It was Louisiana Tech head coach Kerry Rupp and his staff that were treated to a special visitor Friday morning in the Thomas Assembly Center.

Ian Naismith, the grandson of James Naismith, the inventor of the game of basketball, made a brief stop during The Naismith Good Sportsmanship Tour to go through Ruston, address students at A.E. Phillips and finally meet Rupp and his staff while seeing the improvements made in Tech’s basketball program in just over a year’s time.

“This is a very special time for our basketball program and the university to have a representative from the Naismith family here to see our facilities and to address our players,” Rupp said. “The ideals that Dr. Naismith emphasized when he founded the game are exactly what we are trying to focus on with our program and that’s the need to get an education, be held accountable and to give back to the community and others. It’s an honor to have someone from their family here, because these are ideals that are very special to the Bulldogs’ program and myself.”

The tour is out to promote good sportsmanship, teamwork and positive role models using basketball as a basis. Naismith teaches an awareness of the history and heritage of the game of basketball and the importance of higher education.

“What we sell is respect, dignity and role models,” Naismith said. “My grandfather’s desire was to give this game to the world and to leave it a better place.”

Naismith said he was pleased with how attentive the students were to his tour and also how historic Louisiana Tech is for basketball.

“The kids this morning were so respectful,” Naismith said. “You could hear a pin drop while I was talking, and then the following Q and A was just littered with questions. Add to the fact that Karl Malone played here is history in itself. It’s exciting for me to be here right now.”

Naismith is the founding director of The Naismith International Basketball Foundation in Chicago and holds many distinguished positions in national and international sports organizations. The foundation presents a highly prized sportsmanship award and supports basketball camps for underprivileged youth.

In 1891, James Naismith invented the game of “Basket Ball” at Springfield College as an indoor recreation. Since then, basketball has become the fastest growing worldwide sport in history and is now played in over 200 countries.

“This is not that old of a game,” Ian Naismith said of the sport and his tour. “We need to get out on the road and show what we are about.”

Halloween Costume Ideas

If you are still in need of a Halloween costume you could dress up as one of the following college mascots…hope this blog helps with your last minute shopping…

Notre Dame Leprechaun
East Carolina University Pee Dee the Pirate
Arizona State University Sparky the Sun Devil
Auburn University Aubie the Tiger
University Southern California Traveler, the noble horse or the Trojan Warrior
San Jose State Sammy Spartan
Georgia Tech’s Buzz the Yellow Jacket
The Ohio State University Brutus the Buckeye
Purdue University Purdue Pete
Portland Pirates
Kansas Jayhawks

For those of you looking for costume ideas for a pair…check out the following recommendations:

University of Arizona - Wilber and Wilma Wildcat
Bowling Green State University Freddie and Frieda Falcon
Youngstown State – Pete and Penny

Happy Halloween!

New Basketball Rules for the 2008-2009 Season

As we head into the basketball season there have been a few rule changes that you may be interested in…..

The following changes were approved by the NCAA Men’s and Women’s Basketball Committee:

Three Point Line: A significant rules change for the upcoming season is the moving of the men’s three point line to 20 feet 19 inches. The women’s three point line will remain the same (19 feet 9 inches).

Uniforms: The two uniforms will be of contrasting colors with the opposing team wearing a dark jersey while the home team sports a white or light colored jersey.
Note: This rule may be altered by mutual consent of the competing institutions.

The use of an arm, leg, or knee sleeve is only permissible for medical reasons.

Officials Jurisdiction: When all three officials leave the visual confines of the court at the end of the game, the official’s jurisdiction has ended and the score has been approved.

Goal Tending: When the entire ball is above the level of the ring during a field-goal try and contacts the backboard, it is considered to be on its downward flight. In such a case, it is goal tending when the ball is touched by a student athlete.

Flagrant Technical Foul Penalty (WBB only): When a flagrant technical foul is committed in a game the ball shall be awarded to the offended team at the point of interruption.


In addition to the newly adapted rules official are expected to place extra emphasis on the following ….

Men’s Basketball Points of Emphasis for the 2008-2009 season:
Elimination of rough physical play.
- Illegal contact is prevalent in screening situations including the high screen set within the opponents’ field of vision and a screen set outside the opponents’ visual field.
- Coaching box restrictions/ Coaches behavior
- Palming/ ball carrying
- Charge / blocking

Women’s Basketball Points of Emphasis for the 2008-2009 season:
- Contact on and by the Ball Handler / Dribbler
- Traveling
- Sportsmanship

WAC Top Ten (Oct. 24th - 26th)

The following is a Top Ten list of notable WAC accomplishments from last week’s competitions.

10. Both the men’s and women’s cross country programs at Utah State were picked the favorite heading into the Cross Country Championship slated for Nov. 1st in Las Cruces, N.M.

9. After a four-year hiatus, Fresno State is back in the pool. Freshman Heidi Gjoen competed in her second collegiate meet and first invitational and managed to earn a personal-best in the 100 backstroke and spot in the WAC Top Ten with a time of 59.40.

8. UH quarterback Greg Alexander, came off the bench to start the second half of Hawai‘i’s 38-31 win over Nevada and was 17-of-22 for 205 yards and two touchdowns. Alexander also led the Warriors in rushing with nine carries for 21 yards.

7. In women’s soccer action, Utah State’s Senior Candice Clark received player of the week honors for her outstanding performance. Clark scored seven points in five matches. Clark had three goals on five shots and added an assist. The senior scored the game-winning goal in both road wins over Hawai‘i and San Jose State.

6. Idaho boasted a record crowd of 1,842 fans as it swept Boise state in this weekend’s volleyball action (25-22, 25-16, 25-7)

5. In volleyball action, Lindsay Yon led the Aggies to a victory over La Tech with a match-high 16 kills with no errors. Her .696 hitting percentage in the match is the highest of any WAC player this season.

4. Kevin Goessling kicked a 58-yard field goal as time expired to lift Fresno State to a 30-28 win over Utah State.

3. Boise State moved up one spot in the BCS Standings and is currently ranked 11th.

2. Idaho captured its first conference win since 2006, knocking off New Mexico State 20-14.

1. Utah State captured its sixth consecutive win (a school record) en route to claiming its first WAC regular season championship title. The Aggies have earned the top seed heading into the tournament scheduled for Nov. 6-9th in Reno.

WAC Vortex Available

You will notice we have added a new feature, a Vortex on the right side of the blog.
The Vortex can be added to a number of websites on your computer allowing you to have the latest in WAC news while searching other websites.

The Vortex can be added to the following website pages:
Facebook
iGoogle
Apple Dashboard
Windows Vista and more…..

To upload the Vortex onto your computer/selected websites simply click on the ‘copy me’ button located at the bottom of the Vortex on the right.
Then select the pages you would like the Vortex to appear. The vortex will upload onto the page(s) you requested and you will have access to the latest in WAC news.

We hope you enjoy this new feature!

Music and College Football

Music is an integral part of the collegiate game day experience. Music is used for a variety of reasons:
· Pre-game entertainment - when fans are entering the facility
· Generate momentum in the game – can be used to pump up the team
· Create a reaction / noise from the crowd at a crucial moment
· Provide entertainment for fans even when the action on the field is less than entertaining.

Marketing departments take game day scripting and music selection very seriously. You always want to pick the right song for when the team takes the field, for kick offs, punt returns and for other crucial moments such as third downs on defense. Not only do you need to play popular songs for your team and student section, but you also need to incorporate songs that will hit home with your season ticket holders, alumni and youth.

Below are some songs that I have either played at a college football game/basketball game or that I think would be great for an in-game situation:

Living on a Prayer
Hells Bells
Stronger
Enter Sandman
Machinehead
Zombie Nation
Rock n’ Roll Part II
Crazy Train
Sweet Home Alabama
Hey Baby
Jump Around
Welcome to the Jungle
Thunderstruck
Remember the Name

I’m curious to hear what songs you think inspire crowds. So, post a comment with your song suggestions. Please keep in mind there are some rules we are asking you to follow…

The song cannot contain any swear words. We are looking for clean cut, G- rated songs.
The song should not contain any sexually explicit comments, degrading or racial remarks.

I look forward to seeing/hearing your posts!

College Students and School Spirit

Students paint themselves week after week not only to show their school spirit but to get a few seconds of face time on ESPN or the network that is broadcasting their game. I applaud the creativity these students display but for some reason body painting has always baffled me. I personally have NO desire to paint my skin and then stand outside where the elements can ruin the hard work I have put into my design.

Body painting just seems too messy. The following are questions I have always wondered when looking at someone who has painted him / herself…. How does one clean off all of the paint? How do you prevent the paint from rubbing off onto your fellow fans? What about acne??? These are questions inquiring minds want to know…

Lucky for you I have done some research via the internet to help prepare those interested in painting themselves. The following are some suggestions I have found on-line….I’m not sure how valid these suggestions are…but thought I would share them anyway….

· Avoid heavy oil based paints – oily skin typically causes acne.
· To remove the paint – try baby wipes. They are supposed to help remove the paint from your skin with minimal irritation.
· I’ve also heard that soap and water can do the trick.
· Apply more than one coat.
· If you have sensitive skin one site recommends that you apply hand cream to the application areas…the hand cream is supposed to act as a barrier.
· To prevent rubbing or flaking over long periods of time spray hairspray over the completed paint section. As always when using hairspray I would recommend that you avoid your eyes and mouth….

Again, I’m not sure if my internet research is valid but you never know. Good luck to those of you who plan to paint your face/body in the next coming weeks…..