Sayonara for the summer
June 20th, 2008, 4:26 pm · Post a Comment · posted by Dan Zeiger
Mark Heller will hold down the blog fort for the next four weeks as I take some time to relax and recharge the batteries for football season. I will return in mid-July, prior to Pac-10 football media day in Los Angeles.
Activity inside Arizona State’s athletic department figures to slow down, as coaches and administrators take vacations. However, there are four items to keep an eye on in the coming weeks:
1. The final U.S. Sports Academy Directors’ Cup standings that measure overall success of athletic departments will be released on Thursday, and ASU is expected to post its highest placement ever. The school is ninth in the current standings, which matches its best finish, in 2000-01.
After ASU’s point totals from baseball (64), men’s track and field (73.5) and women’s track and field (90) are tallied, it is projected to have 1,146 points, which should be enough to pass at least eighth-place Penn State.
2. A report on the findings of an internal investigation into the baseball program is being prepared for submission to the NCAA and Pac-10. Athletic director Lisa Love said that ASU plans to publicly disclose the findings when the report is complete.
Coach Pat Murphy, who got a vote of confidence from Love on Friday, believes that any infractions will be minor.
When I asked Love last week about compliance issues in general, she said: ”There will always be things that challenge us. People make mistakes with violations, but that comes with the territory in college athletics, I’m sorry to say. But I can promise that we will continue to be diligent on how we handle such things.”
3. ASU’s preseason football practice schedule is still in limbo as officials evaluate the construction progress of the indoor practice facility, which is scheduled to be completed on Aug. 1. Coach Dennis Erickson said on Friday that Camp Tontozona near Payson will be utilized, but the length of the Sun Devils’ stay is to be determined.
“I think we should know more in about two weeks,” Erickson said.
4. Men’s swimming and men’s tennis, which were two of the three sports cut by ASU in May, continue fund-raising efforts in hopes of gaining reinstatement. The swimming program recently sent an e-mail to supporters outlining a process of raising $1 million by March 31, which would provide four years of operating expenses.
For now, ASU officials will not raise their optimism above the cautious level.
“We’re still working toward meeting the (fund-raising) goals,” senior associate athletic director Dawn Rogers said.
Love said that a deadline has not been set for the two sports — they each need an endowment of $5 million — to secure funding that would allow them to compete in 2008-09. If necessary, she said, the Pac-10 could quickly revise schedules.
See you in a month.
