IU's schedule in limbo as it awaits ruling

[greasywheels121]

Kind of interesting to see how this ends up unfolding. It appears they're going to have quite a strong non-conference schedule this year.

 

IU's schedule in limbo as it awaits ruling

If court upholds NCAA restrictions, Hoosiers will lose 4 basketball games in exempt event.

By Terry Hutchens

July 28, 2004

 

The Indiana University men's basketball team hopes to play in November in the Corpus Christi Challenge, an exempt tournament that would guarantee the Hoosiers four games, including two home dates at Assembly Hall.

 

But IU's availability for that tournament remains tied up in court.

 

The Hoosiers and many other Division I basketball teams have their 2004-05 schedules on hold. They await a decision on an appeal by the NCAA to the U.S. Sixth District Circuit Court regarding a school's ability to play in more than two exempt tournaments in a four-year period.

 

Under current rules, Division I schools are limited to 28 regular-season basketball games. Exempt tournaments offer schools a chance to play in up to four games, though they count as only one toward the allotted 28.

 

Last July, a federal judge overturned the NCAA's "two-in-four" rule, which prohibited Division I basketball teams from playing in more than two exempt tournaments in a four-year span. U.S. District Judge Edmund Sargus Jr. ruled the NCAA's restrictions violated federal antitrust laws and granted a group of tournament promoters and organizers a permanent injunction.

 

The NCAA appealed the ruling, and argued the appeal in February. As of this week, there had been no ruling. An NCAA spokesman said a decision is expected soon. A spokesman in the office of the Court of Appeals could not provide a timetable.

 

"There are a lot of schools that have made plans expecting that a court will uphold the lower court's ruling," said Jim Haney, executive director of the National Association of Basketball Coaches.

 

"But there has to be a point in time where schools will have to move forward with or without the exempt tournaments."

 

Chris Spencer, a promoter for World Wide Basketball, said he has expected a ruling for seven months. World Wide Basketball, one of the parties that brought the suit against the NCAA, is sanctioned to hold four exempt events this season, including the Corpus Christi Challenge.

 

"When you get a school like Indiana to commit to an event, you wait as long as you can possibly wait, but at some point I'm sure they're going to have to walk away if we can't get this nailed down," Spencer said.

 

IU is the lone team of eight in the Corpus Christi event that would be affected by the ruling, he said.

 

"We knew when we signed (IU) that we could be taking a gamble, but when you have a marquee name like Indiana, you take risks like that," Spencer said.

 

Indiana would play Texas A&M Corpus Christi and Hartford to open the season at Assembly Hall on Nov. 19 and Nov. 21. Regardless of the outcomes of those games, IU would also play two other games Nov. 27-28 in a tournament format at Texas A&M Corpus Christi.

 

A clause in the contract allows the Hoosiers to walk away if the court case hasn't been resolved.

 

IU coach Mike Davis said losing the exempt event would hurt the Hoosiers. Indiana's nonconference schedule includes games with North Carolina, Connecticut, Notre Dame, Kentucky and Missouri. Davis said an exempt event could help a young IU team prepare for a difficult nonconference schedule.

 

"We need some games early in the season that could help our young players get ready to play teams like North Carolina, Connecticut and Kentucky," Davis said. "You can't underestimate the importance of playing a lot of games early where your kids have a chance to be successful."

 

Not playing in the exempt event would also hurt IU financially. School officials estimate a typical men's basketball home game generates $250,000. If the Hoosiers do not play in the exempt event, IU would still be able to schedule one home game in its place, but the Hoosiers would lose the second game.

 

In the past, when rules allowed teams to play in one exempt event per season, IU typically scheduled one every season. Indiana played in the Maui Invitational and the Great Alaska Shootout every four years, and mixed in other events around those tournaments.

 

Last year was the first time since 1993 that IU had not played in an exempt event. The NCAA's "two-in-four" rule began in 1999, but IU was allowed to fulfill prior contractual obligations with exempt events through the 2002-03 season.

 

The Hoosiers have a contract to play in the 2006 Preseason NIT.

[IlliniKrush]

Those teams listed as part of the non conference schedule - wow

 

Better mature fast, IU