Title | Division I Men's Basketball Championship First & Second Rounds |
Creator (LCNAF) |
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Publisher | National Collegiate Athletic Association |
Date | March 15, 1990 - March 17, 1990 |
Subject.Topical (LCSH) |
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Subject.Name (LCNAF) |
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Subject.Geographic (TGN) |
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Genre (AAT) |
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Language | English |
Type (DCMI) |
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Original Item Location | ID 2009-006, Box 7, Folder 7 |
Original Collection | Athletics Department Records |
Digital Collection | University of Houston Sports Championship Publications |
Digital Collection URL | http://digital.lib.uh.edu/collection/champ |
Repository | Special Collections, University of Houston Libraries |
Repository URL | http://info.lib.uh.edu/about/campus-libraries-collections/special-collections |
Use and Reproduction | Educational use only, no other permissions given. Copyright to this resource is held by the content creator, author, artist or other entity, and is provided here for educational purposes only. It may not be reproduced or distributed in any format without written permission of the copyright owner. For more information please see UH Digital Library Fair Use policy on the UH Digital Library About page. |
File Name | index.cpd |
Title | Page 83 |
Format (IMT) |
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File Name | champ_201306_035_078.jpg |
Transcript | Basketball's Century of Progress The Evolution of America's Fastest Growing Game By JERRY RADDING Springfield (Mass.) Union-News In a game which is nearly 100 years old, one thing has never changed — the hoop is still 10 feet high. When Dr. James Naismith nailed up the first peach basket in Springfield, Massachusetts, on a cold December day in 1891, he happened to find an appropriate spot on the YMCA Training School (later known as Springfield College) gymnasium railing 10 feet from the floor. And for some strange reason, nobody has strongly challenged the game of basketball's 10-foot hoop since. Or, at least not until recently. "There's no magic to 10 feet," notes Ed Steitz of Springfield College, who has been fiddling with the basketball rules for 33 years and has been secretary-rules editor of the NCAA Men's Basketball Rules Committee since 1976. "I'm trying to get the rules committee to consider putting a 12- foot hoop on the questionnaire this year. The problem is that nobody wants to experiment with it." Steitz has just about recovered from the trials and traumas of the three-point basket, which is now winding up its fourth season as a heavy weapon in the college game. The trifecta is the most recent in the succession of what Steitz lists as the five most monumental rules changes under his long administration. "I'm told the three-point field goal revo- lutionalized the game more than any rule," said Steitz. "I personally feel the elimination of the center jump in 1937 was the more dramatic change, but I had nothing to do with that one." Speaking of drama, Steitz was no hero in the eyes of many when his committee voted in the three-pointer for the 1986-87 season — especially after only 40 percent of the National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC) voted in favor of it. In January of 1987, Villanova coach Rol- lie Massimino wanted to lead a charge on the NCAA Convention floor to have the three- pointer eliminated. "George Raveling (Southern California coach) said Dr. Naismith would turn over During the January, 1987 NCAA Convention, Villanova coach Rollie Massimino lobbied in his grave if he saw what we were doing to eliminate the three-point shot. to 80 |