Preseason tournaments could fall victim to rules

Steve Addy

Monday, Nov. 20, 2000 | 10:03 a.m.

LAHAINA, Hawaii -- Just when the Rebels are becoming attractive invitees for high-profile early-season tournaments, the NCAA is trying to pull the plug on them.

UNLV plays No. 8 Illinois tonight in the first round of the Maui Invitational, and will also participate in the Preseason NIT next season. But if the NCAA and conference commissioners get their way, such events will soon disappear from the college landscape.

Though coaches are almost unanimously against the measure, the NCAA Executive Council will vote in April on a proposal to eliminate so-called exempt tournaments. Events like the Preseason NIT and Maui Invitational are designated as exempt because they count as only one game against a team's 28-game maximum.

The new plan would give teams 29 games, plus an "informal scrimmage" against a Division I team or a game against a non-Division I team. The NCAA's goal is to hold more early-season games on campus, rather than in far-flung locales where third parties share in the revenue.

The NCAA has vowed to seek input on the matter until April. This week, the National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC) plans to restate its opposition. The Maui Invitational coaches made their feelings clear Sunday.

"I have not heard one reason why (preseason tournaments) aren't good. It baffles me why we are even talking about (changes)," UNLV's Bill Bayno said. "It's nothing but positive for college basketball.

"We've seen the stats -- 140-some mid-major teams have played (in exempt tournaments). In this tournament, Dayton and (UNLV) are essentially the mid-majors. We might have some tradition, but right now we're mid-major, and this is a great opportunity for our program."

Louisville's Denny Crum said, "I don't think there's any valid reason why these exempted games shouldn't keep happening. These tournaments are a great way to tip off the season. To eliminate them would be a travesty."

UConn coach Jim Calhoun said, "(Continuing the tournaments) is good for college basketball and, in turn, good for college athletics, because the last time I looked, basketball provides 90 percent of the income for the NCAA."

"We're here to play basketball," he said. "For our players to be in this beautiful hotel, to see the ocean from their rooms and look out on one of the most beautiful places in the world is enough. They'll get their degrees, get good jobs and come back here with their wives."

No. 1 Arizona is without senior center Loren Woods for six games, while the Huskies are missing freshman forward Caron Butler and senior center Souleymane Wane for three. The latter pair didn't play in UConn's opener Friday and will be eligible here Wednesday.

Arizona has appealed Woods' suspension for an undisclosed NCAA violation, but he didn't make the trip to Maui.

Butler was suspended for receiving improper financial help to attend prep school at Maine Central Institute. He chose UConn over UNLV last year in a much-publicized recruiting battle.