USD Men's Basketball 1996-1997

GRHN DAYS Continued

were 64,000 people there. That made me stop and look around. I realized women's sports is arriving now. I came back very optimistic." So is Betty Jaynes, execu– tive director of the Women's Basketball Coaches Association. "It's just a matter of time before we see more and more of the programs paying their own freight," said Jaynes, whose organization represents more than 4,000 coaches nationwide. "When TV kicks in, when national corporate partners line up, it's a logical thing that's going to happen. ''The women's Final Four is a very hot ticket. Every

"THE LAST FIVE YEARS HAVE BEEN ATREMEN– DOUS GROWTH PERIOD FOR WOMEN'S BASKET– BALL. WHEN YOU ADD UP THIS YEAR, IT'S EVEN MORE TREMENDOUS COMING OH WHAT WAS ONE Of THE BEST FINAL FOURS IN HISTORY." Tennessee A.D. Joan Cronan

Kentucky team hasn't won a national ti tle-they were runner– ups to Stanford in 1992-support for women's hoops is stronger than ever. "Western Kentucky has supported women's basketball when, legally, it didn't have to," said Sanderford . "Schools like Louisiana Tech, Iowa, Tennessee and Texas, we've been doing this a long time. If they did away with Title IX tomorrow, we'd still have a program. "We put 4,500 in the stands every game, we're selling 3,000 season tickets, we're on national TV three or fo ur times. Women's basketball is the very next sport that will allow Division I schools to generate revenue. "I think accountability is the next step. If we spend half a million dollars on our program, we have to show our worth." That's not always easy, and UConn's Perkins is the first to say much remains to be done. Last year was the first season the women generated revenue, and nationwide just a handful of the country's best teams are even close to that point. "Every year we come up with something new," said Perkins. "One of the things we have to be very careful of is if we think we are at the pinnacle. It's a lot easier to come off the top than it is to get there. We don't take that for granted. We know what it took to be one of the top five teams in the country." Tennessee," said Cronan. "Our goal is to continually improve. We're proud of what's happeni ng. When someone calls me and tells me they're not satisfied wi th their ti ckets, then you know you've arrived." That's the hope of every female athlete in the coun try, from young girls in AAU competitions to the thirty-something Olympians. "Progress in the '70s was fantastic," said Iowa's Grant. "Not that much happened in the '80s, it wasn't a good decade for women's sports. But the '90s are as exciting as the '70s. As That same sentiment is evident at Tennessee. "Whenever we get satisfi ed, I don't want to be at

championship director takes pride in how fast they can sell it out. The next step is the regionals and it trickles down from there. Games on individual campuses need to become sellouts too. Then we begin to get the door open. "Even though we've gotten so much credibility and expo– sure, this is nothing like it will be in 10 years." Stanford once was a cellar-dweller in women's basketball. That was before Tara VanDerveer arrived 10 years ago. Now, the Cardinal has two NCAA titles and is a favori te to win a third this season. VanDerveer took a year's leave of absence to coach the U.S. women's Olympic team, winners of the gold medal. She said she learned a great deal from NBA marketing personnel that assisted with the U.S. women on how to market a team and make it an entertainment event. More than anything, though, VanDerveer hopes that the Olympic victory brings benefits to every level of the sport. "So many new people have been exposed to the game," said VanDerveer. "The gold medal was not necessarily for me or Stanford. It was for all of women's basketball, from grade school to high school. We won it for everyone.

we reach the turn of the century, we will be approaching truly equal opportunity. "In some ways, it seems like molasses to get where we are. But in terms of how slowly changes in atti– tude take place in society, it's been a fast revolution."

DEBBIE BECKER is a sportswriterf or USA Today. This is her second season covering the women '.s game f or College Hoops lllustrated.

.. ·-----------------------------------, Women's Attendan e 1990s

• • • ••• , .. • • ·~=: ••

"The grass-roots people are the way to make this thing work. I saw 30,000 people pay to see us play. It was awesome. I'm glad it happened in our country."

Division I

All NCAA Divisions r.. s Attendance Per Gane Change 782 3,183,871 463 +37 806 3,407,247 459 -4 815 3,827)11 536 +77 • +64 ..

In fact, tickets to the

women's Final Four have ~ 1 become such a hot item that, "• beginning next season, the NCAA will institute a lottery

system, something it has done for the men for years. Even though Paul Sanderford's Western