Lacrosse Tourney Benefits Special Needs Unit. The New York Institute of Technology will participate in the inaugural Long Island Fall Lacrosse Tournament on October 7. All proceeds raised will benefit the Police Activity League (PAL) Special Needs Unit, which provides sports programs and activities for children with autism, down syndrome and various physical and learning disabilities. Teams from across the NCAA???s three divisions will participate in the event and include: Duke, Towson, Rutgers, Hofstra, Molloy and Springfield (Massachusetts). This tournament will feature some of the best lacrosse you can see in the non-traditional season and will also make a marked difference in the lives of many children.

Listen to the NCAA News. In its last issue, the NCAA News began offering audio files of some of its top stories. If you don???t have time to read the stories online, you can now listen to the articles as you peruse your favorite blog or when you stop by NCAA Online!

Oneonta State Rolls. After scoring four goals in the first 28 minutes against Hartwick, the Oneonta State women???s soccer team cruised to a 6-0 victory yesterday. Junior Mary Velan had two goals to lead the 9-1 Red Dragons.

On this date in 2005, the NCAA and Habitat for Humanity partnered to provide long-term hurricane relief. The ???Home Team??? partnership included a $1 million lead gift from NCAA Division II, a matching gift of $500,000 from the NCAA national office, plus additional voluntary donations collected at all 88 NCAA national championships.

The NCAA released its second year of Graduation Success Rate data yesterday and the trend is moving in the right direction. According to the current data, 77 percent of Division I student-athletes are graduating, up from 76 percent last year.

Earlier this month, NCAA President Myles Brand set a GSR goal of 80 percent for Division I student-athletes. This year???s data reflects the graduation rates of students who entered college between 1996 and 1999. It will take a couple of years to gauge the impact Division I???s academic reforms have had on graduation rates.

Obviously, I???m excited that more student-athletes are receiving their degrees. Colleges and universities aren???t a breeding ground for professional athletes. While a small percentage of student-athletes do move on to make a career in professional sports, the vast majority choose other paths. Either way, an education is vitally important and all student-athletes who begin college should do everything they can to finish with a degree.

Student-athletes graduate at a higher percentage than members of the regular student body, so it???s hard to criticize the GSR data. There are some sports that can do a better job of graduating players, however, and hopefully the academic reform initiatives will help change behavior enough to make a difference.

Cardiac screening for student-athletes. Loyola-Marymount???s student-athletes will undergo cardiac screenings in the near future thanks to a partnership announced by Royal Philips and A Heart For Sports. With the recent deaths among high school and college student-athletes, it???s clear that congenital cardiovascular conditions can affect anybody at any time. Hopefully, the screenings at Loyola Marymount will start a trend across intercollegiate athletics and perhaps save a life or two.

Collegiate Basketball Invitational Announced. Every year, the college football season is concluded by a number of all-star games that highlight senior standouts who have exhausted their eligibility and are looking for a shot to play at the next level. We???re going to have a similar event for college basketball this season as the inaugural Collegiate Basketball Invitational will gather 60 men???s basketball seniors from Division II, Division III and the NAIA to compete in a three-day event in front of professional scouts. There are exceptional student-athletes in every division and I???m a huge fan of anything that brings exposure their way. And who will argue with a couple extra days of college basketball? The event is scheduled for April 19-21 in Wadsworth, Ohio.

Carolina Blue. Michelle Hosick chronicled the success of the North Carolina women???s soccer team in a recent issue of the NCAA News, bringing to light the dominance of a program that has claimed 17 national titles and just 27 losses in the last 27 years. The Tar Heels dropped their first game of the 2006 campaign, but have reeled off 10 straight victories to get back in the mix. North Carolina beat Miami 6-1 on Sunday and will look for its 11th straight victory tonight at Clemson.

Former Stanford women???s cross country coach Dena Evans shares some thoughts about the culture of intercollegiate athletics and why she resigned her post last year. Evans was a coach in the Stanford track and field and cross country programs from 1999-2005, earning national Women???s Cross Country Coach of the Year honors in 2003. At heart, however, she remains a left-sided midfielder for the Cardinal from the mid-90s, who would still prefer not to wear pink socks.

Last weekend, I watched my daughter play her first soccer game, and couldn???t help but reflect on the differences between her world and that of those of us growing up in those years just after the advent of Title IX. Certainly, the surface level differences were quickly apparent. Clad in a hot pink and black uniform, she wore pink shin guards underneath her doubled over socks, and many of her teammates had pink soccer balls, items I had either never worn until forced, or that I would not have found in the local Big 5 Sporting Goods even if I had wanted them (anything pink).

As my husband and I cheered the Fuchsia Flyers in their midfield scrum, I also considered the fact that my daughter???s team had a female coach (still the exception), and that in contrast to many coaches at the collegiate level, she had an enviable position that allowed her to coach and to watch each and every one of her daughter???s games.

Certainly, coaching AYSO soccer as a parent is far from a full time job. However, collegiate coaches at all divisions, particularly those who are subject to the competitive recruiting marketplace and year-round competition of many Division I sports, continue to struggle with how to carve out something even remotely resembling that balance for themselves.

A coach in Stanford???s cross country and track and field programs for several years, I left my post a little more than a year ago after failing to create that sustainable work and life pace many in busy and competitive jobs seek. While I certainly continue to miss people and aspects of that career path, I also recognize with a certain measure of contentedness that I would not have been able to chase our toddler on the sidelines while her sister ran around with the Flyers had I been in the midst of cross country preseason. I would have been at a meet or away at training camp. Often I wonder how I missed a middle ground that would have continued to find me doing both.

Running for a Cause. On Sunday, twelve players and two coaches from the Stevens Institute of Technology women???s basketball team participated in the Tunnel to Towers 5K Run/Walk in honor of Stephen Siller, a firefighter who lost his life saving others on September 11, 2001. The 3.1-mile course follows the path Siller took through Brooklyn???s Battery Tunnel to get to the towers. More than a win or loss on the basketball court, the members of this team will never forget their participation in this event. That???s the way it should be.

Scoring Machine. Western Connecticut State sophomore Catherine Nathans scored a pair of goals to lead the Colonials to a 3-1 victory over Worcester State last night. Nathans has 13 goals through the team???s first eight games of the fall and has catapulted undefeated Western Connecticut to eighth in the regional soccer rankings.

So Long, Byron Nelson. The golfing legend died yesterday at the age of 94. We always hear names like Arnold Palmer, Jack Nicklaus and Tiger Woods, but it was the likes of Byron Nelson and Sam Snead who first put golf on the map.

On this date in 1985, Kalamazoo men???s soccer standout Marc Tirikian scored an NCAA record 10 goals in a win over Olivet.

A Running Legend Passes. Former BYU track and field coach Clarence Robison died on Monday at the age of 83. Robison, who coached the Cougars from 1949-88, was a member of the 1948 Olympic team. He led BYU to a share of the 1970 national championship.

Matt Gelb wrote an interesting piece in Tuesday???s Daily Orange, one of the country???s finest campus newspapers.

Gelb discusses a culture in intercollegiate athletics that often encourages coaches to turn a blind eye toward the indiscretions of standout student-athletes. He cites specific cases from a number of institutions where coaches refused to jeopardize the team???s performance to duly reprimand a wayward player.

When I was in college, I had a teammate who ripped a paper off the Internet and turned it in as his own. He was caught and the school suspended him for a semester. As he was one of our top players, we welcomed him back with open arms to the baseball field the next semester. I was okay with the outcome because he had been punished in the same fashion as any other student who had violated the ethics code at Brandeis.

Preferential treatment for student-athletes, however, is wholly unacceptable. Gelb notes that Florida State penalized Peter Warrick with a slap on the wrist for his part in a shoplifting scandal in Tallahassee. Lavaranues Coles, who had partnered with Warrick in the scheme, was kicked out of school.

As a Syracuse fan, I often wondered why Billy Edelin was allowed to come back after each of his indiscretions. I didn???t wonder too hard, though, because it was pretty obvious that he was an excellent basketball player. Would other players have received the same treatment as Edelin? Would other students have been afforded the same benefit of the doubt? I hope, so but you really have to wonder.

The NCAA doesn???t have a bylaw that addresses legal matters of its student-athletes. The membership has decided not to legislate with regard to the law, and it is therefore the responsibility of law enforcement officials and institutional administration to properly admonish any student who engages in criminal activity. There should be no special treatment for student-athletes, but if you read some of the examples in Gelb???s article, it seems it has certainly happened more than once.

The Few, The Proud. Rutgers-Newark catcher Matt Halligan won???t be behind the plate for the Scarlet Raiders this spring. Instead, Halligan will be protecting the country while he serves with the United States Marines in the Middle East. Halligan enlisted in the Marine reserves in the spring of 2005 and had juggled practice, classes and monthly training during the fall semester of his sophomore year. He received his deployment notice last spring and missed the season while training in the Mojave Desert. Halligan arrived in Kuwait earlier this week and is scheduled to return home next summer. He plans to be on the baseball field as soon as he gets back. It seems to me he fits the true definition of an all-American.

Tragedy in Houston. Rice defensive back Dale Lloyd died Monday, one day after collapsing during a team workout. Lloyd was 19-years-old.

Lovin' Life on the Road. The UCLA women???s volleyball team started its season with 15 matches on the road and I???m not sure the Bruins really want to return home after winning all of those contests. UCLA opens its home schedule on Thursday against Washington, the defending national champion. The third-ranked Bruins are one of a number of fall teams hoping to bring the school its 100th national championship.

Is it more important for your favorite team to contend for a national championship or graduate its players at a high rate? Do you take more pride in your alma mater???s academics or athletics success?

I was involved in a conversation on a message board earlier where fans were calling for a football coach???s head after his team suffered a crushing defeat on Saturday. I understand the frustration of the fans, but entered the conversation to suggest that the coach has taken care of business off the field and recruits players who represent the school with pride in the classroom.

To say that I got laughed out of town is the understatement of the year. It became apparent that every fan on that message board was more concerned with an extra football victory than an impressive academic progress rate.

I don???t want to appear naïve; I root my heart out for Syracuse every time I watch the Orange play. I danced all night after they won the 2003 national title, but I also celebrated that starting center Craig Forth was a four-time academic all-American. I appreciated that some of the student-athletes on the team focused just as much, if not more, on their academic pursuits than on their athletics endeavors.

Athletics success is important and I am in no way suggesting that coaches shouldn???t be held accountable for poor performance on the court or field. I do believe, however, that coaches should be lauded for recruiting high quality student-athletes who perform to the best of their abilities both on and off the field. Fans should cheer these academic accolades heartily.

As a Brandeis graduate, I take pride in my degree and in the athletics success of my alma mater. For me, the two have always gone hand in hand. Coaches who win at all costs have no place working in the college game. It is a coach???s responsibility to encourage his players to reach their potential as students, athletes and as people.

Many fans ignore the fact that academic success is more important than athletics success, and I have a hard time understanding that philosophy.

In April, the Division I Board of Directors upheld its decision to allow graduates with remaining eligibility to become immediately eligible upon transferring to a new institution. This impacts the sports of football, basketball and men???s ice hockey, as student-athletes don???t have to sit a year in other NCAA sports.

I personally believe this was a good decision by the Board, and think that any student who receives his or her undergraduate degree should be free to pursue other opportunities. On today???s edition of Mondays With Myles, NCAA President Myles Brand shares a slightly different take on this legislation and lets us know why he believes it needs to be monitored.

Listen to Mondays With Myles

Mondays With Myles can be found on the Double-A Zone every Monday morning. To subscribe to the Double-A Cast, follow the link on the right or look for us on I-Tunes.

Softball maintains status quo. The Division I Championships/Competition Cabinet voted against a proposal that would limit the number of spring softball contests to 56. As it stands, softball is limited to 56 dates, but teams can play more than one game on each date. Many Division I softball programs play close to 70 games each spring. When the season begins in late February and teams finish up three months later, 70 games is just too many. Even if the number of games doesn???t impact the student-athletes??? grades, it certainly has an impact on their time and takes away from the total campus experience. I???m not a grinch and nobody wanted to play more baseball than I did in college, but 70 games? That???s too many.

It???s not over. I saw two ridiculous comebacks on Saturday night. I was on the phone with my father as Boston College looked primed for its fourth win of the season. About 30 seconds after I was done preaching about how good the program has become, NC State converted a long touchdown pass with eight seconds left to take the heartbreaking win and put me into a fit of depression for an hour or so. At about the same time, Brady Quinn led Notre Dame on an improbable comeback that saved the season for the Irish. Quinn tossed three second-half touchdown passes to help overcome a 17-point deficit and stun Michigan State, 40-37.

Theft in locker room. After defeating Southern, 27-20, on Saturday night, North Carolina Central???s football team didn???t spend much time celebrating. When the players returned to the locker room, they found it had been burglarized. How does that happen?

Having a Ball. New Hampshire wide receiver David Ball caught his 50th career touchdown pass against Dartmouth on Saturday afternoon, tying Jerry Rice for the record at the Football Championship Subdivision level. Ball played sparingly in the second half as the Wildcats cruised, 56-14.

On this date in 2004, Southern Vermont goalkeeper Steve Runyon registered a Division III record 42 saves against Western New England.

In its report card released Thursday, the Black Coaches Association reported improvement in the hiring practices among Division I football programs. Of the 26 programs in the division that hired head coaches in the last year, a record 12 received overall grades of A. On the other side, however, six schools received F???s.

While the BCA is looking for more minority coaches to be hired at Division I programs, they also evaluate programs on the diversity of their search committees. If a program hires a Caucasian coach but has a diverse hiring team, it will likely score quite well on the report card.

The BCA isn???t asking for African-American coaches to fill every vacant position in the country; the association is simply asking for diversity on the hiring team and for black candidates to be considered.

There have been 414 coaching vacancies in Division I since 1982. Only 21 African-Americans have been hired to fill those positions. If you read the numbers a couple of times, you will quickly become appalled. It took too long for coaches to put black quarterbacks under center and it???s taking too long for African-American coaches to find their place on the college sidelines.

It???s amazing that 40 years after Texas Western became the first basketball team to win the national championship with five black starters, we???re still fighting the same battle on the gridiron.

In a presentation at Ball State on Wednesday, former NCAA Senior Vice President for Championships and Education Services Judy Sweet discussed Title IX and the growing participation of female student-athletes in intercollegiate athletics.

In the 25 years that the NCAA has sponsored women???s sports, the participation of female student-athletes has grown from 30,000 to 160,000. While there are still more men competing in intercollegiate athletics, female student-athletes have nearly pulled even.

In my opinion, the best part of that growth isn???t shown in the numbers Judy discussed at Ball State. Instead, the most exciting part is the trickle-down effect that has created opportunities for little girls to play pee-wee soccer, softball, basketball and other sports by the time they enter kindergarten. Every day this summer I passed a field with little girls playing soccer on my drive home. Thirty years ago, that field would have been filled with boys. Their sisters would have been watching from the sidelines.

There are some folks who don???t see the benefits of Title IX because they???re too jaded to look past the high-profile sports they see on television; athletics is about so much more than that. It???s about those little girls having a chance to play and something to strive for. The impact of Title IX on athletics cannot be quantified, and that much is evident every time you pass a field that little girls are able to call their own.

Oklahoma president goes bananas. We???ve discussed the blown call in the game between Oklahoma and Oregon all week, but I thought Greg Couch???s piece in the Chicago Sun-Times made some good points about Oklahoma president David Boren???s reaction. Couch asserts that Boren should be less concerned with the ???outrageous injustice??? of the football game, and more concerned with the education of the students at Oklahoma.

Harrick???s lawsuit dismissed. A defamation lawsuit filed two years ago by Jim Harrick and his son was dismissed on Wednesday. I don???t fully understand how the Harricks thought they were defamed. Wasn???t the younger Harrick the coach who gave exams in a basketball class that asked questions such as ???How many points is a three-point shot worth????

Nebraska-Omaha still undefeated. The No.1-ranked Nebraska-Omaha women???s soccer team improved to 7-0 on Sunday with a 2-0 victory over Minnesota Duluth. In the win, Beth McGill became the school???s all-time leading scorer with an assist in the 73rd minute. She had scored her 45th career goal earlier in the second half. The Mavericks will play South Dakota this afternoon and North Dakota on Sunday.

Happy Birthday Dot! On this date in 1961, former UCLA softball standout Dot Richardson was born. Richardson, who was named the 43rd most influential student-athlete in NCAA history, became the face of USA softball when the Americans won the gold medal in the sport???s Olympic debut in 1996. Richardson went on to become an orthopedic surgeon.

It???s easy to get lost in the Hall of Champions, and on today???s edition of Faces of the NCAA, Managing Director George Smith will tell you some of things you???ll find on your next visit.

I always enjoy taking a stroll through the Hall - looking at the changing exhibits, experiencing the interactive elements and learning about the rich history of the NCAA. Every time I???m in the Hall, I inevitably end up by the ???One Shining Moment??? kiosk and let the tears of joy stream down my face as Jim Boeheim and Carmelo Anthony hoist the national championship trophy for Syracuse.

While that kiosk is one of my favorite spots in the Hall of Champions, there are many memorable aspects and visitors will always leave with a smile on their face. George and his staff also do great work in the community and he shares some of those experiences on the podcast as well.

Listen to podcast: Meet George Smith.

As a native of New York City, I???m always thrilled to hear that people enjoy the time they spend in the Big Apple. On a recent trip to the city, the Millikin women???s volleyball team went 3-1 in a tournament hosted by NYU, but the experience turned out to be just as successful off the court.

With a focus on culture, diversity and education, the team???s coaches made sure to expose their players to New York when they weren???t competing. The visit included a trip to Ground Zero for the squad???s history major; an outing to the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island; a stroll down 5th Avenue for a player interested in fashion merchandising; a visit to Wall Street for business majors; and a trip to the Metropolitan Museum of Art.

We???ve established that most student-athletes will find their careers outside of athletics, and it???s important for them to understand what happens outside the cocoon of their campus and athletics facilities. While the game of volleyball is played the same way in Decatur, Illinois as it is in downtown Manhattan, Millikin???s volleyball student-athletes learned about some of the exciting things that could be awaiting them after they graduate. They immersed themselves with the history and feel of the city and that will prove to be a lifelong memory for each and every student-athlete.

I???m not a snobby New Yorker; when the NYU team travels to an away game, those student-athletes should be exposed to the way things are outside of Manhattan. They should stop by local museums and historical sites in every city or town they go to. As student-athletes, they???re lucky to go to new places regularly. It???s the responsibility of the coaches to make that experience truly worthwhile.

I like to believe that most coaches are heavily invested in the development of young adults, and exposing them to culture should go hand in hand with teaching them discipline and hard work. Millikin???s volleyball coaches certainly have their priorities straight, and for that, I applaud them.

Kansas student-athletes improve graduation rate. In its annual graduation report, the Kansas athletics department revealed that the university???s Graduation Success Rate has increased from 68 to 70 percent. NCAA President Myles Brand has set 80 percent as his goal for all Division I programs to meet in the coming years, and it???s nice to see Kansas moving in the right direction.

Official takes leave of absence. The replay official who missed the call in the game between Oklahoma and Oregon last week has been granted a leave of absence from the Pac-10 for the rest of the season. I think it???s great that he???s taking some time off, but I do hope he comes back next season. After a long career as an on-field referee, it would be a shame to leave college football on the heels of this missed call.

Florida Gulf Coast rolls on. The women???s volleyball team at Florida Gulf Coast won its 10th straight match Tuesday with a 3-0 victory over Florida Tech. The 16th-ranked Eagles have swept their last nine opponents and have rebounded from a 2-2 start to the season. This is the program???s final year in Division II as the university will join the Atlantic Sun Conference next season.

I read an article in today???s New York Times that caught me slightly off guard. Selena Roberts criticized the NCAA for being too soft in the enforcement of its rules and says that the Association not only is too trusting of its members, but turns a blind-eye toward major infractions.

Roberts??? piece surprised me because I have rarely heard the NCAA described in this fashion. Usually, members of the media and public are quick to criticize the NCAA as too harsh and too restrictive in its governance and enforcement procedures. Roberts is sitting firmly on the other side of the fence.

She asserts that ???there are no repercussions??? for offenders and implies that coaches and student-athletes break rules more often than they follow them. While I would never argue that all of the rules are followed all of the time, I disagree with her perception that the NCAA is too soft. I don???t know any program in the country that wants to sit in front of the Committee on Infractions and receive postseason bans, recruiting restrictions or show-cause orders.

Roberts seems to believe that the NCAA should use the death penalty more often, shutting down an offending program for an entire season or more. She cites that Southern Methodist never recovered from its death penalty sentence in 1987 and believes that if this were used more often, programs would be more likely to follow the rules on a regular basis.

She might be right ??? if the NCAA took a tougher stance on athletics programs, and even cancelled seasons for offenders, coaches and student-athletes would take notice. But if the NCAA were to require USC to forfeit games that could cost it the BCS national championship because of alleged violations by former running back Reggie Bush, then all of the other student-athletes on that team would be penalized as well.

For those student-athletes who pour their hearts and souls into a program, is it fair to ask them to give up precious victories because of the possible indiscretions of one of their teammates? I understand the need to punish, but more importantly, penalties are used to take away a program???s competitive advantage and help it reform its behavior.

Roberts discusses penalties that were doled out to the football programs at Miami and Alabama and talks about the quick return to prominence for both schools. Does she want schools to be forever ruined because of infractions? Should Miami and Alabama never be allowed to field football teams again?

I don???t want to give the impression that I don???t think offending programs should be penalized. Quite the contrary, I think there should be stiff penalties levied against coaches, student-athletes and athletics programs that knowingly look to beat the system. I don???t believe, however, we should be rooting for programs to never recover and hopefully change their ways.

Additionally, Roberts writes that ???the kinder, gentler NCAA is more comfortable micromanaging family values. Last week, it gave Clemson permission to establish a trust fund to assistant in normal living expenses for the freshman football player Ray Ray McElrathbey, who has temporary custody of his 11-year-old brother. The NCAA???s authority as an enforcer is increasingly futile. Its position as moral authority is all that remains for the keeper of college spirit.???

I don???t see how the situation of Ramon McElrathbey and his 11-year old brother have anything to do with infractions, but I am ecstatic he will receive the help he needs and deserves. I???m not sure why Roberts believes that the NCAA needs to walk around with its finger on the trigger. She???s missing the point that there are almost 400,000 student-athletes and the ones breaking the rules are few and far between.

Before Saturday evening???s game against Oklahoma in Norman, first-year Middle Tennessee football coach Rick Stockstill shares some thoughts with us about the first three games of the season. The Blue Raiders opened with a win over Florida International and after stumbling against Maryland, rebounded last Thursday with a 44-0 victory over Tennessee Tech.

People have asked me a great deal about my first game as a head coach and I can honestly say I didn???t feel any different in that first game (against Florida International), just because I was the head coach. I left the field after our first game very proud of our team and excited for them because of what they had accomplished, but the game really wasn???t about me.

I didn't feel any different in that first game just because I was the head coach. I have been in this business a long time and I was focused on what we needed to do. I tell the players you don't play the game in the tunnel. All that rah-rah, jumping around stuff before a game is a bit overrated in my opinion. My deal was to just get out of the tunnel without getting my foot stepped on and get to the sidelines and call the game.

Most assistant coaches dream of being a head coach. I feel very lucky. There are a lot better coaches then me that never get an opportunity to be a head coach. I feel very fortunate. I have worked very hard to get here. It is a goal you can say you accomplished. But now, you have to go to work and turn this program around and do it the right way.

I am proud to be here at Middle Tennessee and there is a lot of pride and passion from the fans and the community. This university has a lot of great points to sell. There is a lot of great leadership here. I want to help turn this program into something everyone can be proud to call their own.

As far as that first game, I didn't do anything different then I normally did prior to a game. However, I did have a few more responsibilities as a head coach. The only thing different is it is now your program. I just kind of reviewed all the positions and had the best plan in place. I still ate my fireballs, ran before the game, and got ready.

Volleyball team sponsors clinic. The Stevens Institute of Technology men???s volleyball team conducted a girls volleyball clinic in Staten Island on Saturday. Student-athletes from Stevens have been running these clinics for the past five years. The free clinic was attended by more than 110 high school players from the five boroughs of New York City.

South Carolina sends academic message. South Carolina athletics director Eric Hyman is demanding better academic performance from the school???s student-athletes. Hyman is instituting a program on October 1 that will provide mandatory tutoring sessions and extra work for struggling student-athletes. If student-athletes miss class or study halls, they will miss practice time and even competitions. I like that Hyman is taking a stand on academic performance. If a reserve on the soccer team isn???t going to class, he shouldn???t be allowed to play. The same should go for the starting quarterback.

Salisbury knows field hockey. The Sea Gulls of Salisbury University have won the past three Division III field hockey national championships. The team hasn???t skipped a beat this season, jumping out to an impressive 8-0 mark. I don???t know terribly much about field hockey, but it seems to me that outscoring your opponents 39-3 in the first eight games is slightly amazing.

Talk about job security. Marquette extended the contract of head men???s basketball coach Tom Crean through 2017. Crean has rejuvenated the Marquette program, and led the Golden Eagles to the 2003 Final Four behind the strong play of Dwayne Wade. Marquette held its own during its first year of play in the Big East and Crean is being rewarded for that performance.

The Pac-10 suspended the officiating crew and instant replay officials that worked the game between Oklahoma and Oregon on Saturday. The officials will be suspended for one game.

It???s been reported that the replay official has received death threats against himself and his family. The official says that: ???I can???t sleep, I can???t eat, my blood pressure is skyrocketing???I feel so bad I missed the call, it???s driving me crazy.???

I understand that Oklahoma fans take little solace in this admission from the replay official and it does nothing to soften the blow of the loss. He blatantly flubbed that call, and it???s even harder to grasp how it happened when he had the chance to watch the tape a number of times.

I???m not sure a one-game suspension is the answer; perhaps these officials shouldn???t be out there at all. That???s not my decision or the decision of football fans, but rather the judgment of the Pac-10, which oversees the assignment of game officials.

I don???t understand how the call was missed, but I don???t like the insinuation that the Pac-10 crew was cheating for Oregon. The reputation of every official involved in the bad call was completely sullied, and I just don???t think there was any bad intent involved. It was just a horrible call.

Desiree Guenther chronicles the final day of the Florida trip for the New Haven women???s soccer team.

Another 7:45 a.m. breakfast, this time with Gatorade! (Eileen is banned from OJ) My first notion: A new day, new opponent, and most importantly a better game???

Before boarding the vans, each engaged in their own pre-game checklist. Some were taped by our trainer: ankles, blisters, Achilles, hamstrings, quads, the typical nagging challenges. The hydration continued, we met in the lobby, and headed out. Another clear morning, this time not as hot and a slight breeze made it more comfortable. Things continued with a coach and team talk and our guest speaker Eileen O???Brien stepped up to share a bit of her enthusiasm on pride and team unity.

Today was more time in the air conditioning and a lighter warm up. At half it was 0-0, both teams having chances. Second half we went up 2-0. Then it was 2-1, 2-2. Not tied for long as we again went up 3-2.

And from there I think I can speak for us all - we???d rather not talk about it. End result 3-3. We screwed up, and 2 OTs did nothing more. A tie is a tie, but in this case it definitely felt like a loss. You can check the box score if you want to know more.

Anyways???moving on???another quiet van ride to the hotel, showers, and packing. It???s ALWAYS better when you win???

We caught some of the Dolphins game with a glare on the big screen in the lobby. Of course they wouldn???t be showing the Padres vs. Dodgers game or the Chargers game (a good day in SD), so I???ve learned to be satisfied with highlights, and updates from dad while I???m on the East Coast.

In the vans one last time, and if you forgot anything now you really thought seriously to yourself, ???Could I live without it???? because you didn???t want to be that ONE who made the driver turn around. Nevertheless, continuing to confirm the freshmen forgetfulness and youth, we had to stop for one to retrieve her cell phone left in the hotel lobby.

To the airport, all 23 check in, get a wheelchair for Mackenzie, through security, boom box back in action, food (including me spilling a salad all over myself), lounging, NFL spectating, laptopping, and in the air before long.

The flight television consisted mainly of the New England vs. New York Jets game with a mix of fans among the team. Additionally, we pulled out the books to catch up on studying as we would not arrive back to campus until late.

After we landed the boom box made a surprise appearance while we gathered to exit the plane (music always seems to aid the mood). Eileen proudly and happily hoisted it on her shoulder while the surrounding fellow fliers seemed to crack a few smiles. I???m sure they all enjoyed our accompanying singing voices too. Lets be honest here, they all wanted to go back to their college days to re-live the best of times!!

We mobbed to baggage claim not forgetting to admire the man with the 80???s cut off jean shorts, and boots???NY brings ???em to you in all shapes, sizes and colors! We continued to acquire all bags to appropriate owners and pray that the bus was there to pick us up. Finally our bus driver with dreadlocks found us and we made the last stretch back to UNH - back to slightly cooler temperatures, back to our dorms, back to classes, and back to more faces we know. Finish up studying for Monday classes, check e-mails, and unpack if you had any energy. It is time to re-group, re-focus, and make progress in the right direction???aka???winning???Capice? Capice!!!

Maurice Clarett accepts plea bargain. Former Ohio State running back Maurice Clarett agreed to a plea bargain that will keep him in prison for at least 3 ½ years. Clarett has made a number of terrible choices since he led the Buckeyes to the 2002 national championship, and perhaps some jail time is what he needs to get his life back on track. As this story makes its way across the front sports pages of many major newspapers in the country, I???m bothered that the tale of one former student-athlete will impact what the general public thinks about student-athletes in general. I understand the need for reporting stories like this one, but it would be nice if a positive story or two about some of our 380,000+ student-athletes hit the stands every once in a while. Instead of thinking that student-athletes were no-good, spoiled brats who have everything handed to them on silver platters, people would realize that the majority of these kids are leaders on their campus and in society.

Montana coach receives heart transplant. Montana women???s golf coach Joanne Steele underwent heart transplant surgery on Monday. Steele, who garnered Big Sky coach of the year honors after leading the Grizzlies to the league championship last spring, was afflicted with hypertrophic cardiomyopathy, a genetic disorder that thickens the heart and prevents blood from pumping to the rest of the body properly.

On this date in 1974, Stetson men???s soccer player Marty Ryczek set a Division I record with 18 points in a game against Southeastern Bible. Ryczek scored eight goals and tallied two assists in the victory.

I???ve watched the replays of the controversial onside kick from this weekend???s game between Oklahoma and Oregon and it seems to me that the officials missed a call. There was also a questionable call on a pass interference penalty called on an Oklahoma defender. The Sooners went on to lose by one point and that makes this even more difficult to swallow.

It???s no secret that calls are missed at the little league, high school, college and professional levels. We???ve seen video replay added across college football this season, but it didn???t do its job on Saturday. The bottom line is that there is no foolproof way to avoid a missed call. All we can do is put as many precautions in place as possible and hope the officials get it right.

I believe video replay enhances competition; I don???t see any reason to question its benefits. At the U.S. Open last month, the commentators said that calls were ???only??? overturned about one-third of the time under a new system that allows players to challenge calls. If ???only??? one wrong call is made right, it???s worthwhile to have video replay at the ready.

So the question becomes, how do officials miss calls when they have the chance to look at the replay? They need conclusive evidence to overturn a call, and I???m sure they weren???t positive and therefore couldn???t pull the trigger.

Because there isn???t a playoff in the Football Bowl Subdivision, a loss really leaves a blemish on a team???s record as it fights for a spot in one of the coveted BCS bowls. To have the outcome of game decided by the officials doesn???t seem fair, but I???m not sure there???s much of a solution. Unfortunately, bad calls are a part of the game.

A couple of weeks ago, NCAA president Myles Brand set an 80 percent graduation success rate as his goal for Division I student-athletes. On today???s edition of Mondays With Myles, Dr. Brand discusses how we can get there.

Listen to Mondays With Myles

Mondays With Myles can be found on the Double-A Zone every Monday morning. To subscribe to the Double-A Cast, follow the link on the right or look for us on I-Tunes.

Five Duquesne players shot. Five members of the Duquesne men???s basketball team were shot following a dance on Saturday night. Sam Ahsaolu remains in critical condition while Stuard Baldonado and Kojo Mensah were being evaluated at different hospitals. Shawn James ??? the nation???s leading shot blocker last season ??? and Aaron Jackson were also shot. All five players are transfer students. Mensah is paying his own tuition this season after Siena refused to release him to transfer.

Notre Dame dumped. It???s hard not to get caught up in the hype surrounding Notre Dame when you live in Indiana, and I was surprised to see Michigan dominate in South Bend on Saturday. To their credit, the Irish play one of the most difficult schedules around and although they might not be the best team in the country, I have a hard time swallowing that they???re out of the national title picture because of one loss. They would have to run the table and need every other team to lose before they could consider themselves back in the hunt.

College football equals parity. One week after beating Division I foe Stephen F. Austin, Delta State lost to Henderson State in overtime, 16-13. The game was broadcast over the Internet.

ACC dominates men???s soccer. Wins by Clemson, Virginia and Duke???s men???s soccer teams on Saturday kept all three ACC teams undefeated this season. Maryland, which won the national championship last season, has lost one game.

Leading the way. I was fortunate to spend the weekend in Kansas City at the Division II Leadership Academy and had a wonderful experience. The student-athletes representing their schools have been identified as the cream of the crop and it???s always fun to see them in action.

The New Haven women???s soccer team lost to Nova Southeastern on Saturday morning, 4-1. Senior forward Desiree Guenther fills us in on the game and the rest of the day.

Integrity has always been a value I hold high and accordingly I???ll apply it here. This whole blog thing isn???t as much fun when you don???t win.

Up for breakfast at 7:45 a.m. and departing the hotel at 8:40 to Nova Southeastern University.

The morning was quite hot and humid. There was short cut grass, constant guzzling of water, dripping of sweat, and a good group of spectators in the stands. After the first half the game was tied 1-1.

And bottom line, ???we just didn???t get it done in the second half.???

The final score (4-1) definitely did not show our potential. For the future, it is imperative that we redirect some of our efforts in order to be successful. After the game, Coach BF gave one of the best post-game talks all year, we gathered our stuff and made our way to the vans. We drove back to the hotel with very little talk, but at least we were not banned from playing the radio. Halfway back to the hotel it began to rain, and has continued to rain the entire day off and on.

Desiree Guenther and the New Haven women???s soccer team were rained out of last night???s game against Nova Southeastern, but the senior forward lets us know how the team spent its day in Florida.

Pre-established ???roomies??? by BF seems to have worked well in expanding our team bonding. Getting to know the behind the scenes of our fellow teammates allows for some good laughter. So far, a few sleep talkers, not too many sleep kickers, and no sleep walkers. A few went for a night swim, which led to some lizard catching. My room had an interesting intrusion by a mistaken employee. I suppose a good little increase in the heartbeat never hurts. All in all it ended up being a solid night???s sleep for the team.

The majority of the team arose from their slumber from the time of 9:30 a.m. until about 10:15-ish when they heard the call for breakfast. Lucky are we to have our coach bring us breakfast back to the hotel. Around 10:30 a.m. we gathered in one room to not only enjoy our morning faces, hair, and fashion, but to jump start the day with bagels, bananas, apples, muffins, and OJ. I think the OJ was clutch here because with the environment change, and players acquiring slight colds, the vitamin C is a perfect choice! Good thing BF knows his nutrition!

Shortly after breakfast we headed outside for a light session to get our legs going and loosen up after a day of traveling. The sun was out with a few clouds, and we felt a taste of the humidity. Don???t bother putting sunscreen on, because it will sweat off before you know it. So as the trip goes on, the fair skinned become red and the others begin to bronze.

The actual temperature wasn???t too hot, but it was the extra vapor that we became accustomed to. Being Southern California raised, I???d rather play in the heat anytime over a cold November, New England day. For me, the heat makes warming up and my muscles feel much better, much faster. On the other hand, it is practically torture for others such as the Irish.

University of New Haven soccer student-athlete Desiree Guenther writes her inaugural post for the Double-A Zone as the Chargers prepare for the first game of their Florida trip. The senior forward has helped lead New Haven to a 4-2 record and has a pair of goals in the season???s first six games. Guenther will continue to write posts from Florida through the weekend and will be a regular contributor to the Double-A Zone throughout her senior season.

Thursday morning we???re at Charger Gym at 9:30 a.m. to load the bus. What? Less than 12 hours ago we were just on a bus returning from Pennsylvania. Poor season scheduling? Or just keeping things exciting? I think we can all agree that we???ve been looking forward to this September Florida trip.

Let???s hope we didn???t forget anything???freshmen!? Nah, leave it to the sophomore who never fails to make sure she has her sunglasses when it???s raining, but can???t seem to keep everything else together. Minutes later, with our bleach blonde bus driver, we depart UNH headed for La Guardia Airport in New York City.

The rainy morning with traffic didn???t stop a group in the back of the bus from singing, or more honestly ???yelling,??? to many of our all-time favorite songs. The loud music was provided by our state-of-the-art boom box, which we can???t wait to show off on the beaches in FL. Sometimes it skips, but most of all Eileen O???Brien usually has cramped legs because she has to strategically keep her heels off the ground to make sure the music keeps playing as we enjoy the ???smooth, newly paved??? CT and NY highways.

Sometimes our ???jam??? sessions become interrupted by our coach and/or teammates scavenging for food! Do I necessarily agree with what we all eat? Not so much, but as long as the job gets done on the field, that???s what matters. Other activities on the bus: sleeping, meditating, newspaper reading, wig wearing, joking, laughing, dancing, iPod-ing, cell phoning, window watching???they all have their unique moments.

As we approach La Guardia airport, the bus driver gets a little unfocused: ???My bus is 11 feet 5 inches and the sign says 11 feet!??? Of course, we would say go for it, who believes in signs anyways? But good bus driver she is, we pull to the side and clear things up - or so we thought she was all clear. Basically, she continued to drive to the curbside pick up for arrivals. Quick to take leadership for the team???s sake, coach Brendan Faherty (BF) suggested that we would be just fine getting off there. With backpacks and suitcases in hand, we quickly arrived at Jet Blue, checked in, and went on our way to security. Nope, not quite! Hungry again!

West Virginia rolls on. The Mountaineers looked unstoppable last night, trouncing Maryland, 45-24. Sophomore running back Steve Slaton ran all over the Terrapin defense, gaining 195 yards on 21 carries. In lopsided victories over Marshall, Eastern Washington and Maryland this season, Slaton has already rushed for 503 yards and 6 touchdowns. West Virginia doesn???t play the most challenging of schedules, but I wouldn???t be surprised to see Slaton and the Mountaineers playing in the BCS championship game come January.

Men???s Basketball VP promoted. The NCAA announced that Greg Shaheen has been promoted to senior vice president for basketball and business strategies. Shaheen will continue to oversee the Division I Men???s Basketball Championship and the National Invitational Tournament, and will also work to raise awareness of the Association???s 88 championships across its three divisions.

Division II football on the Web. After its broadband debut went off without a hitch last Saturday, Division II will broadcast four more games over the Internet tomorrow, including one featuring Delta State, which defeated Division I program Stephen F. Austin last week.

On this date in 1973, Ohio State running back Archie Griffin began a streak of 31 consecutive 100-yard rushing games against Minnesota. Griffin remains the only two-time winner of the Heisman Trophy.

It seems that there???s more parity in college football than I thought. When five Division II teams defeated Division I opponents from the Football Championship Subdivision last weekend, I was convinced nothing like that had ever happened before. A little digging revealed I was far from correct.

During the first two weeks of the season, Football Championship Subdivision teams have compiled a 32-11 mark against non-Division I opponents, a 74.4 percent clip. Since 2000, programs in that division have gone 485-193 against non-Division I foes, winning 71.5 percent of their total games. They are winning at a better rate through the first two weeks of this season.

At the beginning of the season, I was critical of the 12th game added to the football schedule. One of the reasons I didn???t like the extra game is because most high-profile programs scheduled ???pushover??? opponents for the additional date. When Montana State dumped Colorado last week, I began to question how many times Football Bowl Subdivision teams found themselves on the wrong side of the score against Football Championship Subdivision squads.

Through September 9, Football Bowl Subdivision teams were 38-4 against opponents from the championship subdivision, winning 90.5 percent of those games. Those teams are actually winning more often than they have in the past. Since 2000, bowl subdivision teams have won 87 percent of games against their championship subdivision counterparts.

While it seems as though teams from lower divisions are having unprecedented success this season, they???re actually not doing as well as in the past. The parity in college football from the top Division I programs all the way to Division III is closer than some, including myself, would think.

Texas A&M-Kingsville volleyball coach Jane Kieschnick discusses some of the obstacles she faces as a college coach raising three teenagers.

I???ve been coaching for more than 20 years. I???ve never done anything else. Never wanted to do anything else. So, why am I questioning my career choice now? Time???

I am the mother of three kids, Dena,17, Jake, 15, and Ann, 12. I am also the head volleyball coach at Texas A&M University-Kingsville, a Division II university in South Texas. When my children were younger, I was married and a high school coach. Practice times were not much different from what I have now, but the time and travel demands were so much simpler. My kids were always in the gym, attended games, knew how to shag balls, ride on a bus, and sometimes sleep in the coaches??? office.

My children were also younger then. The only thing we had to worry about was homework and Little Dribbler basketball one night a week for the oldest. Now, all three kids have loads and loads of homework, full athletic schedules and social lives. Last week, Dena had games on Tuesday and Friday night, Jake and Ann on Thursday night as well as Ann having a tournament on Saturday. I had games on Monday and Wednesday nights, and fortunately for them, I didn???t have matches over the weekend. So, I actually got to see Ann???s games. When conference starts this week, I will no longer get to see Jake???s Thursday night games or Dena???s Saturday matches. And, unless I leave practice early, I will not get to see Ann???s Monday night games???

I???ve always been proud of the fact that I could juggle lots of things at the same time, but lately it seems as if I???ve got balls scattered everywhere. I???ve left practice early two days to catch Ann???s first ever volleyball matches. And, I???ve been able to make two of Jake???s games and several of Dena???s games. I told my team and assistant coach ahead of time that I would be doing so. I had never before left or missed a practice or game for one of my own children???s games. It was understood that when I was in season, I would make what I could for my kids, and when out of season, I would make everything. But what happens when my kids??? only ???season??? is during my season? What happens when band or choir concerts don???t coincide with volleyball season? And, what message am I sending my players, my assistant, my own children? It really hit me one day when one of my players said, ???Gee coach, you sure picked the wrong career (to be a mom).??? I was teaching them that work came first and family came second. That???s not something I am very proud of. But sometimes work does come first. It just shouldn???t be all of the time.

Clemson comments on McElrathbey situation. Clemson athletics director Terry Don Phillips, who has been active in the NCAA committee structure, issued a statement regarding the waiver provided for football student-athlete Ramon McElrathbey. In his statement, Phillips thanks the NCAA, ACC and Clemson compliance department for their assistance.

Interview with McElrathbey. National Public Radio conducted an interview with the redshirt freshman regarding his situation. It???s a truly powerful piece and there???s no question that this is a special kid doing a special thing for his younger brother.

BU outlaws profanity. A new campus policy at Boston University will penalize fans caught swearing at opposing players during games. I???ve never understood why fans feel inclined to taunt opposing players instead of cheer for their own team. It???s unfortunate that a policy that threatens ejection from games is what???s needed to settle some fans down.

On this date in 1991, San Diego State running back Marshall Faulk set an NCAA freshman record with 386 rushing yards in just his second collegiate start. Faulk went on to earn NFL MVP accolades and win a Super Bowl with the St. Louis Rams.

School is back in session and Double-A Zone guest blogger Shelby Stiner has returned to the Middle Tennessee campus. In this month???s post, Shelby fills us in on her first weeks back in Murfreesboro and her thoughts on the Blue Raider softball team.

I???m back in the Boro! Murfreesboro, that is. I left my house at about 4:30 a.m. Friday, August 25th for my flight back to Tennessee. I landed at about noon and went straight to my apartment where my two teammates Martha [Davis] and Sam [Floyd] were already moving in and getting situated.

I knew this would be so much better than last year, because last year when I was moving in, it was with complete strangers, but this time it was with some of my teammates. It definitely was not home, but it was the next best thing.

I felt like I was at a family reunion because in the apartment upstairs there were also four more teammates. This year I didn???t have my family to help me move in and set up. So I had a lot more work to do myself and it was sort of sad seeing all of the families helping each girl. But the Davis family (Martha???s parents) helped me move in and set stuff up. THANKS SO MUCH!

In the middle of moving in we dropped everything and walked across the street to our field where our coaches, Leigh Podlesny and Jodi Chmielewski, planned a Middle Tennessee family picnic. By the way, Leigh is pregnant with her first child and she is such a cute pregnant lady.

It was so good to see everyone and their families that I had gotten to know. We also had a lot of new people, including our new recruit from California, Caitlin McLure. We had a lot of fun on her visit, so I couldn???t wait to get her here.

Each player had to stand and introduce their parents and I stood up and had no one to introduce because my parents were at home in Arizona, though I did take offers of adoption. The Moms and Dads do a great job of including me as their own daughter. I sort of get spoiled.

School started that Monday, and let me tell you, 8 a.m. classes are not fun. You would have thought I would have learned by my senior year. I am taking 18 hours, which is more than I have ever taken. It will be tough, but I like a challenge. Speaking of a challenge, school was not the only thing that started back, so did weights and conditioning.

We got a new strength and conditioning coach. And let???s just say it???s not easy walking to class on the third floor. The first two weeks consisted of very demanding workouts. For example, we had to run the football stadium steps and to give you an idea of the size ??? it holds 30,788 people. WHEW!!!!

On September 7, we had a Blue and White Scrimmage, the old players versus the new players. I was so excited because I got to use my new glove I got in the summer, it is blue. My teammates loved my new glove and now everyone wants one just like mine.

The returning players wanted to come out and prove something to the new girls in the scrimmage. And even more, I was the leadoff batter against our new stud pitcher from Washington, Lindsey Vander Lugt, so I felt the need to start it off.

I watched the first pitch go by, ball one, and the next pitch I sent right back past Lindsey up the middle. I can???t even tell you how good that felt. You would have thought I had a clutch hit in a championship game.

Well back to reality.

WE LOST! The new girls beat us. We played well; they just strung their hits together at opportune times. We were frustrated at first, but then we sort of said to ourselves, ???Hey, they are on our team.??? I was really impressed with the girls. We have more speed and power and two great new pitchers. I think the coaches were happy. I know I am. I can already tell that we are a step ahead of where we were last year.

Well, I am off to class and then on to workouts. It never seems to end, but that is okay. In the next few weeks, we will be playing some fall games against local teams. It will be a good gauge of where we are and what we need to do to prepare for the season. See you next month, and of course, GO BLUE RAIDERS!!!!!

Last week, I wrote about the intriguing story of Ramon McElrathbey, the Clemson football student-athlete who is raising his 11-year old brother. Earlier this week, McElrathbey received a waiver from the NCAA to allow him to more adequately cope with his responsibilities.

In Justin Doom???s article yesterday, the Sports Illustrated writer criticized the NCAA, taking a number of cheap shots at the Association. I am rarely bothered by criticism that comes toward the NCAA, but when it reeks of ignorance, I take personal offense.

After McElrathbey???s story was exposed, and countless donations were sent his way, it was Clemson that put an end to what the school feared was an ???extra benefit.??? Obviously there is a need for regulation, and Clemson did the right thing in making the NCAA aware. There was never a point where the NCAA told McElrathbey he wouldn???t have assistance, although Doom will make you think that the national office staff was coerced into helping this particular student-athlete.

Doom writes that ???the NCAA, as much as it promotes good sportsmanship and teamwork, isn't about making friends, unless by ???friends??? you mean ???money.?????? How offensive. Besides the fact that the NCAA hardly makes any money off of college football (it all goes to the conferences and institutions), that would never play a role in determining whether or not a waiver was granted. Additionally, the NCAA sends nearly 95 percent of its revenue back to member institutions through distributions, programs and championships.

In fact, the media in general has butchered this topic from the beginning. I don???t mind fair criticism, but very little of what has been written on this topic has been remotely fair or accurate.

On this date in 2003, West Alabama???s Tonya Butler kicked a 27-yard field goal against Stillman to become the first woman to kick a field goal in a college football game. We???ve seen the participation of women in intercollegiate athletics skyrocket since the inception of Title IX and during the 25 years of NCAA women???s championships, and this was another historical moment in the history of college sports.

Seeing double. For the first time, Aurora University has two sets of twins competing on its teams. Freshmen Alex and Ray Boro from McHenry, Illinois are suiting up for the football team while Logan and Luke Hurley of Manteno, Illinois play soccer for the Spartans. Both Hurley brothers have appeared in three games this season.

Indiana football coach to undergo brain surgery. Terry Hoeppner will undergo surgery today to remove a tumor. If all goes as planned, Hoeppner could be back on the sidelines in less than a month.

Clemson wins Carolina???s Cup. The Clemson women???s soccer team claimed the Carolina???s Cup Women???s Soccer Tournament on Monday with a 3-0 win over Charlotte. The Lady Tigers defeated Furman, 4-0, in the opening round two days earlier.

When Syracuse tied Iowa on a Brendan Carney field goal with six seconds left in Saturday???s game, I truly noticed the new football rules for the first time. As Carney kicked off with the score knotted at 10, the clock ran out as the Hawkeyes received the ball, meaning that all Syracuse had to do was tackle the runner and move on to overtime.

While I noticed the change on that particular play, it boggles my mind that coaches like Mack Brown are blaming the new rules for playing a role in losses like the one the Longhorns suffered against Ohio State on Saturday night. I watched that game and Texas lost because Ohio State played better. Old rules, new rules, the Longhorns weren???t winning that game.

The NCAA has compiled data through the first two games of the season and compared it to the numbers from last season. During the 2005 season, Bowl Championship Subdivision teams averaged 38.6 rushing plays and 32.0 passing plays per game. This season, those same teams are averaging 35.3 rushing plays and 29.0 passing plays each contest.

With six fewer plays each game, you???d figure scoring would be down, but it really isn???t down much at all. Last year???s teams averaged 26.8 points per game. This year, squads are scoring 26.0 points per game.

I???m not arguing for or against the new changes. I can commiserate with fans who would rather see fewer commercials and more plays; I???m in the same boat. I have noticed an impact on the field, but I don???t think it???s nearly as great as coaches like Mack Brown are making it out to be. With teams scoring nearly the same number of points, how much of a difference are the new rules really making?

The most important point to remember is who made these new rules. Brown, Joe Paterno and other coaches have been critical of the new rules, but it was their colleagues on the Football Rules Committee who made the decision. The 13-member committee contains athletics administrators and coaches, including Auburn???s Tommy Tuberville and South Carolina State???s Oliver Pough.

On this date in 1913, Olympic gold medalist Jesse Owens was born. Owens, who won eight national championships during his time as a student-athlete at Ohio State, set four world records in a span of 45 minutes at the Big Ten meet in 1935. The No. 3 most influential student-athlete in NCAA history, Owens received the Medal of Freedom in 1955.

Plattsburgh State raises money for Special Olympics. The Plattsburgh State athletics department raised more than $3,000 during a fund-raising walk for the Special Olympics earlier this month. The two-mile walk culminated with Cardinal student-athletes and Special Olympians sharing in a cookout.

Muskingum gives back to community. The Muskingum women???s soccer team hosted a soccer skills clinic for a youth soccer recreational league a few weeks ago. The fact that Muskingum isn???t a high-profile athletics department doesn???t make a difference to the 7 and 8-year-olds who attended the clinic. The Muskingum student-athletes immediately became role models to the younger girls and that???s what it???s all about.

Five years ago, I was a sophomore at Brandeis, fighting tooth and nail to keep my spot on the varsity roster. We were on the second day of fall practice and I didn???t have a class until late morning. I was sleeping and uttered a number of curse words when my phone rang.

My roommate Max was down at the gym, fulfilling work-study hours in the equipment room, and he called to wake me up. Just as I had, Max had grown up in New York City. Ten minutes after he told me to turn on the television, he burst through our dorm room door.

My sister, a freshman at Stuyvesant High School, had started school just a few days earlier. She was four blocks away when the planes hit. I called my family in the city, but couldn???t get through. I had no idea if my sister was okay until the broadcast said Stuyvesant had been evacuated and all of its students were fine. I cried tears of relief.

It was time to try and track down Max???s grandfather, who was scheduled to fly from Newark to Los Angeles. We didn???t know if he was in the air or on the ground. We couldn???t get through to anybody. Some time later, we heard from Max???s grandfather. His flight had been grounded.

Calls flocked in to both of us from our teammates. They wanted to make sure our families were okay. Some stopped by to make sure we were all right.

At some point, morning turned to afternoon, and while class had come and gone, I still had a scheduled baseball practice. Barely able to function, Max and I stumbled down to the baseball field where Coach inquired about our families and told everyone we didn???t have to practice, but could if we wanted to. He told us that we could come and go as we pleased, for as long as we needed. There was an eerie silence overhead as the Boston area, like everywhere else in the country, was devoid of air traffic. I practiced. It was the only time I could see straight all day long.

When practice was finished and I was back in my dorm room, I finally was able to speak with my sister, who had worn a brand new pair of white sneakers into the city that day. Months later, I saw her soot covered sneakers packed away in the closet. She never wore them again. She was 14-years-old when she saw the buildings come down.

Millions of Americans had their lives put into perspective five years ago. For some, my decision to go down to the baseball field may have been questionable. It was the only decision I had. That day, and in the days that followed, baseball was what held me together. My family was 200 miles away and while I was able to speak with them on the phone, I wasn???t able to get a hug and an assurance that everything was okay.

My second family, the one that I had established on the baseball diamond at Brandeis, was what helped me get through. Every day, baseball practice was what I looked forward to because it provided me with an escape from the wreckage that was New York City. I am thankful for my coaches, teammates and friends who helped me through the time. Without their support, I don???t know what I would have done.

When people ask me why I love college sports, I often point to the relationships I had with my teammates at Brandeis. While two of my teammates did go on to play professional baseball, we were there to get an education, play baseball and grow up. Nobody wrote about us in the paper and few people came to our games, but that didn???t matter. More important than the wins and losses that transpired during my four years of college, I was able to make lifelong friends who were there for me five years ago, and will be there for me five years from now.

To me, that???s the beauty of my four-year experience and I???m willing to bet those sentiments are shared by hundreds of thousands of student-athletes playing today. Being a college athlete is a special thing, and five years ago, it was more special to me than ever before.

On today???s edition of Mondays With Myles, NCAA President Myles Brand and I reflect on the terrorist attacks on the United States five years ago.

Listen to Mondays With Myles

Mondays With Myles can be found on the Double-A Zone every Monday morning. To subscribe to the Double-A Cast, follow the link on the right or look for us on I-Tunes.

AEC Cabinet proposes text message restrictions. At its meeting in Indianapolis last week, the Academics/Eligibility/Compliance Cabinet, which is comprised of more than 40 members from the Division I membership, proposed to restrict text messaging and other forms of electronic communication. The proposal will be considered by the Division I Management Council at the NCAA Convention in January. There???s no reason for a prospective student-athlete to receive text messages from coaches every day, and certainly not during the school day. Hopefully the membership will pass this legislation and provide kids with a reprieve from the recruiting ambush.

Former Washington and Jefferson kicker finds politics. Luke Ravenstahl, a 2003 graduate of Washington and Jefferson, was sworn in as the youngest mayor of Pittsburgh after the death of Bob O???Connor. Ravenstahl holds the school record for field goals made (27) and consecutive extra points (45). Like the ads say, there are a lot of student-athletes and almost all of them go pro in something other than sports. And some go on to become mayor of a major United States city before their 27th birthday.

Division II teams upend Division I programs. In the first week of the season, Montana State dumped Colorado in a huge upset of the Big XII program. On Saturday, Division II's Chadron State turned the tables on the Football Championship Subdivision team, winning 35-24 in Bozeman. In other action, North Dakota defeated Northern Iowa, Wingate beat Davidson, Newberry dumped Moorhead State and Delta State beat Stephen F. Austin. Division II posted five victories over Division I opponents, and on the Division I level, New Hampshire thrashed Northwestern. This proves the point that there are talented players, coaches and programs in all three divisions and there is probably some great competition taking place right around the corner from you.

Division II football on the Web. In a big weekend for Division II football, four games were broadcast on the Internet on Saturday. I was able to catch some of the game between Southeastern Oklahoma State and Tarleton State and look forward to watching more D-II football throughout the season. SE Oklahoma State won 37-30.

Syracuse can???t score from the one. I haven???t found much excitement in Syracuse football during the past few years, but Saturday???s loss to Iowa was particularly difficult for this fan to swallow. Needing a touchdown to send the game into a third overtime, the Orange failed to run it into the end zone from the 1-yard line not once, not twice???but six times. What could have been an upset win just ended up making me upset.

Adelphi junior Matt Dispensa shares some thoughts about early morning cross country practices and his hopes for the upcoming season.

The sun is not fully shining at 6 a.m. It is still dark out and the campus is quiet. The Adelphi University Cross Country teams are the only people in the parking lot, and awake for that matter. This is the beginning of our day as athletes. We all warm up and stretch, and then do our run or workout. After a post run stretch and cool down to end practice, we then start the day at 8 a.m. as students. All that is left to do in the day is go to class.

This is just one positive aspect that results from early morning practice. From a more athletic, runner???s standpoint, you get your body used to waking up early and running so that when the day of the meet comes, you are used to being up and all ready to go. We are starting to warm up to and get used to the early practices. It has only been one week so far, but with each morning that comes, everyone looks more awake and anxious to get started.

As a team, we will be facing many challenges throughout the season. Having a young team comprised of mainly sophomores and juniors, we were picked to finish third in the preseason conference polls. Our goal is to win our conference and break into the top five at the regional meet. We keep that in our minds and use it in practice everyday as motivation. We want to see Adelphi University next to the number one spot at conferences instead of the number three spot we have seen for the past three years.

We have a new coach this year, so the training methods and ideas compared to previous years are different. In addition, the styles of coaching are comparable. It is tough to change the way you train, especially if you are used to a specific method, but everyone seems to be adapting quickly and the transition is going smoothly. Everyone has been running hard and is in great shape and we are already far ahead of where we were last year at this time.

Boise State runs over Oregon State. I tuned into the second half of last night???s game between Boise State and Oregon State and was struck by a couple of things. First of all, Boise State is an excellent football team. We???ve heard about the Broncos for the last few years, but I just didn???t realize how talented they were before last night. Secondly, I didn???t realize a blue football field could cause such a serious swing of emotions for a viewer. When I turned the game on, I thought the field (which I???d seen before) looked great. Five minutes later, I was appalled. I think I like traditional green ??? the blue field with the blue uniforms was a little much for me.

No More Cowbell. Prior to this season, the NCAA Football Rules Committee eliminated the ???crowd noise??? rule, which penalized teams with a loss of timeout and a 5-yard penalty for unsportsmanlike clamor from their fans. Using its conference autonomy, the SEC has retained its own rule restricting fan noise, effective this weekend.

NCAA Launches First Team Web site. In an effort to reach more prospective student-athletes, parents, coaches and administrators, the NCAA First Team program launched a Web site yesterday. The site will help young athletes interested in playing college basketball prepare for the recruiting process and stay disciplined during their high school years. First Team does a great job for prospective basketball student-athletes. In an age where sixth-graders are being ranked on their athletics ability, it???s important to do everything we can to keep kids focused on their priorities.

VMI wins sportsmanship award. The Virginia Military Institute was named winner of the Big South Conference???s inaugural Institutional Sportsmanship Award for the 2005-06 season.

In his speech at Elon University yesterday, NCAA President Myles Brand broached the subjects of academic reform, financial issues and the role of intercollegiate athletics in higher education.

Listen to Dr. Brand???s comments.

I have never gone to a school with a football team and most of the games I saw growing up were of the 2-on-2 variety. In fact, I didn???t attend my first football game until my sophomore year of college when I ventured from Brandeis to Boston College to see the Eagles beat up on Syracuse in the freezing rain.

In the last few years, I???ve seen a number of awesome football games, but I have yet to see a Division II or III contest, either in person or on television. While I have pledged to make it to at least one football game in each division this fall, Division II is helping me get involved right from the start by taking advantage of broadband technology to offer four games each Saturday over the Internet. All of the games can be found on NCAAsports.com.

With a wireless laptop at my disposal, I can sit on my couch this weekend with a pizza and not only watch Division I games, but the Division II contests offered on the Internet as well. I love college football, but as our regular readers know, I???m not enamored with the proliferation of bowl games that encourage mediocrity. At the Division II level, teams are already jockeying for position in the playoffs, and it will be fun to follow them closely for the first time.

There are four games on tap this Saturday:

Michigan Tech at Indianapolis, 1 p.m. Eastern time
California (Pennsylvania) at Bloomsburg, 1 p.m. Eastern time
Fort Valley State at Valdosta State, 7 p.m. Eastern time
Southeastern Oklahoma State at Tarleton State, 8 p.m. Eastern time

Grand Valley State is the defending national champion and Valdosta State is currently ranked in the top 10. These are good football teams playing meaningful games. I hope everyone takes some time to tune in and look forward to discussing this new initiative throughout the season.

Brand sets Graduation Success Rate goal at 80 percent. In his remarks at Elon University yesterday, NCAA President Myles Brand called for Division I athletics programs to graduate at least 80 percent of their student-athletes. Currently, Division I GSR is at 76 percent, which is above the rate for the regular student body at those same institutions. The move up to 80 percent would be a significant improvement and I don???t see any reason why it can???t be done.

On this date in 1996, Arda Bowser, the last surviving member of the National Football League's first championship team and the league's oldest ex-player, died at 97. Before his pro career, Bowser was a college star at Bucknell and is a member of the Bucknell Football Hall of Fame. He played with the Canton Bulldogs' 1922 championship team. A punter, placekicker, linebacker and fullback who was paid $250 a game, Bowser was the first NFL player to use kicking tees.

Anibal Sanchez throws no-hitter. I know it???s not college baseball season and that Florida Marlins rookie Anibal Sanchez isn???t a former student-athlete, but I was fortunate enough to see the end of the Marlins game last night and as always, was overcome with emotion when I saw something great happen on the field of competition. It boggles my mind that only 6,000 fans were in Miami to see the 22-year-old throw a no-hitter. But when the last out was recorded and Sanchez was jumping up and down with all of his teammates on the mound, it wouldn???t have mattered if another soul was in the ballpark. As a former athlete, being great was something I always dreamed about. Sanchez was electric last night and it was special to watch.

I don???t care if you???re the starting tailback at a Big Ten power or the last player off the bench for a struggling Division III field hockey program, the first priority of a student-athlete is to be a student.

Student-athletes shouldn???t receive extra benefits because of their status on campus. If my younger sister, who is a sophomore at Maryland, isn???t given a free soda at the local pizzeria, why should football student-athletes receive that benefit? If she doesn???t have boosters trying to throw cash in her hand, why should a basketball player be allowed to accept handouts?

It is critical to understand that NCAA rules have been put into place by the membership to ensure that student-athletes are students first, athletes second. They aren???t permitted to take advantage of their status. They shouldn???t receive special treatment. Intercollegiate athletics is part of the educational experience ??? at Maryland, at Brandeis, at all of the NCAA???s 1000+ schools. The minute we say that it???s acceptable to treat student-athletes differently than other students, we violate the bedrock principle of intercollegiate athletics.

In one of his recent pieces pushing for the abolition of the NCAA, Malcolm Gladwell suggests that intercollegiate athletics would be better served without a ???regulatory agency.??? Gladwell begins his rant by calling the NCAA ???inhumane??? for its treatment of Clemson cornerback Ramon McElrathbey, who recently took custody of his 11-year-old brother from his drug-addicted mother. His father is out of the picture.

After a newspaper article appeared detailing McElrathbey???s story, he was flooded with donations and gifts to help ease his load. Clemson immediately put the kibosh on the donations because it saw them as extra benefits. Once this broke, Gladwell and others began spewing venom at the NCAA.

Gladwell writes that the NCAA threw the book at McElrathbey, but let???s all take a step back for one second. The NCAA hadn???t heard anything about this situation prior to the article that appeared after Clemson refused to allow McElrathbey to accept the donations. Clemson was being cautious and wanted to avoid a violation, but the NCAA hasn???t had a role in this situation. I assume Clemson will file a waiver requesting that McElrathbey will be allowed to have extra assistance and it is then that the NCAA will become involved.

There isn???t one part of me that isn???t full of admiration for what McElrathbey has done. He is a role model we can all learn something from and it seems as if he???s being penalized for doing the right thing. I???m hopeful something will be worked out for him. It should be worked out for him.

Gladwell encourages a system without rules and mocks amateurism. He believes that student-athletes who help their schools earn money should be able to cash in on their celebrity status. I agree that there are special situations, like with McElrathbey, where things may be done to help out. I disagree, however, that extra benefits for student-athletes should be permitted.

What Gladwell doesn???t grasp is that allowing the quarterback to accept $500,000 for a commercial makes him different than the second-string lineman who isn???t an NFL prospect. Allowing the standout point guard to cash in on a shoe contract while running a college offense makes him different than the last man off the bench. Paying student-athletes means they???re professionals. The emphasis would be off education and they wouldn???t go to class. Star football players would have nothing in common with the fencers on campus, and they certainly wouldn???t have anything to talk about with other students like my sister.

The NCAA is not a minor league for professional sports. Less than 2 percent of student-athletes move on to professional leagues, while the rest have careers in other fields. Part of what makes intercollegiate athletics so special is that the students in the stands are rooting for their classmates on the playing field. They???re cheering for individuals who sleep in the same dorms, have the same professors and will get the same diploma.

Would they cheer for random strangers playing with their school???s name across their chest? Would they scream and holler for people they never saw on campus? Would it be as special if those student-athletes were making hundreds of thousands of dollars while the kids in the stands scrounge for free food?

Gladwell is proposing to change the things that make college athletics special. As a former student-athlete and a lifelong fan, that is quite bothersome.

President Brand to speak at Elon. NCAA President Myles Brand will discuss some of the major issues affecting intercollegiate athletics at a symposium hosted by Elon University today. After former Nevada President Joe Crowley discusses the first 100 years of NCAA history, Dr. Brand will lead a session titled: ???The Present: The NCAA and College Athletics Today.??? He will also participate in a panel discussion with Maryland director of athletics Deborah Yow and Miami basketball coach Frank Haith later this evening.

NCAA national office raises money for United Way. The national office just completed its annual fund-raiser for the United Way of Central Indiana. Along with matching corporate funds, the national office raised $73,871.16.

Texas A&M-Kingsville makes mark in community. Student-athletes from Texas A&M-Kingsville volunteered at the Coastal Bend Special Olympics last spring. I am always refreshed by the good things student-athletes are doing in the community. You rarely hear about them, but there are volunteer efforts coordinated by athletics departments across the country on a daily basis. As most of the news criticizes student-athletes for poor decisions, it seems to me that the majority are making the right decisions. And as is evident by these pictures, the student-athletes got just as much out of their volunteer effort as the children they worked with.

When someone discovers I work for the NCAA, I???m often greeted with raised eyebrows and a well-defined smirk. The initial physical reaction is quickly followed by a snide comment about Native American mascots or Jeremy Bloom, and perhaps a tirade about why the folks working at the NCAA are ruining intercollegiate athletics.

I always welcome these discussions because the vast majority of individuals who take the time to chew my ear off almost never understand how decisions are made in the NCAA governance structure. They don???t recognize that it was the presidents and chancellors on the NCAA Executive Committee who decided to restrict Native American mascots and imagery. Contrary to popular opinion, Myles Brand didn???t make that decision.

I enjoy having an opportunity to inform people about the NCAA and let them know a little bit more about how our member-driven Association works. My words fell on deaf ears this weekend.

After the usual attack about mascots and Bloom, our most recent critic turned to Title IX and began arguing that the landmark decision was killing college sports. Instead of providing opportunities for both male and female students, our critic thought that only football and men???s basketball were important because they???re the only sports that turn a profit for athletics departments.

Our critic not only believed that football and men???s basketball student-athletes should share in the revenues generated by their sports, but he asserted that because women???s sports aren???t as popular as men???s, there isn???t a need for those student-athletes to have an opportunity to participate in intercollegiate athletics.

Will field hockey or softball ever reach the level of popularity of big-time college football? Maybe not. But haven???t women???s sports grown exponentially since Title IX???s inception? I don???t know about our critic, but I was at Hall of Fame Stadium in June when there wasn???t a ticket to be had at this year???s Women???s College World Series. I also had a seat in the TD Banknorth Garden for the Women???s Final Four. And no, there weren???t any empty seats. Yes, the games were better than the ones at the Men???s Final Four.

It???s not the number of people our student-athletes play in front of that makes a difference. Intercollegiate athletics is about having an opportunity to enhance your educational experience through participation in sports. Our goal is not for football players to move on to the NFL or for basketball student-athletes to have a legitimate shot at the NBA. My own participation in college baseball changed my entire life and was an invaluable part of my education. My fiancé was a fencer at Brandeis and she???ll tell you it was an important part of her education. Without Title IX, she may not have had that opportunity.

Not only has Title IX had a dramatic impact on intercollegiate athletics, it has had a significant trickle-down effect that our critic has never considered. My fiancé was a three-sport captain in high school and hundreds of thousands of young women are getting a chance to grow up playing sports because of Title IX. Forty years ago, these opportunities were few and far between.

Additionally, while Title IX???s impact on intercollegiate athletics is impossible to quantify, the purpose of the amendment was to create equal opportunities in education for men and women. Because athletics are part of the educational experience, Title IX has had an impact on sports. Like so many others, our critic believes that college sports are only about what we see on the tube on football Saturdays.

I was unable to convince my critic that the student-athlete experience is as valuable for a Division III field hockey player as it is for a Division I football player. I failed to persuade him that many of the women in the room, including two former student-athletes, were direct beneficiaries of Title IX at the college level. Title IX???s reach is so great that I am sure the other women in the room had benefited as well.

I don???t know if anything I could have said would have made a mark on our critic. I can only hope that he has a daughter who benefits from Title IX in the way that millions of other women have since 1972. Perhaps that will make him understand.

Proposed football playoff system. J. Darin Darst offered a proposed playoff system that would replace the BCS as soon as 2007. I agree with Darst that a playoff system at the highest level of college football would be exciting. The current system lacks excitement and has a lot of flaws. Darst, who wonders how ???the NCAA will next screw up the sport he loves,??? doesn???t address the central point of the issue: money. Institutions, especially in the power conferences, make a lot of money off the bowl structure, and would be hesitant to jeopardize that revenue stream. I???ve seen a million variations of this proposal and so have the presidents and chancellors. Until we see something new, the Division I-A membership is unlikely to make any changes to the postseason.

Florida State beats Miami. A defensive struggle characterized the first marquee game of the college football season as Florida State won at Miami last night, 13-10. The teams combined for 310 total yards.

Grand Valley State starts title defense. The Lakers of Grand Valley State opened their season with a shutout victory over Findlay, 13-0. GVSU captured its 14th straight victory and its first shutout since 2004. Grand Valley won three national titles last year ??? in football, women???s volleyball and women???s basketball. The football team plays Ashland on Saturday.

Hartwick junior gains 328 all-purpose yards. Junior tailback Lindy Crea ran for 220 yards and caught five passes for 108 yards as Hartwick won a nail-biter over Endicott, 30-28.

On the Labor Day edition of Mondays With Myles, NCAA President Myles Brand and I discuss some of the changes in college football, including the new names for the subdivisions in Division I and the possible split of Division II.

We also address the NCAA???s role in college football and the popular misconception that the Association runs bowl games.

Listen to Mondays With Myles

Mondays With Myles can be found on the Double-A Zone every Monday morning. To subscribe to the Double-A Cast, follow the link on the right or look for us on I-Tunes.

On this date in 1968, the NCAA membership enacted legislation adopted at the 61st annual convention requiring NCAA institutions to designate College or University Division in all sports rather than sport-by-sport. 223 members selected University Division while 386 chose the College Division.

Spurrier wins 150th game. A 15-0 South Carolina win over Mississippi State gave Steve Spurrier his 150th career win last night. Cory Boyd led the Gamecocks with 93 rushing yards, but it was the team???s defensive effort the brought home the victory.

Mid-Continent grows. North Dakota State and South Dakota State have elected to join the Mid-Continent athletics conference. Both programs have recently reclassified from Division II and have been competing as independents.

Monday Night Football. The game of the week is on Monday night, but it???s not brought to you by the NFL. Miami and Florida State kick off the ACC season on Labor Day, as one of college football???s greatest rivalries goes another round.

Mondays With Myles. Next week???s podcast will discuss football issues in Divisions I and II.