
                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: SATURDAY, October 16, 1993                   TAG: 9310160290
SECTION: SPORTS                    PAGE: B6   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: Associated Press
DATELINE: KANSAS CITY, MO.                                LENGTH: Medium

NCAA SEEKS MEETING WITH BLACK COACHES

The Joint Policy Board of the NCAA sent a letter Friday seeking a meeting with the Black Coaches Association, which is boycotting a basketball issues forum next week in North Carolina.

The letter was sent to Drake coach Rudy Washington, who with other black coaches has complained that recent NCAA legislation cutting scholarships and coaching staffs discriminates against black athletes and coaches.

Greg O'Brien, chairman of the NCAA Presidents Commission, said the letter, which also addressed the association's concerns, will be released Monday along with a statement.

"We are expressing the desire of the Joint Policy Board to meet with Coach Washington and the Black Coaches Association," O'Brien said. "We take these issues very seriously."

More than 100 black coaches had been expected to attend the forum starting Tuesday in Charlotte, N.C., sponsored by the National Association of Basketball Coaches.

"That's all we've been doing is going to committees and forums," said Washington, former president of the Black Coaches Association. "Quite frankly, I've been in this system for 20 years and nothing has changed. Therefore, we have to go outside what has been tradition for us to try to get results."

O'Brien, the chairman for Friday's regularly scheduled teleconference of the Joint Policy Board, said graduation rates of black athletes have risen since enactment of Proposition 48, which mandates stricter academic standards.

"We also wanted to share with Coach Washington some of the information we have about some of the issues he's raised, like the fact that we now have about the same proportion of African-American athletes in college athletics as we did before Proposition 48," O'Brien said.

"While there have been some adjustments, there have not been diminished opportunities for African-American athletes. Graduation rates have been raised substantially, which is the reason for a college education."

O'Brien said he and other NCAA officials hoped to meet with Washington and other black coaches.

"The whole reform movement was started when people thought college athletics were out of control, both in terms of finance and in terms of integrity," O'Brien said. "We've made progress. At the same time, virtually every state has cut dollars supporting colleges and universities. The vast majority of athletics programs have had budgeting problems."

by CNB