BENNER: Hey, Hink? You’d be proud of this Butler team
Itâ??s all about the whole, not the parts. They cut and move, move, move on offense. They defend like their scholarships depend on it.
Itâ??s all about the whole, not the parts. They cut and move, move, move on offense. They defend like their scholarships depend on it.
Mediocrity in the athletic department was tolerated by the administration, winning wasn’t a priority and Tony Hinkle’s
five principles—humility, passion, unity, servanthood and thankfulness—had not been adopted as “The Butler
Way.”
Butler's run to the Final Four has its roots in a decision two decades removed by a former school president and a group
of trusting trustees who dared to believe the impossible was possible for the Bulldogs.
Money proving to be a powerful motivator in earning Big Ten's support of NCAA tournament expansion plan.
Ticket brokers say a flood of tickets became available on the secondary market following losses by the No. 1-seeded Kansas
Jayhawks and Kentucky Wildcats.
The pendulum of support is swinging and the idea of expanding the men's NCAA basketball tournament from 65 to 96 teams
is now gaining support from the Big Ten.
The NCAA said IUPUI allowed erroneous eligibility certification for 97 student-athletes from 2003-04 through 2006-07, demonstrating
a lack of institutional control and a failure to monitor by the university.
A proposal to launch a college auto racing series could be the answer to boosting open-wheel racing popularity to the level
it enjoyed when the first Final Four visited Indy in 1980.
The biggest chance Brad Stevens ever took, the best game plan he ever drew up, had nothing to do with a prized recruit or
some brilliant set of Xs and Os scrawled out on a greaseboard. It came on the day he decided to quit his job at Eli Lilly
and
Co. and to pursue his first love, basketball.
Butler's triumph has likely eliminated some of the direct visitor spending the city would have seen if Syracuse or Kansas
State would have made it to Indy for this year's Final Four. But corporate excitement could wipe away that loss.
About eight hours after Butler beat second-seeded Kansas State 63-56 to reach the first Final Four in school history, the
Bulldogs returned home to a large crowd and loud cheers.
Corporate hospitality at sports events has been stagnant in recent years, but organizers expect a big bounce for this year’s
NCAA Final Four in Indianapolis.
The U.S. Basketball Writers Association is recognizing Hunter’s efforts on behalf of millions of children around the world
who are in need of shoes.
Watching the transformation of Bob Knight from a take-no-guff head basketball coach to the type of glad-handing media type
he would have detested in his previous life has been truly shocking, and a little sad, to behold.
It started as a meeting seven years ago between the NCAA, city and state officials, representatives of the Indiana
Sports Corp. and a few others. The result was an agreement
assuring Indianapolis hosts a major NCAA event every year between now and 2039.
Organizers credit stronger ticket-selling efforts and new promotions for boosting attendance to more than 81,000, the highest
it’s been since the tournament became an annual event in Indianapolis.
Greenspan resigned from IU in 2008 amid NCAA allegations that his department failed to monitor former basketball coach Kelvin
Sampson.
The concept of more being better could be coming to a couple of institutions we know well.
The Big Ten men’s and women’s basketball tournaments will be held in Indianapolis the next two years, but the conference’s
future in the city is uncertain after 2012.
Butler's stellar on-court performance drew big crowds to Hinkle Fieldhouse this season. But some still wonder if the Bulldogs
will have enough financially to retain Brad Stevens as coach.