ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1997, Roanoke Times
DATE: Thursday, February 27, 1997 TAG: 9702270033
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B-2 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: JACK BOGACZYK STAFF WRITER
In the NCAA Division III men's basketball tournament, the city of Salem and the Old Dominion Athletic Conference want the same thing.
A crowd.
While the ODAC hopes to repeat its 1996 performance with three schools in the 64-team field that will be announced Sunday night, the Salem Civic Center wants to fill seats when the Division III men's Final Four returns the nights of March 21-22.
At a preview luncheon Wednesday, it was revealed that advance local ticket sales are at 727. That's 58 percent ahead of last year's pace.
In the Final Four's debut at Salem last March, a crowd of 3,944 (paid) watched the championship-night doubleheader. That's the third-largest title-game crowd in Division III history (since 1974), and the biggest for a site without a championship-game participant from its home state.
``The crowd we had last year exceeded both our expectations at the NCAA and that of the basketball committee,'' said Christine Pohl, an assistant director of NCAA championships. ``We've gotten a lot of positive feedback about Salem's support for this and other Division III championships, and the way it treats the student-athletes.''
Pohl, the NCAA staff coordinator for Division III men's basketball, said the basketball committee will discuss a one-year contract extension with Salem at the Final Four. The event is scheduled locally through 1998.
Emory & Henry coach Bob Johnson is the South Region representative on the men's basketball committee. The final South Region poll, announced Tuesday, has the ODAC as the only school with three teams ranked in the South.
The committee will select and seed the 64-team field, creating regional pairings Sunday. ODAC tournament champion Hampden-Sydney leads the region. Other ODAC ranked teams are Roanoke (tied for fifth) and Bridgewater (seventh).
However, other South region conferences, including the Dixie, are playing their tournaments this week, so the order could change before Sunday's seeding.
It is likely Hampden-Sydney (21-6) would host two home dates, if it advances, while Roanoke (19-7) and Bridgewater (19-7) likely would open their NCAA bids on the road when the first round is played a week from tonight.
Johnson said that as an ODAC coach, he feels it's a disadvantage to play the league tournament a week earlier ``because you can't move [helping a school in the seedings] while others are still playing.''
DRIBBLES: With Division III restructuring going into effect in 1997-98, Pohl said the tournament bracket will shrink from 64 to 48 teams to reflect the desired 1:12 ratio for championships. ... A power rating will be used by the committee to select automatic bid qualification by conferences in the future. There are 29 leagues with automatic berths this season. It drops to half of the field, or 24, in '98. ... The two South Region survivors must go to the Midwest Region site for sectional play this season, feeding the Final Four. ... There's a good chance three of last year's Final Four will return to Salem. Defending NCAA champion Rowan (23-1), Illinois Wesleyan (23-1) and Hope (22-2) are ranked first in their regions this week. ... Johnson said the opportunity for a larger crowd in Salem should be enhanced because the state high school tournaments will be played a week earlier in Lynchburg, rather than the same weekend as the Final Four as occurred last year. ... Final Four tickets are on sale at the civic center box office (375-3004). A tournament book (four games), prior to March 15, is $15 for adults and $10 for students (high school and younger). Single-session tickets (per day, a doubleheader) are $8.50 in advance and $5 for students.
LENGTH: Medium: 68 linesby CNB