Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: FRIDAY, February 22, 1991 TAG: 9102220097
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: Bill Brill
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
Although the move has been ripped by some NCAA critics, notably Don Yaeger in his book "Undue Process," the deal is one of the most important the NCAA ever made.
Unlike his predecessor, Walter Byers, Schultz has spent countless hours on campuses around the nation. He has been a hands-on administrator, and a chief reason he's been able to do that is the office airplane.
Schultz flies it himself, although there is another pilot, who, Schultz said this week during a meeting in Kansas City, "does a lot of the maintenance himself."
The plane is housed at an airport 15 minutes away from NCAA headquarters in Overland Park, Kan., which is approximately a hour away from the commercial Kansas City airport.
Schultz said he flew the plane 450 hours last year, some 270,000 miles. He does not get Frequent Flier points. Typical was his Monday. He flew to Asheville, N.C., to a two-hour meeting, then returned in time for a dinner at the NCAA Visitors Center that night.
"We have kept records that indicate it's virtually a break-even situation," Schultz said, comparing the private plane's costs compared with going commercial, staying in hotels and renting cars.
Clearly, without the plane, Schultz couldn't have been able to visit nearly as many schools as he has. Meanwhile, the plane has appreciated in value by $500,000.
"My son flies for a living," Schultz said, "and I fly more than he does."
\ ACC officials had to work hard to get Florida State cleared for the 1992 football season. The last remaining hurdle was cleared when North Carolina dropped Virginia Tech, by mutual agreement, so it could play the Seminoles.
Virginia's schedule got much more difficult when it dropped VMI to add Florida State in '92.
\ There is some criticism of the proposal for the '92 ACC basketball tournament, which, in effect, would give the regular-season champion two byes.
To accommodate Florida State as the ninth team, the ACC is considering having the bottom four teams - Nos. 6 through 9 - play in a doubleheader on Thursday to open the tournament. There then would be three games Friday, with the 6-9 winner playing No. 2, the 7-8 winner vs. No. 3, and No. 4 playing No. 5.
No. 1 wouldn't play until the semifinals.
One of the agreements is that no teams could leave their campus before 4 p.m. Wednesday, thus no more classes will be missed. (Several schools will be on spring break anyway.)
One reason for this likely format is that North Carolina State athletic director Todd Turner said the Big East, which has had nine teams, found the coaches and players hated the first-day game between No. 8 and No. 9.
If the ACC adopts its proposal, it will have to have a new formula to break ties. Currently, the league merely flips a coin. That could happen this year if Duke and North Carolina tie for the title, and the No. 1 team will get the advantageous bye because Maryland isn't eligible to play in the tournament.
\ Picking your own field for the NCAA Tournament? Be aware of the team's conference record. Several NCAA officials indicate teams with losing league marks will have a tough time getting a bid, although strength of schedule is still the most critical criteria.
Quite a few of those teams with fancy records - Utah, for example - haven't played anybody in the Top 25 and not many of the top 50. That's where the ACC and Big East, in particular, benefit. The ACC has won 21 of its past 22 non-league games, with Duke trying to break Arizona's 60-game home streak Sunday. Earlier, the Blue Devils ended an Oklahoma streak at 53.
by CNB