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Show THE DAILY UTAH CHRONICLE, SALT LAKE CITY, UTAH, MONDAY, JUNE 7, 2010. 1953 Peterson steps down as basketball coach If not controlled a small stone at times can start a landslide; the proverbial "mole hill" is transformed into a mountain. In like manner the controversy concerning so called "obsolete" Vadal Peterson, head basketball coach at the University of Utah, might be described. Admitted is the fact that even on The Chronicle sports staff there is a wide divergence of opinion. Granted, also, is the fact that unless near perfection is attained, the coaching field not excepted, the inevitable result is criticism and talk. By all means, however, let's not be guilty of over hasty and unfair criticism of any man or coach. In the evaluation of any coach, certain requirements are necessary. A thorough knowledge of the all-over picture is, of course, essential. In this is meant that the entire coaching record should be taken into consideration-not one year or perhaps two. In the case of mentor Peterson, his coaching experience dates back to 1927 when he succeeded Ike Armstrong as the basketball coach. Since that time, Vadal has posted an amazing win and loss record of between 70 and 75 per cent of all games played. Even Peterson's worst critics would hesitate to belittle this remarkable achievement. Furthermore, none can take from him the singular honor of having won the NCAA championship in 1944 and the National Invitational Tournament in 1947 the first-and only coach to win both tournaments until Arnold Rupp of Kentucky turned the trick in 1948. Subsequent election to the Helm's College Basketball Hall of Fame was a fitting tribute for this outstanding performance. Just those few years ago none could be heard to criticize the "toast" of the coaching world. On the contrary high praise was the keynote of conversations. Writers and coaches readily admitted that Vadal knew how to get the most out of each member of the squad. In reviewing this year's complaints against Coach Peterson, all seems to point to the relatively poor showing of the team during this hoop season. Let's face the facts and then make a fair evaluation. * 1972 'Redskins' deemed no longer acceptable There is a growing concern among many colleges and universities concerning the use of mascots and school nicknames. This concern is especially prevalent among schools whose names represent some sort of Indian symbol, i.e. Braves, Warriors, Chieftans, and yes, sports fans, even Redskins. Stanford University, formerly known as the Indians, is now suffering through the legal hassles of several law suits because of the use of that name. Other universities with similar nicknames are also involved in court actions. When most schools chose an Indian symbol as their mascot, it was intended to be an honor. It was intended to convey a tribute to the Indian legend. What the legend is is questionable, according to those that oppose the use of these names. But whatever it is the Indian groups that are taking action against these schools feel that it isn't conducive to the plight of the American Indian today. Many of the schools with Indian nicknames are just ignoring this problem and hoping that those Indians that are against this will disappear or go back to the reservation, or something. However, the University is not one of these. Officials of the administration and the Department of Athletics have met with representatives of the Indians on campus concerning the continued use of Redskins by University athletic teams. Their conclusion was that the term Redskins is offensive. Because of this decision the Department of Athletics will no longer refer to any of the athletic teams representing the University as "Redskins." Instead the term "Utes" will be used in its place as this term has been found not to offend anybody, even the Ute Tribe. The name change was bound to come sooner or later. It is a credit to the University and more specifically the Department of Athletics that has already hit Stanford and other campuses hit here. This move will mean that sportswriters will have to give up their old cliches, such as "Runnin' Redskins," but with any luck they will come up with some new ones. For a starter, how about "`"Yumpin' Utes"? 1— THE GREAT DEBATE —1 What is Utah's biggest sports controversy? Team's perfect season worth No. 1 status Utes' name will always be racist Corbin Godfrey Jake Hibbard STAFF WRITER ASSISTANT SPORTS EDITOR Controversy in sports is inevitable. Daily sports shows and newspapers are constantly filled with controversial sporting events, and let's be honest, without controversy, sports just wouldn't be as fun. But the biggest controversy in Utah athletics history took place in 2008, and left a bittersweet taste in the mouths of many. The 2008 Utah football season was one of the brightest, yet somehow, under-awarded seasons in the history of college athletics. The Utes put together the only undefeated season in the nation, including a beatdown of SEC powerhouse Alabama in the Bowl Championship Series Sugar Bowl, but were shafted by voters and "experts" from coast to coast. The Utes finished the season ranked second in the BCS standings, despite being undefeated, while the No. 1 Florida Gators suffered a loss earlier in the year. The No. 2 ranking was the highest for Utah in its history, but again, it should have ended, and tasted sweeter for Ute fans. When someone tells you of a team, in any sport, that went undefeated, you will probably picture that team drenched in confetti and tears while boasting a shiny trophy that metaphorically reflects the team's hard work and dominance while literally reflecting the faces of champions. Well, don't be so naive, because those who love the game of college football know that the rankings, in the eyes of many, are about as legit as Lindsay Lohan's acting career. Rarely do they get the rankings right, letting you sit back and think to yourself: Well done there, BCS, maybe this is the year you got it right. Then, given another chance, the BCS just seems hungover and unworkable, To locate the largest controversy in U sports history, you don't have to look any further than the name of its teams, the Utes. Whenever the issue is brought up, it is usually in the context of the 2005 media frenzy, when the NCAA put the U on its list of i8 schools in question of using American-Indian mascots in a "hostile or abusive" manner. Ultimately, the U faced no punishment because it did not use an American-Indian mascot—there used to be one, but that was put to a stop amid the dawn of the politically correct era of the 198os—and wasn't forced to make a name change because the Ute tribe gave its official approval. This seemingly validated what the U and other targeted schools had been saying all along: The use of American-Indian names was intended as an honor. So that's it, right? No harm, no foul? Not exactly. When I was thinking about the controversy in Ute history, it was a while before this even came to mind. Subconsciously, I must've filed this somewhere in the janitor's closet of my brain, casting off 2005 as just another instance of white guilt manufacturing public uproar. If this is, in fact, what I'd convinced myself to believe, I abandoned it when I started digging through The Chronicle's archives to find past controversies for this issue. As many might already know—I didn't— the U's teams used to go by two interchangeable names: the Utes and the Redskins. This changed my perspective on things a bit. Utes, I can go with since it does happen to be the tribe from which this state derived its name, but the fact that Utes was literally interchangeable with Redskins until 1972, when the U was S. See MASCOT Page 10 See SEASON Page 9 2009 Women lobby for athletic programs "There are no athletic scholarships available to women, thus depriving women an equal opportunity for financial aid and possible professional athletic careers. The absence of women's athletic program also denies women the learning opportunities and healthy competitive opportunities that are readily available to men through the University's athletic program. Women clearly have not shared equally in this aspect of the University offerings," states a memorandum from Women's Resource Center to the Athletic Board. Plea for room ln a meeting held by Athletic Board on Wednesday a proposal and budget on women's athletics was submitted for approval. A plea to "Make Room Now" stated, "During the past few years there has been considerable discussion regarding the recognition, organization and funding of a women's competitive sports program at the University. The women's intercollegiate sports program is, gaining tremendous momentum throughout the entire country. National and regional impetus of girls' interschool competition is great. ln order to maintain our reputable status as a well-known university in this area, the women's competitive sports program must be recognized, continue its activity on our campus and within the Intermountain Conference, and join the governing national association." Membership vital There is an organization whose membership is vital to the women's athletic program in order to have a voice and a vote on policies that will directly and indirectly influence the growth and development of intercollegiate programs for women of the University. The organization, Association for Intercollegiate Athletics for Women (AIAW), offers the benefits of being able to participate in national championships and receiving newsletters and all available material. The University is the only non-member in Region 7. The focus of this organization is on the individual participant and her primary role as a college student. The organization does not, however promote women's athletics as at business as in men's athletics, according to Susan Taylor. The organization feels that it wouldn't be considered nice to sell women back and forth into different teams. Making membership in AIAW is a prerequisite for continued competition with surrounding schools. Call for budget The proposal also called for a new, adequate program and budget due to the consistent growth in total number of participants. "Although the stated goals of this program are educational, there is nothing in the creed of education which rules out the expert. There is no reason why educationally designed athletic programs should either fear or fail to develop the maximum skill which an individual may possess. Our outstanding performers are anxious and deserve to represent the University at the national tournaments. Individuals such as Patsy Neal, Marcia Thayne, Jane Stratton, Sandy DeVoe and Janet Thurgood, who are skilled in given areas, would have no doubt brought further recognition and honor to this state and to this University had funds been provided for these individuals to represent the University," the proposal further stated. Because schools on the junior and senior high school level look to the University for further direction and opportunity, the elimination of competition at the university level would, it is felt, not only be a detriment to the University, but to the community and to lower level schools. Governor Calvin L. Rampton's advisory committee on women's programs conducted a study and submitted the following recommendation which was accepted by him: "It is hereby recommended that the Governor's Committee on Status of Women go on record as favoring: (I) competition for girls and women's sports in Utah; (2) that such sports for girls and women be conducted according to standards in sports for girls and women as set by the Division of Girls' and Women's Sports of the American Association for Health, Physical Education and Recreation, and (3) that such sports be con ducted for the' benefit of the participants and not as a spectator sport as is now the case for men's events." The proposed budget totaling $15,000.00 as opposed to the men's athletic budget of $1,232,605, was considered by the Athletic Board; However, no definite decisions on the proposal or the budget were made. It was pointed out that unlike the men the women athletic participants would usually pay for their own traveling, board and meal expenses. 8 Scandals through history capture sports fans' attention Bryan Chouinard SPORTS EDITOR When you really think about it, the best part of almost any sport is the controversies that take place in and around it. Consider it; the best part of hockey is the fights, the best—and only good—part about NASCAR is the crashes. Controversies have shaped the sporting landscape into what it is today, both for better and for worse, and no sport is an exception. The steroid controversy in the late '9os has led Major League Baseball on a steroid-witch hunt while the NBA was forced to deal with Tim Donaghy and a referee match-fixing scandal in 2007. Even a sport like golf, a self-proclaimed "gentleman's game," has Tiger Woods making headlines for off-the-field controversies, while the NFL seems to suspend a handful of players each week for using performance enhancers, fighting at night clubs, smoking grass, carrying unlicensed weapons and fighting dogs. Thanks largely in part to all these sports' controversies, we as fans are left to watch "Sports Center," which now resembles "Days of Our Lives," rather than a sports highlight show. No matter the case, we as fans still tune in because everyone, not only sports fans, loves a good controversy. During the past 120 years, The Chronicle's sports page has been there to cover every controversy of Utah athletics. But you don't have to look too far back in the record books to find controversies that rocked the Utah athletics department—just take a look at last year. As head coach Kyle Whittingham and the Utes successfully won their ninth straight bowl game, whispers began to rise up about the Utes leaving the Mountain West Conference for greener pastures and joining the Pac-io. Despite the MWC being the youngest conference in America, rumors of the Utes leaving for the Pac-io seem years old by now. Although no official statement has been made by the U or either conference, change seems to be on the horizon as many of the country's major conferences seem to be moving in the direction of restructuring. More controversy for the Utah athletic department came in spring when Utah recruit Tyler Shreve was arrested for attacking his high school baseball coach only weeks after being recruited as a quarterback for the Utes. Upon hearing about the incident, Whittingham said he would let the legal process run its course before commenting or deciding on Shreve's case and, true to his word, he did just that. Months after the incident, Whittingham made it public that the team had suspended Shreve's scholarship indefinitely and would revisit the player in January 2011 when the team starts putting together the Utes' next recruiting class. Football wasn't the only sport to make headlines for off-the-field controversies. Men's and women's basketball made some noise off the court as well. After head coach Jim Boylen completed his third season at the helm of the Runnin' Utes, whispers began that junior Carlon Brown was considering transferring because of attention he was getting from other programs around the country. Prior to Brown's requested release, fellow teammates Matt Reed and Jordan Cyphers were both granted a release from the program as well. To top it all off, freshman point guard Marshall Henderson also asked for his release to move closer to his native Texas. Henderson has since signed with Texas Tech while the Utes have added four junior college transfers to fill out their roster along with the incoming freshman class. The Utah women's basketball team also made headlines this spring when long-time coach Elaine Elliott announced she would be taking a year off from her coaching duties to consider retirement and her future with the program. The year off comes 27 years and 15 NCAA appearances into Elliott's career, which makes her the longest-tenured coach in the MWC. Assistant coach Anthony Levrets will fill in for Elliott, who is going into his third year with the program. As controversy swirls around not only the U, but the entire sporting world, we, as fans, will continue to be captivated by the controversies that continue to change sports as we know them today. b.chouinard@ chronicle.utah.edu |