Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: THURSDAY, June 17, 1993 TAG: 9306170088
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: DOUG DOUGHTY STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: CHARLOTTESVILLE LENGTH: Medium
Copeland, entering his seventh year as the University of Virginia's athletic director, said the Cavaliers could be playing basketball in a new or rebuilt arena by the year 2000.
"I feel good about that," Copeland said Wednesday. "I always felt we needed to do something with our arena. I think it's critical."
Copeland said funding for the arena is the "big-ticket item" among requests the athletic department has made for Virginia's next capital campaign.
There has been talk of a new arena since the early 1980s, but in recent years UVa has concentrated on improvements to University Hall, which opened in 1965. This spring there has been a conversion to full theater-style seating.
Copeland stressed, however, that he was not referring to renovations when he talked about a rebuilt arena.
"We could actually double the capacity [8,864], but to do that would cost almost as much as a new arena," he said. "If we rebuilt University Hall, it would not be with an eye toward increasing the size significantly, but with an eye toward really making this something special."
If there is an ideal size for a new or rebuilt arena, Copeland doesn't know what it is.
"That's a little more complex issue," Copeland said. "From a recruiting perspective, I think [men's basketball coach] Jeff Jones would tell you it's very important to have the appearance and type of facility that makes a person feel good."
Jones wanted to feel good, too, which is why he vetoed a plan that would have shifted the floor. Jones said he was concerned about the shooting background under the proposed plan, which would have put the largest and most congested of the arena's four portals in one of the end zones.
That was the only significant alteration in UVa's new seating plan, in which student seats will be placed in both end zones and season-ticket holders will choose their locations through a priority system based on size and length of contributions.
Copeland conceded that the policy does not address a longstanding problem with no-shows.
"No-shows have been a topic for a couple of years, mainly because I made sure it was a topic," Copeland said. "We've probably spent too much time and energy on no-shows. It disturbs me, but how long do you talk about something if you don't have a solution?
"I've asked our people to revisit the administration of our basketball games. We're looking at everything from traffic flow to parking to concessions. If we can become more customer-oriented, maybe we can attack the no-show problem that way."
On the subject of facilities, Copeland said he shares football coach George Welsh's desire to convert the field at Scott Stadium to grass, although cost and an absence of artificial-turf practice fields are problems. He also would like to add lights to Klockner Stadium, UVa's soccer and lacrosse facility, but the price tag for that is $500,000.
"Everybody in college sports is aware of and tuned into Title IX and gender equity," said Copeland, who noted that 37 percent of UVa's student-athletes are women, although women receive only 30 percent of the financial aid.
"Over the next three years, we will move toward that 37 percent figure. We also plan to put over $200,000 into women's OTPS [Other Than Personal Service] accounts, with the money going to uniforms, equipment, recruiting and travel."
It was Copeland's first large-scale meeting with the media since May 6, when Virginia was found guilty of "major" violations and was placed on NCAA probation for the first time in its athletic history.
Copeland received a five-year contract extension in April 1991, at which point UVa was wrapping up its investigation of loans made to student-athletes and other practices of the Virginia Student Aid Foundation, a fund-raising group.
"There were no [contract] demands made on my part," Copeland said Wednesday, "and, while I was given the contract before the report went to the NCAA, it was after the committee had completed most of the internal investigation.
"I know the board of visitors would not have approved something if they felt I was culpable, which doesn't mean I don't share some of the responsibility because a number of the violations occurred while I was here."
There were many times during the investigation when he questioned himself, Copeland said, but time has eased some of the doubts.
"I'm not going to evaluate myself as athletic director," he said, "but certainly my state of mind now is 100 percent better than it was last year."
Copeland reached a low point when UVa pushed his longtime aide, Jim West, into early retirement. That was followed by a staff reorganization, when associates told Copeland he needed to give them freedom to do their jobs.
"Normally, I think of myself as a very positive person," Copeland said. "I feel that way again now. I can't say I was [positive] a year ago."
by CNB