Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: FRIDAY, March 11, 1994 TAG: 9403110075
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B-5 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: RAY COX STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
On hand representing Salem were: Forest Jones, the assistant city manager; Carey Harveycutter, the civic center manager; and Joe Yates, the economic development coordinator.
"We were just observing and visiting, meeting and greeting," Harveycutter said.
Along with various athletic directors the contingent sought out, the Salem delegation met with conference commissioner Buddy Sasser.
Salem's bid for the 1995 tournament is expected in writing to the league in early April. Harveycutter will assemble the bid, and Jones must approve it.
Salem bid on this tournament once before but lost out when it was awarded to the then-new North Charleston Coliseum. Among the winning features of the North Charleston bid was a $50,000 guarantee from the local Chamber of Commerce. The glamour, history and benevolent weather of South Carolina also were considered to be important factors.
As before, the strongest selling point of the Salem bid is a location close to the geographic heart of the conference. Close proximity to Radford University, Liberty and North Carolina-Greensboro (which will be eligible for next year's gathering) should help attendance.
Audiences in South Carolina have not been strong the past two years. The fact that Charleston Southern, the local entry, has been ousted in the opening round both times has not helped.
However, the tournament has never been a strong draw in any of its previous homes of Savannah, Ga., Rock Hill, S.C., or Anderson, S.C. There is no guarantee that Salem would change any of that. Salem also cannot compete with Charleston, either as a tourist destination or as place to escape the hazards of late-winter weather.
It is believed that North Charleston will bid for the tournament again. The City of Lynchburg also is expected to bid again to have the tournament at Liberty University, but that hope is a long shot because of opposition to having the tournament on the home court of a league member.
Also, reports out of Asheville, N.C., indicate that city will try to entice either the Big South or the ACC women's tournament there to replace the Southern Conference men's tournament, which will be moving to Greensboro, N.C., in 1996.
\ BRADLEY'S BEEF: When word got out earlier this year that Campbell intended to bolt the conference for the Trans-America next season, Radford basketball coach Ron Bradley protested to Big South commissioner Buddy Sasser that the Camels should be banned from the tournament.
"They've [deserted] us; why should we let them play for our automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament?" Bradley said.
Unless an appeal is upheld, Campbell's defection could cost the league its automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament.
For those who think that was simply sour grapes because the Camels booted Radford from this year's semifinals, the coach says that isn't the case at all.
"I talked to the commissioner right after the news about Campbell came out, a long time before the tournament," Bradley said.
It became a moot point when Liberty beat the Camels for the tournament championship and the automatic bid.
\ TROUBLED COACHES: The jobs of three Big South coaches appear to be in jeopardy.
The one on the shakiest footing is Coastal Carolina coach Russ Bergman, who has admitted to NCAA recruiting violations. Other unfavorable publicity arose during the tournament when a number of former Coastal players described Bergman's efforts to "run them off" in order to free scholarships for more talented players. Such practices, although not illegal, certainly are considered unsavory.
Others who await word on their fate include Charleston Southern's Gary Edwards and Maryland-Baltimore County's Earl Hawkins.
Edwards was given a vote of confidence by Howie Bagwell, Charleston Southern's athletic director, but school president Jairy C. Hunter was cooly non-committal in a recent television interview. Edwards is 82-114 at the school, but will welcome back almost the entire cast from an underachieving 9-18 team next season.
Hawkins is 63-105 at UMBC and rumors of his dismissal swirled at the tournament.
by CNB