Realignment might help non-BCS schools storm the gate
May 29, 2003
By Dennis Dodd

College football is the only sport without a Cinderella. Deep down that hurts the sport's soul.

Just in the last year: The Minnesota Wild got to the NHL Western Conference finals with a $10 million payroll. They were trumped by an even better story, the Anaheim Mighty Ducks. That was only months after Anaheim's Angels won the World Series. Tampa Bay won the Super Bowl with a journeyman quarterback in coach Jon Gruden's first year.

Where do you want to start with March Madness? The NCAA basketball tournament practically invented the term.

College football, meanwhile, was turned on its ear when an undefeated Big Ten program, clutching six Heismans and representing a school of 50,000 students somehow defeated Miami. What an "upset."

Congratulations, Ohio State. The glass slipper fit.

It's hard to root for a monolith, but you have to admit, the Bowl Championship Series chiefs have built a darn intimidating one. It was less than six months ago that BCS chairman Mike Tranghese did his best Khrushchev routine, figuratively banging his shoe on the podium against the non-BCS schools.

"I'm not a socialist. ..." Tranghese said the morning of the Fiesta Bowl. "They want access. If I were them, I'd want access and money, too. All I said to my schools is, 'I'm not giving them your money.'"

It is more than ironic that a few months later, Tranghese's conference is about to be one of those have-nots. The Big East that produced a football national championship, two women's basketball championships and a men's basketball championship the past two years looks like it won't hold together.

The system is about to reach critical mass. If the ACC expansion goes through, that consolidates the BCS into the top 58 schools, not 63, minus Virginia Tech, Pittsburgh, Rutgers, West Virginia and Temple.

The only way the Amputated East holds onto its BCS bid is if it coaxes Notre Dame or Penn State into the fold. That ain't going to happen.

That ostensibly creates another BCS at-large spot. Currently, there is one guaranteed spot for each champion of the six BCS leagues, plus two at-large spots (if Notre Dame doesn't qualify). With one less BCS-viable league, we're going to be looking at guaranteed spots for the champions of the ACC, Big 12, SEC, Pac-10 and Big Ten plus three at-large spots (if Notre Dame doesn't get in).

Could just one of those at-larges be reserved for the 59 schools who have been stratified into non-BCS status?

Already, there has been speculation floating around of a "playoff" between the Conference USA and Mountain West champs for one of those spots. WAC commissioner Karl Benson reiterated Thursday what SportsLine.com reported recently that there is "a sense of understanding by the BCS" involving the non-equity leagues. Whether that results in an automatic berth for the non-BCS leagues is not certain, but at least the climate seems to be changing.

"The hope is rather than maybe the Cinderella, maybe a reasonable chance of starting the season knowing have something to play for," Benson said. "They also recognize it's important for their teams and the health of college football to make sure that the gap doesn't increase and doesn't become two separate divisions."

There is still something radically wrong with a system that allows Wake Forest a chance to play in the Orange Bowl, but Virginia Tech, Pittsburgh and West Virginia have practically no shot. Non-BCS schools have to win their conference and finish in the top six of the BCS ratings. It hasn't happened yet.

Send lawyers, funds and money, the spit is about to hit the fan. It seems that something good is about to happen, in some way, for those schools below the BCS line. The ACC expansion means more than half of Division I-A (59 of 117 schools or 50.4 percent) would be shut out of playing in the Rose, Sugar, Orange and Fiesta bowls. Not fair? It might not be legal.

Noted sports law expert Gary Roberts of Tulane calls the BCS a "cartel." In fairy tale terms, the Munchkins might be about to bum-rush the Wicked Witch.

"I think it's illegal," Roberts, Tulane's deputy dean of law, told the New Orleans Times-Picayune. "I think it's an anti-trust violation, and I've been saying that for years."

Roberts works at a school that might be the first victim of BCS dominance in the market. Tulane officials are, at this moment, determining whether the school should de-emphasize athletics, mostly because the department has run an annual deficit of $5 million-$7 million for several years.

Green Wave football could drop down to the non-scholarship level in Division III or be dropped altogether. This from a program that five short years ago went 12-0.

There have been excellent programs hitting the glass ceiling almost every year of the BCS. Marshall went 13-0 in 1999 and was excluded. Fresno State came the closest in 2001, starting 6-0 with a relatively strong schedule before finishing 11-3.

Sooner or later, a Marshall is going to play a Miami (of Florida ) in a postseason game. If there is ever going to be a playoff, and it's ever going to be legitimate, inclusion is going to have to happen. It could start with the addition of a permanent at-large spot for the non-equity leagues.

The spot probably won't be worth $13 million and it probably won't draw huge ratings, but for legal, ethical and football reasons, Cinderella has to happen. For every employee who has wanted to slap his boss, for every schmoe who is sick of paying the IRS, for every kid who got beat up by a bully ...

Toledo awaits. If not, the moniker National Champion of 49.5 Percent of the Schools doesn't quite get it.

"There's a lot of good programs out there outside the BCS," said New Mexico athletic director Rudy Davalos, a former member of the NCAA basketball committee. "That would be the true Cinderella, that would be the Gonzaga of college basketball. But with this structure, it's not going to happen."

The hidden BCS argument is that it shouldn't share revenue with schools that don't emphasize football as much. They argue that entry into the BCS fold would allow the second-class citizens to cash a BCS check just by being a member.

Ask Frank Beamer how he feels about the system. The Virginia Tech coach spent 15 years building the Hokies from a little-known Eastern program into a top 10 powerhouse. Now, if ACC expansion goes through, he will be competing for the Liberty Bowl.

That's not fair, or is the situation at Marshall, which is trying to move up instead of being forced down. Coach Bobby Pruett's last three quarterbacks have moved on to the NFL. Since 1996 when Pruett arrived, Marshall is 68-11. Under the current system, it seems ridiculous that I-A's winningest active coach (53-11 since 1997) cannot compete for its biggest prize.

What other credentials do you need? Well, for one, Marshall doesn't play in a major media market. It plays in a mid-major league (MAC), although one that it dominates in.

"Every time there is some (conference) movement, every time there is an earthquake, there is new ground created," Pruett said. "We hope to be part of it."

Unfortunately, hope doesn't pay the bills. In the late 1970s, the gap between the haves and the have-nots was so large that NCAA football divided into I-A and I-AA. The I-AAs immediately were relegated to the poor part of town, shut out from a coming windfall in college football.

The culture was already in place with the old bowl system. It was furthered in 1984 when Oklahoma and Georgia won a Supreme Court decision against the NCAA allowing schools to make their own TV deals. In a sport where the likes of Princeton and Harvard used to be seen on national television, suddenly Notre Dame had its own network.

Stratification came quickly and painfully for those programs not on the express train to major bowl eligibility.

Now it's about to come full circle. The ACC expansion could push the runaway locomotive over a cliff. The monolith could become too bloated. The have-not barbarians are at the gates. Khrushchev is gone and the Big East, as we know it, is going away.

Is it possible that I-A has gotten too big for itself?

The chick in the see-through stilettos wants to know.

 

Littlepage representing Virginia well
By Jerry Ratcliffe / Daily Progress sports editor
June 1, 2003


When Craig Littlepage stood before a large assembly of movers and shakers to break ground on a new basketball arena on Friday, the University of Virginia stood proud of its athletic director.
Named the head of the school’s athletic department in August of 2001, Littlepage has worked hard to help UVa attain its goals on and off the athletic field, and in doing so has gained mutual respect around the state, the ACC and nation.
One can only imagine the pressure that accompanied the former assistant basketball coach when he took on the job. Not only was Littlepage the first black athletic director in the history of UVa but in the Atlantic Coast Conference.
Pay attention
It you have been paying attention, then you know Littlepage’s story has been a successful one in a day where there is tremendous pressure on ADs at most every school, let alone Littlepage, who will some day be looked back upon as a pioneer.
Sports Illustrated recently ranked him No. 46 on its list of the 101 most influential minorities in sports. Another honor came right on its heels when the Black Coaches Association named Littlepage as the recipient of its administrator of the year.
“That kind of recognition, particularly on a national stage like that with Sports Illustrated was tremendous for me personally,” Littlepage said.
While he was aware that SI was working on a project, he had no idea of the magnitude of the story or his ranking until he received a phone call from a friend back in Philadelphia.
“The night that it hit the newsstands, a friend called and said, ‘Doggone it, you’re in Sports Illustrated. You’re No. 46 and you got a half page and a picture ... you dwarfed all these other great athletes and coaches and everybody,’” said Littlepage, describing the excitement of his friend.
“I said, ‘Oh my gosh. I never imagined it would be something that special and give me so much credit for the work that’s been done.’”
An active leader
Littlepage has been extremely active not only with the daily operations of the UVa athletic department but with alumni as well. He has also reached out to participate in several national associations, everything from the NCAA men’s basketball selection committee, to serving as a mentor to young, black men and women who also dream of pursuing careers as athletic administrators.
His challenges never cease. They never do for an athletic director in these times.
While he has tried to do as much as he can handle, the task is overwhelming. He has learned to delegate authority and remain out of the way of those he trusts. He has allowed them to make decisions in their areas of expertise and supported them throughout the process.
“To do otherwise would be
disastrous for an AD at the Division I-A level because there’s just so much going on,” Littlepage said.
He learned the hard way last August that he can’t be everywhere and do everything. Trying to push himself too hard, Littlepage stood on the sun-drenched turf of Doak Campbell Stadium in Tallahassee an hour before Virginia’s football game at Florida State.
Suddenly he collapsed, was rushed to a nearby hospital, examined and later released.
“I found out much to my chagrin that I can’t do it all,” said Littlepage. “Stretching myself beyond any reasonable means and thinking that I could do too many things in the space of three days, not get the proper sleep, not eat and everything else, caught up with me.
“It was a reality that there has to be some moment of reflection, some moment of down time, some moment of recovery,” Littlepage said.
He has dealt with crisis, from being one of the first administrators in the nation forced to deal with a decision as to whether to play or not play in the wake of the Sept. 11 attacks on America, to the infamous basketball “game on ice” in Richmond, to the “no pass out” rule for football games, to the recent Pep Band scenario. Littlepage has come through with flying colors.
From this view, he has made all the right calls, something very rare in athletics administration in modern times.
“Craig Littlepage is a veteran sports administrator who has brought uncommonly broad and deep experience to this assignment,” said UVa president John T. Casteen III. “He is respected for fairness and thoroughness, and he is seen as a leader who pays attention to those who depend on him.
“People speak of him as competent, intelligent, wise, thoughtful and truthful — without a hint of meanness or vindictiveness,” Casteen said.
Don’t think that people aren’t paying attention. When you’re the first person of your race, your gender, your anything, appointed to a key position, you are automatically under a microscope.
If that form of pressure exists, Littlepage said he hasn’t noticed. That’s probably because he puts enough internal pressure upon himself that he doesn’t notice the external.
“It’s hard to explain the feeling that I had regarding the pressure,” he said. “I think it was more just the pride that I have in myself to do a good job in whatever it is that I do. Whether it was as a basketball coach or an assistant athletic director or whatever.
“There was a sense of I want to be the best at whatever it is that I am doing,” Littlepage said. “I don’t think it was necessarily or exclusively just that I’ve got to prove myself.”
In the grand scheme of things, Littlepage never really felt like he had to prove himself because just getting the job was affirmation that he was good enough to be Virginia’s athletic director.
There is a framed page from this newspaper hanging on his office wall as a constant reminder to him about the day he was named AD. Anytime you speak with Littlepage about that special day in his life, he never fails to mention how appreciative he is and how fortunate he feels to have been given this opportunity.
The University of Virginia and its faithful following should be the ones who feel fortunate that Littlepage came their way.
 

Carlisle fired -- Brown hired?
BY LARRY LAGE
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS Jun 01, 2003

AUBURN HILLS, Mich. - Rick Carlisle sat elbow-to-elbow with the man who had just fired him, Joe Dumars. In a bizarre scene, talk turned to Larry Brown, who will become Detroit's next coach.

"If you think he's going to bring in a stiff behind me, you're nuts," Carlisle said yesterday. "He's going to bring in a big-time guy, and if he can do that he will have done his job."

Carlisle, a former standout at the University of Virginia, was fired with one year and $2 million left on his contract despite winning two straight division titles, 100 regular-season games, a coach-of- the-year award and leading the Pistons to the Eastern Conference finals for the first time since 1991.


He will be replaced by Brown, who has already reached agreement with the Pistons on a long-term deal, according to a source within the league with knowledge of the discussions between the Pistons and Brown. The source spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity, saying the hiring will become official tomorrow.

Yesterday's news conference was strange - Carlisle poking fun at himself during an opening statement, then initiating jokes and defending the decision when Dumars was pressed to explain the dismissal.

"The guy at the gate almost wouldn't let me in to my own firing," Carlisle said.

When Dumars said, "This is not a fun day at all," Carlisle quipped: "It's all right. You can have fun with it."

Brown resigned as coach of the Philadelphia 76ers on Monday after six seasons. The Sixers released him from a contractual clause that prohibited him from coaching another NBA team if he left Philadelphia prematurely.

Counting Detroit, there are eight NBA coaching vacancies.

When asked about Brown, Dumars said, "We'll be talking to him," adding that he has heard Brown's name linked to openings in Houston, Cleveland and Washington.

"This is not about Larry Brown, this is about Rick Carlisle," Dumars said.

Brown did not return two messages left by The AP at his home.

Philadelphia captain Eric Snow understands why the Pistons are going after his former coach.

"With Rick Carlisle gone, it would be great for Detroit's organization if it was fortunate enough to get Larry Brown," Snow said. "He's a Hall of Famer who is a great coach and a great teacher that would make every one of their players better, and that would make the Pistons even better."

Carlisle, in his first head coaching job, helped turn Detroit from a lottery team into the top-seeded squad in the East this season. He was honored as NBA coach of the year for the 2001-02 season.

He led the Pistons to a 100-64 regular-season record and a 12-15 postseason mark over two years.

The Pistons' season ended May 24 when they were swept by New Jersey in the Eastern Conference finals.

Carlisle was hired as Detroit's coach on May 25, 2001, after the team fired George Irvine following a 32-50 season.

 

Carlisle, Pistons' management clashed

Saturday, May 31, 2003

BY DREW SHARP
FREE PRESS COLUMNIST

The only thing more surreal than Saturday's impromptu press conference announcing the apparently amicable divorce between Rick Carlisle and the Pistons was the 48 hours leading up to it.

``Surreal isn't the word for it,'' said Pistons team president Joe Dumars. ``It goes beyond unbelievable when trying to describe everything that' s happened to get us to this point.''

Larry Brown, the recent Philadelphia 76ers ex, is coming to Detroit. Carlisle may very well wind up in Cleveland. And a city coming off the euphoria of its first Eastern Conference finals appearance in 12 years tries to understand how a coach who won 100 games faster than any of his predecessors in this franchise's history could fall into disfavor with management so decisively.

``This was the best course for everyone involved,'' said Dumars. ``I can't really go into any specifics as to why this happened. It was just agreed that it was in everyone's best interests that we all move on and move forward.''

There were a myriad of irreconcilable differences that led up to this mutual separation, but the bottom line is that Carlisle alienated far too many people within the Pistons' organization with his frequent churlish behavior and obstinate coaching approach.

He ticked off the wrong people.

He treated certain factions of the organization with utter disrespect. He rejected overtures from practically everyone in the organization aimed at improving his communication skills, particularly in regard to younger players.

Dumars will understandably take the hit from the same critics who for the last month blasted the possibility that Carlisle's status could be in jeopardy as ridiculous and irresponsible. That's his job as the front man for this organization, but parting company with Carlisle was a decision endorsed by everyone within the Pistons' basketball brain trust from top to bottom.

Dumars had decided not to extend Carlisle's original three-year contract, creating a situation where Carlisle could be interpreted as a lame duck next season. He wasn't sure if Carlisle could ditch the stubbornness and surliness that got him into this predicament, but he initially thought that Carlisle had earned the chance to prove that he learned the error of his ways.

But Thursday, it was determined that Carlisle wouldn't get that chance. Too many bridges had been burned, too many sensibilities had been offended, too many concerns remained. The Pistons contacted Brown, who was just days removed from the Philadelphia job, through back channels, gauging his interest in the job, if any.

Dumars wouldn't have made a final decision on Carlisle unless he was certain that Brown was his guaranteed successor. According to league sources, Brown agreed to take the Pistons' job Friday afternoon at a salary that could surpass $5 million annually for five years.

Carlisle was notified of the team's decision Friday evening at his home in South Carolina. He later leaked word of his firing to ESPN.com's NBA reporter, Ric Buecher, who reported it early Saturday morning, sending the Pistons into a frenzy of premature denials.

The original plan called for only Dumars to address the media, but Carlisle asked to go out with Dumars, creating a bizarre scene in which the man who did the firing looked more uncomfortable than the man fired.

This was a Carlisle that was rarely seen -- engaging, humorous and self-effacing. Had he better communicated that side of himself to his employers and players, he might not have found himself in this position. Perhaps he was too insecure as a first-time head coach to let people see that side of him, but it was refreshing, although unfortunately for him, it came too late to save him.

But it may help him land his next job.

Carlisle was auditioning for his next employer.

He knew the press conference would be covered live nationally on ESPN and the sight of he and Dumars sitting side-by-side and showering each other with praise might ease fears of other general managers.

It will help Carlisle only if he has indeed learned his lesson.

It doesn't matter how many regular season games are won or division championship banners are raised, if you are branded as acting disrespectful to people in the organization and unwilling to change, you are going to create problems.

And, in this case, it created problems that Carlisle couldn't overcome.

Donors hang in the balance
Football perks have helped stimulate gift-giving, but a new-look conference could lessen their appeal.
By MARK BERMAN
THE ROANOKE TIMES

These are heady times for the Hokie Club, the fund-raising arm of the Virginia Tech athletic department. That could change if Miami, Syracuse and Boston College leave the Big East for the ACC.
Tech athletic director Jim Weaver has said that if the Big East loses its Bowl Championship Series berth because of Miami's exit, Tech would not only suffer financially but could also be so hurt in recruiting that the level of the football program "has the potential to come down." Tech's schedule will also have less sizzle if the trio leaves.

If football is no longer a hot ticket, people could be less inclined to donate to the Hokie Club.

"I would expect it could have some effect on" fund raising, said Renny Lynch, president of the Roanoke Valley Hokie Club. "On the other hand, those that are loyal and have been with us a long time, I think they're going to perhaps dig deeper to help us out for a time period we need the help."

"We have some concern, but we also have a lot of faith," Tech assistant athletic development director John Moody said.

The Hokie Club, which raises money for scholarships and capital projects and to supplement team budgets, is on track to increase its fund-raising record for the eighth straight year. The Hokie Club raised more than $13.6 million in the 2001-02 fiscal year and through April had raised about $13 million this fiscal year, which ends June30.

Weaver and other Tech officials have credited the success of football coach Frank Beamer's program for the rise in fund raising. People have to give generously to the Hokie Club if they want tickets to bowl games, a good parking spot or better seats at Lane Stadium, and tickets for Tech football games at Virginia.

"The dynamic of Frank Beamer and also playing in a national championship game and being part of a really good conference in the Big East has been a very, very strong driving point for us to have funds," Moody said. "Football is the key."

"Football has got to be the lead reason for why a lot of the people have started to support the Hokie Club," said Ron Austin, president of the Martinsville Hokie Club. "A lot of people have joined up in recent years, and it's primarily due to the football program."

Weaver, Moody and athletic development director Lu Merritt said it is possible that a dip in enthusiasm for football could hurt fund raising. People might not fill the Hokie Club's coffers if the membership perks become less desirable.

"There's certainly some concern that that's going to happen, but it could go either way," Austin said. "You could have a drop-off in contributions because of that, or you could have Hokie Club members step up and say, 'We're going to support the school no matter what.'"

"It won't have a long-lasting effect. It could have some, but I don't think it'll be long-lasting. Our people are too loyal," Moody said. "They'll continue to give. Maybe not at the same rate, but they'll continue to give."

The Hokie Club wasn't always so flush. Its take in 1990-91, the last fiscal year before the Big East Football Conference debuted, was $3.1 million - the club record at that time. That was before Tech began its current streak of 10 straight bowl appearances.

Moody said Hokie Club officials will focus on raising money for endowed scholarships so the club can withstand any drop in contributions.

"One of the things that we have done and certainly will need to do in the future is to continue to build our scholarship endowment fund, because there will be rainy days," Moody said. "Things are going extremely well now, but who knows when that rainy day will come? If things turn bad and your annual fund raising dips for whatever reason, the monies that you have in endowments will continue to pay out revenues to carry the scholarship program."

Weaver has already put the next phase of Lane Stadium expansion on hold because of the uncertainty surrounding the Big East. The Board of Visitors agreed last fall to spend at least $47.8 million to expand the west side of the stadium. Weaver is no longer considering to begin construction at the end of the 2003 season.

Having reached its goal of raising $15 million for last year's south-end zone addition to Lane Stadium, the Hokie Club turned its attention the past two months to the west-side expansion. The Hokie Club has raised about $2 million for the west-side phase so far, including a $1 million donation made last year by Board of Visitors member John Lawson.

With the project on hold, however, the west-side fund-raising effort has ceased.

"I wouldn't go out tomorrow and ask a guy for a gift for that just yet because we want to see how this thing's going to play out," Merritt said. "We will not specifically ask for any gifts for the stadium in the immediate near term.

"Our donors are continuing to give more money, so we really have a lot of momentum to ride forward into the west side. I'm optimistic that we're going to ultimately move forward with the west side."

Merritt said he has taken a lot of phone calls from Hokie Club members worried about Tech's future. Merritt said he doesn't think fund raising will slow down if the football program declines.

"I don't think our donors are going to run away from this," he said. "They're going to continue to support football and our athletic programs. This [conference] thing is going to go on for another couple years, and they want to maintain their seats, maintain their parking."

Richard Alvis, president of the Montgomery County-Floyd County Hokie Club, agrees.

"Supporters are more for the long term. Of course, there are some fair-weather Hokies out there, but I don't think those are the big-money supporters," Alvis said.

 

Carlisle's career as Pistons coach comes to a surreal close

Saturday, May 31, 2003

BY PERRY A. FARRELL
FREE PRESS SPORTS WRITER

It was surreal.

There sat Joe Dumars, president of basketball operations for the Pistons and the current NBA executive of the year for producing an organization that has won 100 games over the previous two seasons and a trip to the Eastern Conference Finals.

Next to him at the team's practice facility was Rick Carlisle, last year's coach of the year who had just been fired by the organization -- six days after Dumars said the team would discuss a contract extension with just a year left on his three-year deal for a coach who had helped a 50-loss team to consecutive 50-win seasons.

Twenty minutes before Dumars and Carlisle addressed the media Saturday afternoon, owner Bill Davidson had just finished a round of tennis and sped off with three other tennis partners.

Because the Pistons' powers-that-be didn't want to give Carlisle a contract extension, management decided to go a different direction and release Carlisle with a gaggle of teams looking for a coach, obviously thinking they could do better.

That direction appears to be Larry Brown, who has coached nine different teams -- ABA, NCAA and NBA -- in 31 years.

Brown resigned from the Philadelphia 76ers last week and is expected to be named Pistons coach Monday or Tuesday.

Said Joe Glass, Brown's agent: "He wants to stay in coaching as long as it's physically and mentally challenging. He has a passion for coaching. He could coach another five or six years if his health holds up. Right now Larry's in great physical and mental shape. He doesn't want to go somewhere to rebuild. He wants to go to a place where he can win right now."

That's obviously Detroit.

So why is Carlisle out and Brown possibly in?

Well, the organization wasn't always thrilled with some of Carlisle's moves, from starting Michael Curry at small forward most of the season, to letting rookies Mehmet Okur and Tayshaun Prince sit on the bench when the team could've sacrificed a few losses to help their development with playing time.

With 7-foot-1, 253-pound teenager Darko Milcic expected to be drafted by the team next month, Carlisle's development of young players came into question, although he defended the move by saying Okur and Prince had earned their minutes by the end of the season and produced. Brown is considered one of the best teachers in the game and is head coach for the U.S. Olympic basketball team.

An ugly rumor had surfaced early in the season that Carlisle just wanted to be in Detroit three years before moving on, which didn't sit well with management or Davidson even though Carlisle denied that was the case. That rumor started about the same time Larry Bird made an unexpected visit to the team's practice facility at a juncture when he was in line to become part owner of a group in line for the Charlotte franchise. Bird's group eventually lost out to Robert Johnson.

When Carlisle blasted the team after a victory over Milwaukee on Nov. 29 and quickly apologized a day later while removing Prince from the starting lineup, it didn't sit well.

Dumars and Carlisle said they never discussed the team's offensive philosophy or clashed over on-court decisions. The team ranked just 26th in offense and averaged just 91.4 points per game while ranking first in defense, allowing just 87.7 points per game.

While Dumars said the players don't run the asylum, very few players liked the slow-it-down pace the coach lived by and loudly questioned the strategy, which doesn't mean an individual should be fired or retained.

Neither side ever discussed a contract extension, either, and despite the fact he would've been coaching his final season next year without a contract Carlisle said he would've done it.

"It would've been an interesting situation, but I think the players would've responded," said Carlisle.

But the Pistons didn't want a lame-duck coach situation.

"I think the organization thought we had gone as far as we could with Rick and he wasn't going to be able to take us to the next level," said Chucky Atkins, who took a step back this year under Carlisle with Chauncey Billups acquired over the summer.

"If you look at Mehmet and Tayshaun, if Z (Zeljko Rebraca) hadn't of had a heart problem, Mehmet probably wouldn't have played as much as he did. Tayshaun played once we got down 3-1 to Orlando and proved he could help us, but they probably should have been farther along in their playing time."

Said Richard Hamilton: "I was surprised to learn the news. I didn’t think something like this would happen."

The move to Brown would draw some heat unless the Pistons bring in a Hall-of-Fame type coach who could get them to the finals, and the only coach available that fits that category is the well-traveled Brown, who has met with Houston, Cleveland and the Clippers.

When Brown is hired as the next Pistons coach, it could quiet some of the controversy surrounding the move to oust Carlisle, 100-64 in two years with the Pistons and two Central Division titles.

"This is a very tough day, not a good day for us at all," said Dumars, who has rolled the dice before in daring moves and come up a winner. "We decided to part ways and it's not an easy decision at all. I have tremendous respect for Rick as a coach and what he has done here. That makes it especially tougher. This is not a fun day at all."

Just then Carlisle interrupted and said: "It's OK, you can have fun with it."

For Carlisle, despite the fact that he couldn't stay and finish the job of getting to the NBA finals, he's in a win-win situation. They'll be tremendous sentiment in his favor that the Pistons did him wrong. And with the number of teams looking for a successful coach -- Washington, Toronto, New Orleans, the L.A. Clippers, Philadelphia, Cleveland and Houston -- he'll be high on most interview lists if he wants to stay in coaching. Carlisle mentioned TV as a possible outlet.

"I look at it as an opportunity,'' said Carlisle. "There may be some things out there for myself and my wife (Donna) to look at. You heard the term how soon they forget? The guy at the gate almost wouldn't let me in today to my own firing. The opportunity for me to be here has been great for me and Donna and my staff; Kevin O'Neill, Tony Brown, Bob Oceipka, Chad Forcier; my support staff.

"These things are never easy, but you have to make the best of them.''

O'Neill is expected to be hired by Toronto sometime next week, with Brown accompanying him.

"Joe and I never had a cross word towards each other. That's why I'm here,'' said Carlisle. "I could've had a separate press conference and said a lot of negative things, but that's not the case. It's hard having friends in such a competitive field, but I think Joe and I have a good relationship.''

He also announced his house in Birmingham was up for sale.

ACC is tuned in to net worth
Expansion: The drive to grow into a 12-school conference is fueled by the prospect of increased revenue from TV contracts and other football-related sources.
By John Eisenberg and Christian Ewell
Sun Staff
Originally published June 1, 2003



Why is the stable Atlantic Coast Conference moving to reinvent itself by adding three schools from the Big East Conference?

"Just follow the money. It all comes back to that," said Rick Burton, director of the University of Oregon's Warsaw Sports Marketing Center.

ACC commissioner John Swofford and the school presidents and athletic directors pushing the pending expansion would have you believe otherwise, that economics are just one of several factors underlying the move.

For example, they say, their league would gain power in NCAA politics with 12 teams instead of nine. And it would be poised to be a significant player in football's Bowl Championship Series no matter how the BCS realigns itself when its television contract expires after the 2005 season.

"This is more about positioning, and improving our position in college athletics. This is not a huge windfall," North Carolina State AD Lee Fowler recently told The News and Observer of Raleigh, N.C.

Burton, a teacher and commentator, doesn't dispute that the "three P's" - power, prestige and positioning - are factors. But, he said, the opportunity to increase revenues far outweighs them all.

"I think money is driving 85 percent of the discussion," Burton said.

The situation is as simple as it is dire, he said. Athletic departments' operational costs have skyrocketed in the past decade, yet for many, men's football and basketball remain the only sports that produce revenue.

"Many athletic departments either have to be self-sufficient, or they're running debts that are unacceptable to their overall university community," Burton said. "They're paying more for coaches, spending millions on new arenas and [stadium] upgrades, and funding nonrevenue sports for men and women. As a result, the athletic directors are under extreme pressure. ... They have no choice but to go out and find every single dollar they can.

"Anything standing in the way of that is going to be sacrificed."

In this case, what's being sacrificed is a 50-year tradition of the ACC as a "Tobacco Road" institution built on a foundation of basketball.

Also being sacrificed, potentially, is any loyalty to the Big East on the part of Miami, Syracuse and Boston College, the three schools being invited to join the ACC.

The need to find income has become more important.

And with basketball revenues relatively stable because of the NCAA's 11-year, $6 billion TV contract with CBS, which went into effect last fall, football is the only place to go for substantive growth.

More green pastures

If Miami, Syracuse and Boston College join the fold, a decision that could occur within two weeks, Swofford told the Associated Press, the ACC believes it would be poised to capitalize on several fronts.

It could sign more lucrative television deals, send more teams to bowls and stage a conference football championship game. The idea is to add millions to overall revenues, which the conference doles out evenly among its members.

"They must be counting on a better [football] TV deal and a championship game," said Daniel Fulks, director of the accounting program at Transylvania (Ky.) University, who prepares the NCAA's biannual "Revenues and Expenses of Intercollegiate Athletics" report.

The ACC's current football TV contracts produce between $22 million and $24 million a year. A 12-team conference including the Boston and Miami TV markets probably could be expected to generate from $30 million to $50 million a year, depending on the economy and market forces.

An ACC football championship game might produce $6 million more.

Of course, the overall take would have to jump - a lot - with a dozen teams splitting it instead of nine.

"The league is going to have to make a lot more, one-third more," said Ohio State AD Andy Geiger, formerly the AD at Maryland. "In that sense, I think this is a very ambitious move. It's a steep hill to climb. I don't think you can assume the [increased] TV rights are going to be there. And I doubt a championship game alone will make up the difference."

It's difficult to gauge precisely what a larger ACC might command in TV dollars. Adding millions of potential viewers and quality games should mean more money, but the market for rights packages has slowed with the economy.

"It's not a bullish market to negotiate in, and based on that, you have to be realistic," said Chuck Neinas, former executive director of the College Football Association, a defunct coalition of major schools.

The ACC appears to be patterning itself after the Southeastern and Big 12 conferences, each of which has 12 members and stages a football title game.

The SEC, which features such traditional football powers as Alabama, Tennessee and Florida, was the first to go to the 12-team model in the early 1990s. It receives $40 million a year in football TV money, the most of any conference.

The Big 12, which features Texas, Oklahoma and Nebraska, was formed from the merger of the Big Eight and Southwest conferences later in the '90s.

A 12-team ACC would become the third "super conference" with a football title game.

But could the ACC measure up to the title games in leagues with more football tradition? Some observers wonder.

"It's still ACC football," Fulks said. "The SEC is very different."

Yet, Neinas said, "I'm sure [the ACC] didn't jump off the diving board without making sure there was some water below."

In other words, ACC officials probably wouldn't have gambled on going public with their expansion plan if they weren't reasonably sure they could make it work.

A 12-team ACC would be assured of a major role in the BCS, which handed out $72 million last year to the conferences in its coalition. There is no telling how the format might be tweaked after 2005, and there are eternal rumors about a playoff tournament, but regardless, a 12-team ACC with Miami and Florida State would be a force.

"What does [the proposed ACC expansion] mean for us? That's what anybody is trying to say right now," said John Heisler, Notre Dame associate AD. "What does it mean for Notre Dame, what does it mean for Rutgers, what does it mean for Connecticut? That's what every athletic director in the country is trying to keep a handle on."

It still isn't a certainty that the schools will make the jump; the Big East is endeavoring to keep them, and numerous brushfires of opposition will need to be extinguished. But Miami appears eager, and again, Oregon's Burton said, its motivation becomes clearer when you "follow the money."

Financial security

Miami's athletic department lost a reported $1.4 million last year even though the football team played in the national title game. It hasn't helped the bottom line that five of the Big East's 15 schools don't field Division I football teams.

"What Miami is doing is saying, 'We're in a conference where a lot of the schools don't play football and can't go to bowls and contribute [revenue], and we're not convinced that our financial health can be guaranteed going forward,' " Burton said. "Given that they may be losing money and have huge operating costs, they started saying, 'Well, we need to look around and maybe be aligned with a conference that has a bright financial future.' "

That's certainly the ACC. The league's nine schools shared $87.6 million in revenues in 2001-02, some $32.2 million more than the Big East schools shared, according to Street & Smith's SportsBusiness Journal.

Each ACC school received a $9.7 million payout, the largest of its kind from any conference in the nation. (This includes Maryland, whose officials have declined to comment until the expansion process concludes.)

So, why expand? Again, some are wondering.

"The ACC was already well-regarded," said Big 12 commissioner Kevin Weiberg. "It's got as much of a position as the Big 12. It already has a more lucrative TV deal [for basketball]. I wouldn't say they need to expand to become a great league."

Transylvania's Fulks said, "I don't see a great need [to expand]. I can't imagine the ACC having financial trouble."

Yet college sports is plainly moving toward a top-heavy framework in which "super conferences" dominate revenues and championships.

Some believe that trend and the ACC's possible expansion could lead to several shifts in the next few years. The Big East could take teams from smaller conferences to keep itself viable. The Big Ten might add a 12th team. The Pac-10 and SEC might grow.

Those driving the ACC expansion campaign say they want a prominent place in that uncertain world.

"Certainly, if the ACC [expands] it's a stronger league in terms of good markets and positioning," Weiberg said.

Burton added, "There are always winners and losers when these moves occur, as they inevitably do, and whatever you think of it, the ACC is just making sure that it isn't one of the losers."

Growing pains

Purists are aghast at what amounts to a hostile takeover of the Big East, and some ACC fans are upset that expansion might mean the end of popular home-and-home basketball rivalries such as Maryland and Duke. Adding the three schools no doubt would lead to an awkward transitional period.

"The most complex pieces are issues with relationships," the Big 12's Weiberg said. "You want to be fully integrated into the conference, and that takes time to get that comfort level."

But in the end, Burton said, such concerns actually matter little compared to the ongoing economic crises the ADs face.

"The AD is expected to balance his budget. You have no choice but to do everything you can. Everything," he said. "You can't have the program go down on your watch. You can't be the AD who was there when your school fell behind and couldn't catch up. That's what the ACC schools are thinking, for sure."