Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: THURSDAY, September 23, 1993 TAG: 9309230128
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B4 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: From Associated Press reports
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
Although the 55-member Faculty Senate's vote has the power only of recommendation, the group says its measure reflects a growing trend among higher education institutions to reconsider the purpose of college sports.
"There is beginning to be a national conversation," said George Reiter, Faculty Senate president and a Houston physics professor. "Do we really want to be part of the entertainment industry?"
The Faculty Senate represents about 1,000 faculty members at Houston.
The vote comes on the heels of the recent addition of basketball coach Alvin Brooks and football coach Kim Helton. The salaries for the men were discussed after a study of salaries at similar universities showed Houston's pay was lower.
Reiter said the pay hikes for the school's coaches shows the university has "misplaced priorities."
"They basically did a comparison to other schools and gave them a pay hike," Reiter said. "The faculty felt that this was insulting. We're paid [about] 10 percent less then the national average. There's a clear perception that no one bends over backwards to see we get paid equally."
The faculty vote will be forwarded to university president James Pickering and the school's board of regents.
In other sports news:
The Indiana Supreme Court refused Wednesday to consider the rape case that landed former heavyweight champion Mike Tyson in prison.
The justices issued a one-page order that gave no reason for not reviewing an appeals court decision upholding Tyson's conviction and six-year sentence.
The five-member court divided 2-2. Court rules require a majority vote before a case can be heard. The Supreme Court is required to review criminal cases only when a prison sentence is 50 years or longer, or in death penalty cases.
This year's LPGA Match Play Championship was canceled after the chief sponsor pulled out of the event.
The tournament was scheduled for Dec. 9-12 at the Waikoloa Beach Golf Course on Hawaii Island, but was canceled after Pizza-La, last year's title sponsor, withdrew its backing, said Dennis Rose, vice president for resort operations and director of golf for Waikoloa Land Company.
The 1996 Charlotte Observer Marathon will serve as the U.S. men's qualifier for the Atlanta Olympics. The Charlotte Observer reported Wednesday that Charlotte beat out Philadelphia for the host role. Charlotte is also bidding for the U.S. women's qualifying event. The other candidates are Columbia, S.C., and San Diego.
At Monte Carlo, Monaco, Juan Antonio Samaranch, president of the International Olympic Committee since 1980, was re-elected by acclamation to another four-year term.
by CNB