Hi -
 
On Tue, 18 Jun 1996, Bill Schneller wrote:
> The [Providence newspaper] article also says the committee "discussed
> modifying the tournament and including the men's Division III champion-
> ship final on the 'off' day,"
 
  IMHO, this would be an *excellent* idea, and one that already has proven
extremely popular/successful for men's lacrosse.  The Univ. of Maryland
has hosted the NC$$ Men's Lacrosse Championship(s) in several of the past
few years, always on Memorial Day weekend.  The DivI semi-finals are held
Saturday afternoon, the DivIII Championship is contested Sunday afternoon,
and the DivI final is held Monday afternoon (or, like this year because of
ESPN, at 11:00 AM).  A 3-day Championship Ticket is only $40; surely one
of the best bargains in sports ....
 
  Incidentally, and speaking of ESPN/NC$$, someone at this network must
be on the roll of his/her life ....  While *we* know that ESPN televises
the Championshiop games of many "2nd-Tier" sports (like men's lacrosse,
ice hockey, etc. only because it's required as part of their contract with
the NC$$ (as a package deal to enable them to televise games in other more
"mainstream" sports), viewers who faithfully tuned in to this year's
championship competitions were rewarded with the thrill of a lifetime:
Michigan captures the men's ice hockey championship in a thrilling OT
contest; Princeton captures the men's lacrosse championship in a thrilling
OT contest (vs. Virginia, who have now lost in OT in their last *5* Champ-
ionship Game appearances), and LSU captures the College World Series with
a dramatic 2-out, 2-strike, 2-run home-run in the bottom of the ninth
inning, the first time in history that a team has won the NC$$ title on
a turn-out-the-lights 9th-inning (or later) home-run.  I watched the first
two in person, the latter live on ESPN, and couldn't help but think that
there's a world of compelling collegiate stories/rivalries that ESPN/2
could be tapping into, if only they could be convinced that someone will
actually watch if they're marketed and promoted properly.  What better
marketing tool do they need than the winning score in any of the games
I've cited above from just this Spring's round of competitions ??  It's
too bad the moguls in Bristol continue to keep their heads buried in
the CT sand ....
 
  Cheers from Maryland - JIm
 
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