southeastern Conference (SEC) starting in 2008.

The matchup between a bowl-eligible team from the SEC and one from the BIG EAST came about as the result of negotiations between the two conferences and Conference USA, and with the approval of the NCAA Postseason Bowl Committee. The announcement was made today at the annual Football Bowl Association meetings in Fort Lauderdale, Fla.    » read more »

Thursday, April 10, 2008, INDIANAPOLIS -- Nearly 82 percent of NCAA Division III member schools support or strongly support the current Division III structure instead of the creation of a new division or subdivision, results of the Division III Membership Survey show.

The response rate to the survey was 96 percent. All 442 active and provisional members of Division III were requested to submit a survey.

In light of the survey results, the Division III Working Group on Membership Issues and the Executive Committee Working Group on Membership have concluded their work to address the membership growth and diversity in Division III.    » read more »

San Antonio, April 8, 2008 (By David Byrd) -- The University of Kansas has defeated Memphis, 75-68, to take the American men's big-college basketball title. As VOA's David Byrd reports from San Antonio, the game came down to some crucial shots in the waning minutes.

The game was evenly-matched and fast paced for most of Monday night. The lead changed hands nine times and the contest was tied eight times. The biggest lead was Memphis by nine in the second half, but Kansas was able to cut the lead to just two points with less than a minute to play.

Memphis freshman Derrick Rose made one of two free throws, to give the Tigers a 63-60 lead. But Kansas guard Mario Chalmers was able to hit a three-point shot with less than two seconds left, to send the game into overtime.    » read more »

Monday, April 7, 2008 -- NCAA Response: "Jeff Goodman’s April 7, 2008 post on FoxSports.com erroneously reported that NCAA President Myles Brand and NBA Commissioner David Stern would make a joint announcement regarding NBA age limits. The NCAA has no role whatsoever regarding the NBA age policy or its collective bargaining process. The joint announcement was on the establishment of a new youth basketball initiative. Click here to read the news release about the announcement."

Source: NCAA

Monday, April 7, 2008, SAN ANTONIO -- The NCAA and the NBA have joined forces to launch a wide-ranging initiative aimed at enhancing youth basketball programs in the United States, it was announced today by NCAA President Dr. Myles Brand and NBA Commissioner David Stern during a press conference from the NCAA Final Four in San Antonio, TX.

The yet unnamed initiative is designed to reach and benefit everyone who participates in youth basketball programs, including the more than 23 million American boys and girls who play basketball, their parents and those who teach, officiate and administer youth basketball programs at every level. The initiative will create a platform for teaching youth the value of education and the important lessons of fair play.    » read more »

April 7, 2008 -- THE PRESIDENT: Good to see you all. Welcome. Go Tigers! Sit down. Please sit down. Thanks for coming.

So I met some of these men in 2004 -- they feel pretty comfortable they were going to be back here. Some of them weren't so sure I was going to be back here. It's good to welcome you back. Proud you're here.

George W. Bush proudly displays a LSU Tigers' football jersey: Photo by Chris Greenberg

Nothing like being called, "National Champs." LSU has the honor of being the first school to win two BCS titles. This year there is no split.    » read more »

April 1, 2008 -- ESPN’s extensive multimedia coverage of the NCAA Men’s Final Four will include in-depth analysis, news, interviews and highlights across many ESPN platforms as well as live telecasts of all three Final Four matchups on ESPN International. Coverage will feature on-site shows and reports on ESPN, ESPN Radio, ESPNEWS, ESPNU and ESPN.com, and Tournament specific content on ESPN Classic and ESPN Mobile TV.

Highlights:
- On-site Analysis from Bob Knight;
- Semifinals and Championship Game Live on ESPN International;
- On-Site Coverage on SportsCenter, College GameDay, ESPNEWS, ESPN Radio, ESPNU and ESPN.com; Content on ESPN Classic and ESPN Mobile TV    » read more »

Sunday, March 30, 2008, INDIANAPOLIS---Recent public statements made by MSL Sports Entertainment regarding the postponement of the Gridiron Bash, a commercial event originally planned in conjunction with Division I spring football games, are inaccurate. MSL Sports Entertainment, the organizers of the event, elected to postpone the concerts on their own accord, and not under the direction of the NCAA. We never expressed any concern with the actual event being conducted as scheduled, but only with the participation of student-athletes as part of the for-profit event.    » read more »